I, Emma Freke

"Having a weird name isn't the only reason 12-year-old Emma Freke ('Like, if you say it slowly, Am a Freak') feels like an outcast. She's taller and more intellectually advanced than her peers; she knows little of her father except his name; and she's nothing like her flighty single mother. When Emma has the opportunity to meet the 'Freke' side of her family at a reunion, she jumps at the chance, thinking she will finally meet people to whom she can relate. But fitting in with the Frekes--a motley crew of Midwesterners dedicated to keeping the memory of a frontier ancestor alive--has its drawbacks. Atkinson (From Alice to Zen and Everyone in Between) has written a lively novel with an empathetic, well-drawn heroine, but other aspects of the story--like Emma being allowed to travel from Massachusetts to Wisconsin on her own to meet a group of people she doesn't know--strain belief. Characterizations of Emma's eccentric relatives (on both sides of her family) feel as forced as her 'just be yourself' realization does preordained. Ages 9 — 13. (Nov.)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright PWyxz LLC)