Vivian
Freaky Fast Frankie Joe is a book by Lutricia Clufton. Frankie Joe Huckaby’s mom is freaky cool, but when making a bad deal with someone, she gets sent to jail! Frankie Joe gets sent to live with his dad he’s never met, a stepmom he didn’t even know he had, and four half-brothers. But Frankie Joe has a plan. He’ll ride 1,400 miles back to Laredo, Texas, on his bike.
Freaky Fast Frankie Joe takes place in Clearview, Illinois. The main characters are Frankie Joe; his father, FJ; his stepmother, Lizzie; and his four half-brothers, Luke, Matt, Mark, and Little Johnny. I like these characters because they give him challenges to overcome to feel like he fits in to the family and into his new hometown. I don’t like the character Rick because his bad influence made Frankie Joe’s mom, Martha Jane, go to jail. The characters are very believable. Matt and Frankie Joe have lots of fights, just like real-life brothers, and Lizzie makes yummy dinners every night, just like my mom does.
My favorite part is when Frankie Joe said he was going home to his real family because he’s going home to the family who takes care of him. I also really liked how there is a dictionary in this book that Frankie Joe uses to look up words when he hears a word that is new to him, such as “responsibility” and “home.” His father, FJ, makes him remember what responsibility is by making him read the definition of the word every day and write a report every week about what responsible things he has done. He looks up the word “home” when he is missing Laredo, Texas.
My least favorite part is at the beginning where people in Laredo stare at him because the story of his mom being in jail was in the newspaper. I also like how the author’s writing style is about Frankie Joe. She writes in the first person narrative, so Frankie Joe tells his own story and tells us exactly what he thinks and feels. The story is also adventurous and fun because Frankie Joe has many adventures throughout Clearview when he creates his own business called “Frankie Joe’s Freaky Fast Delivery Service.” This book is good for kids ages seven and up.
If you have suggestions for books for Rachel to review, e-mail your suggestions to: rachel.v.newman@outlook.com.
Vivienne Hunter is a fourth-grade student at Lake Park Elementary. She loves school, her friends, Girl Scouts, and Irish dancing. She has three younger siblings, a dog, and a cat. When she grows up, she wants to travel the world, be a chef, and be an author. She was born in Chicago and has lived in Naples for five years.