I, Emma Freke

Sometimes you're only a freak if you believe you are. Emma's story is a charming, quirky tale of a girl finding her niche.

I, Emma Freke is a charming middle-grade search-for-identity story. Emma Freke (say it out loud, "Am a Freak") is the only "normal" member of her unusual family. Her mother is a flightly, New Agey-type who doesn't seem to have time for a daughter, especially one who makes it impossible to maintain the fayade that she is young. Emma's grandfather is well meaning but ultimately clueless. School is a bit of a disaster for Emma since she's smart and shy and almost six feet tall. Her only friend is a precocious ten year old, adopted from Africa by two older woman next door. Emma's tries desperately to find her niche and convince herself she's not a freak, despite her name. When Emma's mother decides out of the blue to "home school" Emma, she jumps at the chance. It quickly becomes clear, though, that this is another one of her mom's half-baked ideas, and it looks like a disaster until a hip young librarian takes pity on Emma. School lets out and the real crisis comes when she gets an invitation to the Freke Family Reunion, where Emma discovers that she's more than her name.