Among the Stacks: The Frenzy

Block, Francesca Lia. The Frenzy. New York: Harper Teen, 2010. Hardback. ISBN: 978-0-06-192666-2. US $16.99.

Annotation:

Liv changed when she was thirteen and is now different from everyone she knows. Except for her boyfriend and best friend she feels alone and afraid. Until one day she finds a family living in the nearby woods who seem remarkably like her. Recommended for ages 13+.

Cover from Amazon.com

Book Talk:

“At some point in everyone’s life they ask the question, ‘Who am I?’

Four years ago when I turned thirteen I asked the question ‘What am I?’

I had changed.
But I didn’t know how or why, or what I had become.” (pg 1)

Something happened when Liv was thirteen. She changed. She can now smell people’s emotions and hear clearer than ever before. And she has to fight the rage that urges her to tear into others with her teeth and nails. Except for her secret boyfriend and her closeted best friend Liv feels alone, isolated, and unsafe. In fact the only place she feels secure is the woods by her house, the woods where she’s not suppose to go, the woods where four men have been murdered. The woods that are now home to seven brothers with beautiful, scary eyes and their angry, wolf-like mother. Liv knows they have the answers to what she’s become but will she like what she finds out?

Book Review:

The Frenzy feels curiously flat for a book that attempts to explore the emotional highs and lows of a character that is so different from everyone else in her life. At first I attributed it to Block having Liv’s character being on medication but even once Liv is off the medication she does not react in ways you would expect a character to act. For instance, Liv’s best friend commits suicide and she is devastated for one chapter but after that the best friend and her feelings regarding his death are barely mentioned.

Despite this drawback I think The Frenzy would be enjoyed by teenagers 13+ who likes paranormal fantasies or who has ever felt isolated or different. I also think that this book would be at home in both school and public libraries.

Awards and honors:

2010- Booklist starred review

Interested in finding out more about this book or author? Check these out:

Author website: http://www.francescaliablock.com/