Book Review
Title: The Stereotypical Freaks (Forever Friends Trilogy #1)
Author: Howard Shapiro
Genre: Graphic Novel
Rating: *****
Review: The opening to the Stereotypical Freaks was great, we are introduced to Tom, Dan and their other friends who are all into music and are part of a band. Tom’s favourite songs are Bara O’Riley and Ruby SoHo which are both amazing songs. Tom has a major crush on Jaelithe but given this graphic novel is set in high school she obviously end sup dating more on her social level which isn’t Tom.
As we approach the ¼ mark in the story, Dan suggests entering Battle of the Bands, but Tom points out that they are two men short of a band as they don’t have a drummer or lead guitarist. However, Dan says he knows of someone who plays the drums, his name is Jacoby a foreign exchange student, but even then, Tom is hesitant about doing it but goes with the flow for now. I really liked the facts that at the beginning of each chapter it recommends some songs you should listen to and all of them are amazing. Tom despite being a smart boy and a good hockey player decides to tutor another student who just happens to be his old best friend and star football play Mark or Marcell as he used to be called. While the interaction is strange it is nice to see that Marcell hasn’t forgotten they used to be friends and acted like a typical jerk towards him, a very refreshing take.
As we cross the ¼ mark in the story, Tom has signed up for the battle of the bands but only because Jaelithe’s current boyfriend’s band has signed up, but they still have the problem of finding a lead guitarist and a drummer, but this is soon resolved when Jacoby and Marcell agree to practice with them.
As we approach the halfway mark in the story, circumstances allow the four boys; Dan, Tom, Marcell/Mark and Jacoby to become a band but working out a practice schedule with the competition only three months away is proving to be a little hard. This is due to Jacoby’s medical treatments but only Tom knows about this so far, coupled with school, after school groups and practices none of the boys have much free time but I have a feeling it is going to work very well.
As we cross into the second half of the story, the boys decide to name their band the stereotypical freaks which suits them as they all fit a specific stereotype. However, we also learn the true nature of Jacoby’s illness and I wasn’t expecting it and it damn near killed me, but the band is something he enjoys and something he wants to do despite what he is living with.
As we approach the ¾ mark in the story, this story is turning out to be much deeper and darker than I first thought, and I was loving it. It tackles many things like being different whether that is race or religion. It also tackles bullying, peer pressure, living with terminal illness, coming from a broken home and so much more. Despite being a graphic novel about boys in a band it is so much more than that and it is so relatable.
As we cross into the final section of the story, the battle of the bands has arrived. The boys as expected performed very well but things take a dramatic turn after the end of the competition. I would highly recommend the Stereotypical Freaks and will be jumping straight into The Hockey Saint very soon.
Buy it here:
Paperback: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
I received this review copy from NetGalley
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