Tuesday, March 5, 2019
Due Monday, March 11th - Freaky Freedom by Denice Yao Pomary - Pages 95-173
Directions: Please finish reading the novel and comment in this blog space. Did you enjoy the story? Characters? How was the pacing? Do you have questions about the culture presented in the novel? We look forward to your response. Engage with each other.
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I thoroughly enjoyed the story. I thought it was a really unique take on the effects of earning so much ‘freedom’ all at once; while Keziah started out as very obedient and shy, we see her exposure to the real world occur incredibly fast, and her character changes rapidly. I really liked the novel’s use of deceptive characters like Moore to demonstrate how not everyone nor everything is exactly as they seem. While he was initially presented as friendly and kind, albeit slightly creepy character, we very quickly learn how terrible of a person he is. I felt that the pacing of the novel was definitely very quick towards the end, though that made that portion of the book all the more exciting to read; it seemed like Keziah just kept getting hit with bad news. One thing I am wondering is about the relationships between teachers and students in this culture: Are they really that commonplace? Also, are actions ever taken against teachers for engaging in inappropriate relationships with students, or do they get let off the hook?
ReplyDeleteI completely forgot about the relationship between teachers and students, since it seemed to brushed over as if it was just normal. I'd also like to know if they're really that commonplace and if there's any regulation surrounding them.
DeleteUp to page 127, and the story is very well done so far. Moore has now given Keziah a phone as a seductive gesture. There is a suspicious frequency of romance between teachers and students, something that doesn't seem to happen at our school. anyway, it's getting late, and I will say more as I continue.
ReplyDeleteJust finished the book and now Keziah got into a lot of trouble. She was carrying Moore's baby, and she almost killed herself, thinking she had H. I. V. Well, at our school, boys and girls alike are more likely to heed the warnings. Well, this is a great book, the characters were well-developed, and the plot was easy to follow.
DeleteI thought the story was overall very interesting and I enjoyed reading it. It definitely took me by surprise, as the ending and overall second half of the book, was not what I expected. But the message in the end was pretty effective in showcasing the idea that too much freedom/growing up too fast is not necessarily a good thing. I thought Keziah’s character was really interesting, as she went through a major transformation from a shy, naive girl, to someone who now had to deal with the possible threat of teenage pregnancy and HIV. I liked how Lilian responded to hearing Keziah’s pregnancy scare, never allowing Keziah to make excuses for not using protection. For the pacing, I felt that it was a little fast and I would’ve liked a bit more background information on some characters. For instance, we really do not know much about Lilian, but she is such an important person in Keziah’s life, so I wish we got to know more about her own life as well. The way Keziah was so uneducated about protection and HIV made me wonder what they are taught on this kind of stuff. Earlier, we saw the school had a nurse give a presentation, but it seems that did not help Keziah, as the thought of pregnancy or HIV did not come to mind until days later. However, It seems Lilian knew a lot more than Keziah, but did she learn that on her own or from someone else? This leave me wondering about the education they get in health, as here in the U.S, we take health classes throughout high school to be educated on these type of issues. Do they not have similar health classes?
ReplyDeleteThe story really took me by surprise too! It was really shocking to have Keziah get pregnant and also thinking that she contracted HIV. I definitely agree about Lilian, she was very mature in her reaction and held Keziah accountable for her actions.
DeleteOverall, I did enjoy the story because it was very interesting and I never knew what was coming next. I especially liked Lillian because she was fearless and always looking out for others. I also really liked Keziah because we get to see her naive nature being tested as she is exposed to new life experiences and I like how you really got to see her thought process. The pacing, however, was a bit fast for me. It seemed like she was at the top of the world one minute winning a pageant and in just a few pages was facing at least two major crises. I like how these scars made for an interesting read but wish that they had more time to develop and add depth than throwing them all in so fast. Similarly to Kristy I also wonder about the student-teacher relationships. This idea was introduced but not really explored so I also wonder what actions if any are taken against the teachers especially if they marry students.
ReplyDelete-Kathleen
I really enjoyed this story. I liked how their was a shift in Keziah’s characterization throughout the story. She begins as a shy, sheltered person who turns into someone who is not afraid to try new things. With the encouragement of other students, Keziah is able to break out of her shell and wants to be a part of her school. It was interesting to me when Keziah wanted to engage in beauty pageant and was unsure of what her parents might think, but then she came to the conclusion it was part of school life and she wanted to be a part of it. The shift from realizing everything she does now is part of the world she lives in was a huge step for Keziah into becoming herself. I really enjoyed the characterization throughout this book and thought it will be very relatable to many high school students who are trying to find themselves and discover who they want to be. The cultural background also sparked my interest. Iit educated readers on how different students come from different backgrounds which makes everyone unique from one another. I thought there were many great messages threaded into the story.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the second half of the story more than the first half. In the beginning I felt like the build was very slow but the pacing was a lot different in the second half. Very quickly there was a lot happening which made it more interesting but it also didn’t allow for things to be fully developed. One example of this is the relationship between Keziah and Moore. After only seeing each other once, they were ready to jump into a relationship and Keziah was already saying that “she wasn’t sure if he loved her but she loved him”. The pacing of the story made this seem more unrealistic as they didn’t have a lot of time to get to know each other or interact, as you would in an actual loving relationship. Overall I enjoyed the characters, it was a good to have a contrast between Keziah who is very naive and Lilian who was watching over her and a lot more knowledgeable. It was good to see how the girls developed and how they were able to support each other in the beauty pagent. They united against the older girls who were rude to them and even tried to cheat, before being foiled by the freshman girls. Keziah’s naivety was bothersome at some parts in the book. It seemed somewhat unbelievable that she could look at a paper that said HIV Negative on it and freak out because she thought she carried HIV, leading to her to try and kill herself via rat poison. Also, how she dealt with the pregnancy was weird. I do have questions about cultural differences between here and the US. There were a few things I found confusing like the police guarding the school during the beauty pagent, how the stealing was dealt with and the relationships between Lillian and Keziah and the guys. I’m not sure if they all connect to cultural differences or just something that I missed in the writing.
ReplyDeleteAnother piece I was confused about was the relationship between Lillian and Keziah. Although they are good friends and Lillian provides support for Keziah, she acts more like a mother. I'm not sure if it is a cultural difference or simply something that got lost in translation is when Keziah calls Lillian her "school mother". In the first part of the book she asks Moore if he is her dad since Lillian is her mom. She also sometimes calls Lillian her sister. All of this was a bit confusing since Lillian isn't related to Keziah but she acts as though Lillian is her actual mother.
DeleteI also noticed the references to family, and wonder if it is because they are at a boarding school away from their families, or if all older friends (even those at home) would be addressed this way customarily?
DeleteI would prefer to have had a profound reaction to this book, but the best way I can summarize it is ‘good’. As is expected, I do have my critiques, but overall, this book was entertaining and easy to read that also served as a cautionary tale to teenagers, which is a hard combination to achieve. I do however, think that I would have enjoyed the book more if I had a better cultural understanding of the target audience this book is very clearly aiming at. By the end I think I got everything I was supposed to out of this book, but my experience lacked the immediate understanding and resonation that a teenager in Ghana would get out of this book.
ReplyDeleteFocusing more specifically on the characters and plot, I found both aspects of the book to be strong but there were slight changes I would prefer for both. I felt the characters were well written, but the adults in the book were a bit underdeveloped, especially Gonjor. Gonjor seems like such an interesting character, and if he and Keziah had a more developed and adult relationship, that could pivot into playing up that Keziah is not blindly afraid of Gonjor, but of letting him and her family down. I think this would have added another layer of maturity fitting of Keziah’s character and deepened the ongoing exploration of independence and responsibility central to the book.
With the plot, I found the pacing to be quite sudden near the end of the book. For the majority of the book the plot felt fairly safe and not much tension was built around the Moore plotline, which made the extreme transition from beauty queen to attempting suicide a but jarring leap. However, I think the reason I was blindsided by Keziah’s swift of loss of inhibition and subsequent consequences had to do more with culture than it did objectively with the novel. In America, the relationship between Keziah and Moore as female and male is much more common and acceptable, and females have more control in such a relationship in our society than they appear to do in the novel. Especially before the talent show, their relationship seemed benign because there was relatively little indication of it going in a romantic direction. In retrospect, the rigid separation of boys and girls in the Keziah's social circles and numerous warning about the dangers of boys would indicate a different dynamic between boys and girls that would inspire the building concern typical of the rising action. Viewing events from this point of view, the gradual erosion of Keziah’s strict morals between the beauty pageant plotline and lying about her school fees all work well together to form a powerful cautionary tail. My only real critique of the ending would be that it should have followed through with the unhappy ending. I would not necessarily have liked to have seen Keziah’s suicide attempt succeeded, but I think if she had really ended up pregnant or with HIV it would have resulted in a more impactful ending. A scene depicting her tragic fate down the line, such as Lilian seeing her in the crowd of teen mothers months later while she drives by with Celestin in their luxurious white car would have been poetic. I just found the miraculous resolution of all Keziah’s problems to be forced and cheapened an otherwise tough and realistic story. That being said, this serves to show how well the rest of the book did its job if I am so invested in the ending to what is ultimately a good book.
Overall, I enjoyed this story. I did find the book to initially be slow-moving towards the beginning, but by the end, the story became much more engaging and left me wanting to read more to find out what would happen to Keziah in the end. Like some of the others before me have said, I did find the second part of the book to be more interesting to me than the first part because I felt like more was going on during the second half. Other than Keziah’s school money being stolen and the introduction of the major characters, not much happened during the beginning. Towards the end as we find out more information about the other characters, like the older girls who were planning to overtake Keziah and her friends during the beauty pageant. I thought that the discussion of HIV and teen pregnancy as a topic was very interesting because it seems that Keziah was very misinformed/uneducated about the topic and that is what caused her to make poor choices. It initially surprised me that it did not occur to Keziah to use protection, but given her school’s attitude towards sex-education (abstience only), it is not entirely surprising that she made a poor decision because her school did not educate her properly. This contrasts a lot to our health education at our school that, in my opinion, is very extensive and helpful. Overall, I enjoyed this book, but I do think that some of the cultural differences between here and Ghana may have made it more difficult for some American readers to understand some of the references and practices of the characters in the book.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed making my way through this story as it proved to be one that was both similar yet different to ones I’ve read in the past. The idea of teenage freedoms and mistakes is not new to me, but with the setting in an unfamiliar culture, I was able to see these issues in a new way. If Keziah had attended our school, she would not have reacted the same to her negative HIV test because she would have been more educated on testing and protection. The walls and guards around the school seem so foreign to me since I have never seen a school in the US with protective gates all around it or would think a pageant would require police security. Even with this protection, girls like Keziah seem less educated on how to protect themselves in some of their most vulnerable moments. As others have said, I did feel the pacing of the second half of the book to be noticeably quicker with Keziah receiving bad news twice in such a short period of time. I wonder if the faster pace was to help readers feel the overwhelming anxiety and panic that Keziah felt when this was happening to her.
ReplyDeleteThe two parts of this story seemed to differ quite a bit. During the first half of the story, events unraveled very slowly as we were introduced to a multitude of new characters. However, as the story progresses into the second half, pace picks up as we follow Keziah through many more situations. I think that sometimes in the second half of the book, there should be a bit of a slower transition as the book moved along very quickly. It was very interesting to see how Keziah continued to grow and develop. As many people have already mentioned in their blog responses above, Keziah achieves much more freedom and begins to understand some problems in the real world, developing from the naive child she began as. Quite a stand out moment was when she freaks out over the HIV test. This overreaction shows how she is still naive and is not quite ready to face real world challenges quite yet. However, I found the overall book to be very interesting, particularly in the second half of the book where things progressed quickly. It was a very intriguing story, showing the development of a young girl learning how to handle the real world.
ReplyDeleteI really liked reading the second half of this story because of its faster pace but overall I think the whole book was very good and interesting. I really like the moral of the story and how it emphasizes that too much freedom isn’t always good. I think it warns readers in what consequences their actions have. I also really enjoyed seeing the characters grow. Keziah started out as shy and passive but through her experiences in the real work, we see her grow and use her voice like when standing up to the older girls. Although Keziah seemed to not have the best of luck, everytime she just kept taking the news responsibly. I too wonder about student and teacher relationships.
ReplyDeleteOverall, I really enjoyed the story and found it to be entertaining. As many others have said, I enjoyed reading the second half more than the first because it was much more fast-paced and introduced new plot lines. I expected Lillian to turn on Keziah at some point, because she seemed almost too nice to her for the first half of the book. However, I was immensely relieved as I continued to read and discovered that their friendship only grew closer over time. As for character development, I was intrigued by Jezebel and found myself wondering about her backstory and why she had such a strong dislike for Keziah. Though not outwardly explained I think it can be inferred from her actions that she was just jealous of Keziah, but I wish we could’ve gotten to know more about her. Similar to Elissa and Rian, I was surprised by how Keziah reacted to the bad news in her life of the pregnancy and HIV scares with attempting suicide. I agree with Rian’s point that it would have been interesting for one of these ‘scares’ to have actually happened to Keziah to demonstrate consequences of her newfound freedom, but I also think just the ideas of her life being drastically changed get the point across as well.
ReplyDeleteGenerally speaking, I enjoyed Freaky Freedom. I found the story’s pace to be a little disjointed - slow at the start and quick-paced at the end - and initially, this required me to plod along and then to keep up. Unfortunately, this took away from the overall experience for me. The characters were interesting with dynamic relationships. For example, I appreciated the relationship between Keziah and Lillian, and respected Lillian for looking out for the new girl. There was a definite maturity in the characters that made the story more accessible. However, as the story progressed Keziah grew from the newbie trying to find her way to a young girl facing HIV and a possible pregnancy. To me this seemed extreme; however, I think that is in large part because I don’t have the proper cultural understanding to fully grasp the reality being portrayed. For me, while I liked the story, this lack of context and limited perspective made the story both disjointed and enlightening.
ReplyDeleteOverall, I felt that "Freaky Freedom" was very enjoyable and intriguing. The book is relevant and cautionary to all high schoolers, tackling prevalent issues such as teen pregnancy, HIV, suicide, and more. I found that most of the characters were very relatable, and it was interesting to see how they interacted with one another. For instance, I especially enjoyed Keziah's conversations with Lillian, who seemed to serve as her voice of reason and offered some witty comments to the reader. Like others have mentioned, I would have liked to see more development with some of the story's antagonists, such as Jezebel or Moore. Though I liked the storyline with Moore and Keziah, I felt that it maybe needed some more closure (which would hopefully involve Moore receiving punishment or guilt for his actions). In addition, the plot was very easy to follow and entertaining. I liked how it focused on different storylines instead of one basic plot, showing a variety of conflicts Keziah faces at her school. There was a lot of imagery that helped establish the different settings, such as the horror of the hospital. The vivid descriptions of the pregnant girls and the malnourished baby created a visual of the setting that helped the reader understand Keziah's fear and discomfort. One suggestion that I have would be to make the pacing a bit slower towards the end. There are many dramatic moments that occur at the end of the story, like Keziah's pregnancy and HIV scare. Since these moments of the story are very significant, I would maybe add more chapters focusing on them so that the reader can fully experience the intensity of them.
ReplyDeleteI know many others have mentioned this, but the pacing within the second half was a lot faster than in the beginning. At first I enjoyed that the story was picking up, but towards the end it felt almost as if big plot points were stacked on top of each other. It made the ending seem very sudden. However, overall I liked “Freaky Freedom”. It balances interesting plots and characters in a setting that many people are familiar with: school. I was not expecting the way this book ended, but it certainly kept me interested. While I disagreed with the pacing, the final chapters enforced the last lines of the story. Freedom has as much potential to be great as it can be dangerous. Although I did not have much of an opinion on Lilian in the first reading, I liked her a lot more in this section. She does not let Keziah make excuses for not using protection. Based on the first half of the book, I did not think Lilian would be as supportive and a positive figure to Keziah as she turned out to be. There was no indication or reason that her attitude seemed to change, so I wished there was more backstory from Lilian.
ReplyDeleteI found "Freaky Freedom" to be effective as a cautionary tale—tackling some of the heavier topics in a readable style for teens. The author's role reversal of Keziah and Lillian in the second half of the novel, with innocent Keziah now breaking rules which Lillian would never, is a paradox that demonstrates the need for knowledge and education to accompany freedom. Lillian took the voice of the author when speaking about a woman's right to her body, which was likely one message of the book. In terms of comparing and contrasting cultures, I was wondering what the stigmas are surrounding teen pregnancy in Ghana? At the beginning of the book, the students were receiving education on the topic when religious adults intervened—do religion and conservative elders often prevent teens from being informed? How much help do teen girls who become pregnant receive and how easy is it for them to continue their education afterwards, like one of the schoolgirls in the novel?
ReplyDeleteLike any book, there were both positive and negative aspects of Freaky Freedom. For what it is, I thought the book was good. It’s an engaging story that makes for good young adult fiction. It serves as a cautionary tale for teenagers about issues that could easily play into their lives. It’s a story which any student, especially one from Ghana I imagine, can find pieces to relate to. I think the characters were strong, there were many different and interesting personalities but the book did not become too crowded. It was an interesting window into the culture of Ghana that I may not otherwise have been exposed to. As far as pacing goes, it was usually smooth but there were a couple things I would change. First of all, I feel like the beauty pagent should have been a bit more fleshed out. There was a ton of build-up to the event and everyone was excited and then the actual contest only took about two pages. Another minor pacing problem I had is there a few places where one chapter ends and the next begins but it’s in the middle of the same conversation or event. I suppose this could just be a matter of opinion, but usually when I see a chapter ending, I expect it to be the end of one “idea” and then a new one will begin with the next chapter.
ReplyDeleteHaving finished the book, I feel the story was interesting and certain elements stood out that I would like to hear more about. Overall, the story tells an interesting series of events. One of my favorite moments was Keziah’s nightmare. Keziah’s discomfort was tangible in these scenes and the gruesome image of pregnant girls being taken into a room and not coming out alive felt very real and disturbing. The fear Keziah felt was mirrored in me. I enjoyed reading certain parts of the story that felt this way, a clear view into Keziah’s perspective. The character of Moore and Keziah’s experience with him was engaging to read about. He was a character that might have caused distrust at the start, though could still be possessing genuine kindness. This is very quickly revealed to be untrue, and I think the pacing in this reveal was well done, as it mirrored Keziah’s fast-paced feelings. She is confused by Moore’s kindness, and surprised by everything after, each succeeding moment seeming to move too fast until the weight of what has happened finally settles. It was as if I could really see the experience with Moore through Keziah’s eyes. Two characters I wish has been elaborated on were Lilian and Shaftiya. I felt the implied dynamics that Keziah had with the two girls was an interesting subject. Several times Shaftiya is able to forgive or ignore Keziah’s dismissive attitude toward her, and we also see Lilian nearly losing her temper with Keziah multiple times. Keziah seems to struggle between the two, dismissing her own peer as she tries to mature beyond her years, while not quite being able to reach a comfortable relationship with the older Lilian. I would have liked to learn more about Keziah’s feelings on her two friends, as well as their feelings on her. I felt that towards the end, the story became very fast paced and certain subplots were overshadowed by others that did not feel as important. I thought the beauty pageant plot could have been shortened to accomodate for more detail on Keziah's pregnancy and HIV scare. For someone trying so hard to mature, she seems to deal with something beyond her emotional capacity in such a short time, that her feelings relating to this would be important to explore in as much detail as possible.
ReplyDeleteI found this to be an interesting read as it vastly differed from what we've previously been reading. An integral part I though shaped this reading was that the target audience is greatly different. Having this intended to be read in Ghana, I feel that a lot of the descriptions of the private education experience and social interactions differed from personal experience making it seem like a much more foreign story line. In that way, though, I thought that the genuine description of the experiences of the main character were well chosen as the descriptions of sex education and her moving to a new school were well depicted. The only aspect which confused me was the change in pace throughout the text. In the beginning of the book, the plot takes everything slowly but in the latter portion when the pageant takes place, the suicide and quickened pace struck me a bit oddly as I didn't anticipate such a quick jump in pace. Overall, while I didn't connect with the text personally, I enjoyed reading it as I found it interesting to view this part of life from the view of people growing up in Ghana.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed the novel and I found that it had some really valuable takeaways. Freedom is great, but as the novel shows, to much freedom too quickly can have major consequences on young people’s lives. Keziah had her first taste of freedom when she enrolled in the boarding school and then it seemed that in no time, she was having a pregnancy scare, getting mixed up with Moore and having a brush with HIV. All of these things could have changed her life for the worse and showed how dangerous freedom can be. For me, it was a glimpse of reality as I look forward to college. As it is, I have a lot of freedom at home already as my parents are not super neurotic and fixated on my every move. But, in college I will be on my own and will have almost unlimited freedom. With this freedom, I’ll have to be careful and make sure not to take it too far.
ReplyDeleteAs far as characters go, I am a big fan of Lilian. She was such a genuine friend to Keziah. In high school, it is incredibly important to have a friend you can trust with anything. It helps make every situation better. Laughing, crying, eating, all are better with friends and I liked how the value of genuine friends is a universal theme.
From reading the other blog posts, I can see a lot of people had problems with the books pacing. For me, it was not a big deal. Infact, I think the fast paced second part of the book was great. The quickness is sure to keep kids engaged and turning the pages.
- Anna Higgins
Overall, I thought this story had both positive and negative aspects. I have to admit that for the majority of the story I was annoyed with Keziah and her naive personality. She kept trying to act so mature, but could not see any of the consequences for her rash decisions, and then reacted very dramatically to those consequences. When she first met Moore and he paid her school fees ‘without expecting anything in return,’ the fact that she genuinely believe that was the case just shocked me. She honestly did not understand any of his intentions until after he acted on them, and she was very surprised by what he did. For a large part of the story, she seemed like a girl with absolutely no common sense who made rather stupid decisions. However, given her background and the life that she grew up with, the way in which she acted is not very surprising. While she really did not have any sort of common sense or understanding of social cues, she grew up isolated in a household where she only really knew of her parents beliefs. This did not prepare her well for life. While yes, too much freedom can be a bad thing, if someone is informed about the world and understands how to live in society, then they will still be able to conduct themselves in a smart manner, rather than making some interesting decisions. Despite this, I still found this book to be an easy, enjoyable read that was fast-paced and certainly attention grabbing.
ReplyDeleteI really loved this story because it was so intriguing. It definitely kept me on the edge of my seat! I do think it was a little overwhelming with climax after climax but at the same time I really enjoyed it because there was never a dull moment. I also feel like the author put me in Keziah’s shoes when it came to her relationship with Moore. I think that Lilian’s nervousness about the whole thing foreshadowed that Moore would be deceiving, but if it wasn’t for that I too would have thought Moore to be a nice guy. So when Keziah’s devastating news hit her I felt so bad for her because she had no idea that Moore was such a bad guy. It wasn’t really her fault and it was awful how one thing came crumbling down after the other. Also, after reading about this I was kind of in disbelief, which is funny because things like this actually happen to young girls in real life, and lives just get ruined by one mistake. So this book definitely had a great message and makes the reader think.
ReplyDeleteKeziah had a really close shave.
DeleteAnd speaking of close things, I thought you were going to beat me. Congratulations!
DeleteOverall, I really enjoyed reading Mr.Pomary’s novel and it truly opened my eyes. Prior to reading the novel, I never really explored works written by African authors and I rarely explored authors with non-prominent novels. However, it was truly interesting to read a novel written by a Ghanaian author and to understand the similarities and differences in the writing style. In terms of the plot at hand, I found it fascinating to follow Keziah’s life and her freedom when she enrolled in school. The plot was easy to follow and kept me entertaining throughout. The only thing I had trouble with was the pacing of the novel. Typically texts I have read have not moved so fast, so it was different to read a text like this. It was easy to follow initially but everything later takes a quickened pace towards the end.
ReplyDeleteIn the second part of "Freaky Freedom" I believe that there is another attempt to bring to light the importance of natural and inner beauty through the school pageant. But while the patron confirms that intelligence is key, I feel that his message is missed and disregarded when it competes with the rivalry between the upper and lower class men, and that Elise denied this idea, considering the judging and staff is made mostly of men. I also think that the whole cheating scandal clouds the importance of intelligence, because they happened to cheat on the question portion, which specifically relied on knowledge. I feel that the audience never really gets to see the resolution of junior winning a senior's title or any deeper level of Jezebel and her dislike of Keziah.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was ironic that Keziah knew well enough to take herself to a clinic to get tested for HIV, but had assumed a "negative" result was also a negative outcome. I feel that in America, specifically in Andover High School, theres a big emphasis on being safe and using protection, but condoms were not questioned about once in Keziah's story. I felt bad for Keziah, she has so much faith in Moore, convinced he was different from all the other men she had heard about. Her story about losing her virginity to Moore moves very fast, and is very vague, as if she had no control or say in the situation. When Lillian asks if she was raped, Keziah is at a loss of words, as if she's in denial, or doesn't really know. However as an audience we know that she had initially wanted to leave and move away from Moore's embrace before she went to bed.
The fast pace of "Freaky Freedom" ensured captivating the reader, as the suspense was also built quickly, but sometimes I felt that meant certain parts of the story are left out or rushed through, like the relationships between Keziah and Jezebel or Keziah and Moore, which to me were unfinished. However I do know that their is a sequel in the works that could resolve these.
This story was quite out of the normal. Keziah's experience during the pregnancy scare and HIV scare were things American girls might experience, but the way she experienced this was definitely different than the stories I have heard. Her nightmare was interesting as well, since it really solidified her religious outlook. I feel bad for her, for trusting people that shouldn't be trusted, and doing things she didn't really want to do. Overall, I enjoyed Shaftiya, for being a loyal and the only girl that's really there for you. Keziah's ignorance upset me, but I know it really was her just being too sheltered. The pacing is kinda all over the place, and I wish the events didn't seem so scrambled. It's a really good idea and plot, but the execution should be revised.
ReplyDeleteReading “Freaky Freedom” was a far different experience than reading any other work I have read so far in all of my high school years. All other works I have read are written by established authors and well-known names, but “Freaky Freedom” was self-published. I enjoyed reading this from a very different perspective, where the book is not entirely complete. The fast pacing in this half of the book made it very easy to ready, and I found this book was one of the more easier to reads works we have read in class. I enjoyed reading through the relationship between Lillian and Keziah. At the end of the first half, it looked as if they were going to drift apart. But, to my suprise, throughout the rest of the book, they only grew closer to each other. I found that the thing I took away from this the most was learning about culture in Ghana. I thought the differences in the schools between us and kids in Ghana were interesting to see as despite these differences, I still connected with some of the students at times. Overall, I enjoyed “Freaky Freedom” and the plot that was fairly easy to follow, while learning about lots of cultural aspects for kids growing up in Ghana.
ReplyDeleteWell, I have some serious whiplash. Honestly a very intense read as far as the last couple chapters, but a good one. Honestly the story is very good and the contrast of this naive childhood life at school, worrying about stolen money, beauty pageants and texting the boy you like, to this violent and unstoppable reality of being an adult and having to cope with things like sex and the potential consequences of it, it’s very powerful. The only real problem I had with the story was that at the time the major theme of this comparison gets lost in the dragging moments like chasing down Jezabel to switch out the question or meeting with Gonjur about the stolen money really distract from what is really valued in Keziah’s life. That’s not to say Keziah doesn’t value the time she spends with her friends and in her misadventures around the school, but from the way it's describes it seems that Moore and Keziah's infatuation with growing up seem to consume her day to day life leaving a lot of the other stuff as an afterthought. As the Keziah is the main character and it is all centered around her experience, sometimes it felt like scenes were just filler while we were also missing some intimate and potentially really essential moments between Keziah and Moore that would have made the ending even more impactful. One particular scene that really hit me was when Keziah saw the teen mothers when going to see Moore, it really foreshadowed what was to come. Yet I felt that her emotional process was a bit rushed during the aftermath of her and Moore having sex. Though later it is specified that it wasn’t rape, to me the sex scene read very much like a rape scene where she was trying to slow things down and be accountable for herself, but Moore coerces her into doing something she isn’t completely understanding. I feel that her processing this out after the fact and leading up to her discovery of the false pregnancy could be very psychologically telling. At one point it’s mentioned that many girls have sex time and time again without consequence, but somehow after one incident Keziah was being punished, I think the contrast of her not being entirely sure of her actually have wanting to do it and then being punished for something she didn’t entirely want in the first place could give some insight into her mindset and where she’s coming from with her family and what not. I also felt the nightmare was really incredibly done, showing how she felt as a potential teen mom, singled out by society and, in the process of giving birth, having her body harmed by the man she trusted and loved. I did wish there was more to the whole prayer thing, perhaps it’s the cultural difference, but I felt that this was a very sudden way to bring in religion and to have a scapegoat for Keziah’s actions like she is absolved of all responsibility and guilt because she was not pregnant or HIV+. Frankly, I think this could potentially be interpreted as fearful of sex and, in that case, I wouldn’t think Keziah, or any person in her situation, got any lesson out of the experience. I think really it should be a question of being safe and responsible for your own body and action rather than making a mistake and praying the consequences away. I felt the use of suicide was a very packed symbol, like again Keziah is attempting to escape because of a mistake she made, which I really feel is more a problem with the people surrounding her, like her father, telling her that, because she had sex, she is not even worth living to the point where she felt she needed to kill herself. Altogether, that was a lot to take in and a lot of movement from adult to juvenile in an extreme way. Overall I really enjoyed the book.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading Mr. Pomary's novel, Freaky Freedom. Unlike other novels we'd read throughout high school, I think Mr. Pomary did a very good job making his novel relatable and realistic to my current generation. In my opinion, one of the coolest parts of the book is how similar the teenagers in Ghana are to teenagers here. Our own high school deals with many similar problems, involving stealing, cheating, bullying and safe sex. I think the novel highlighted these themes well, and I liked how Mr. Pomary did not shy away from these themes and sugarcoat them. Although these themes were all combined into the novel, at times it was difficult to keep up with the exciting storyline. I think all of the ideas included were great, but more elaboration on certain parts would've helped the novel flow better. Overall, I think its really cool that we had this experience. Learning about the world around us and gaining a more worldly view excites me as I hope to travel to many different countries in my lifetime. Meeting an author from another culture was exciting and eye-opening and I love forward to speaking more to Mr. Pomary today in class.
ReplyDeleteI agree! I also liked how Mr. Pomary wrote about themes (that we may be uncomfortable talking about with our classmates) in a genuinely relatable way. It is interesting to be able to feel a connection between yourself and another students in a completely different part of the world
DeleteYes I did enjoy the story but I did not feel like it had a spectific ending. The pacing was okay and I liked most of the characters except Moore. I liked how it showed a very realistic life of a teen dealing with bullying, HIV and sexual activity. But some of the decision she made was questionable. I enjoyed the relationship between Keziah and Lillian. Me personally don't really relate to some of these problems but I do relate to bullying because I was bullyed when I was young.
ReplyDeleteEven though I've never been bullied in my life, I understand that it's not cool. I explained this in great detail, back in November.
DeleteI thoroughly enjoyed this novel. There were many interesting turn of events that happened in this novel. To be quite honest, I didn't think that Keizahh would meet Moore again and development a romantic relationship because Keizah has always been very studious for her character and think being able to see through that characteristic is good. As for the pace, I thought it went by pretty quickly and should have more detail into the storyline. As I was reading this novel, I found that some of the pregnancy culture in Ghana isn't so different than it is in America. Having the fear of being pregnant without any protection can be frightening for many women out there, especially when they don't want to get impregnated. The novel depicts a realistic scenario of what would happen if a women in Ghana was thinking she got pregnant. Though I don't think that in America we often use rat poison to commit suicide from stopping a pregnancy, we do offer other contraception after someone has unprotected sex. I do feel bad for Keizah for wanting to commit suicide after she thought she got pregnant because it goes to show that in these countries, they don't provide many contraception for men and women compared to other countries who do. It made me think about the bigger of how this happens everyday in Ghana and other countries that can't provide much.
ReplyDeleteOverall the story was really enjoyable to read, there were some sections in the passage where the passing felt a little bit off and could be slowed to better fit the whole of the story. The section where Keziah goes to Gonjor’s room felt very rushed and segmented but everything falls back into a good pace shortly after. The culture in their school was very different from our own, the guards watching over students, the strange relationships with teachers and the lack of education on sex overall. If Keziah went to my school or most schools here in the U.S. I feel as though most of the issues she had could have been avoided. She could have almost avoided the pregnancy scare all together if she had been more educated on sex, and her HIV test would have proved to be less scary as she would have known she didn’t have HIV.
ReplyDeleteAs other students have said, I enjoyed the second half of the book more than the first. The plot really picked up its pace and went in an unexpected direction. This book gives an intimate look into Keziah’s life and how she reacts to her new experiences, her life growing more complicated as the story unfolds. In the beginning, Keziah is overwhelmed with her new life, fascinated with concepts that are overlooked by Americans. She is naive, and it is this naivety that changes her life direction completely. It felt as though one moment she was an innocent young girl trying to navigate her new school, and then suddenly she is dealing with a pregnancy and HIV scare. She is unable to deal with these mature issues in a reasonable way because she is ignorant and wasn’t taught how to. This is shown at the beginning of the book when the students are in sex education. It seems as though they aren’t taught much, considering how taboo the subject is. I understand that this book was written from the perspective of Keziah, but I wish that we learned more about her friends, fellow students, and family to strengthen our understanding of her character. I would specifically like to have gotten to know Gonjor’s, Lillian’s, and her father’s backstory more in depth. As an American student, it was interesting to read about Keziah’s experiences going to school in Ghana. I was confused by some parts of the book, for example when Keziah refers to Lillian as her mother or her never seeing a mall before. I also wonder if the other students are as sheltered as Keziah, or is the way she acts based on how she was brought up.
ReplyDeleteOverall, I would say that I enjoyed the story. The second half was definitely more exciting, as unexpected details arouse and this lead to some unanswered questions. Keziah’s character transformed as she was exposed to more and more freedom. We saw a personality shift and it occurred quickly. The novel incorporated characters that were mysterious. When reading about Moore, I was unsure about his character, as his intentions were unclear. Later, we find out that he was not a good person and the author’s use of discovery of a person made the novel all the better. It hurt Keziah that she thought she has HIV and was carrying Moore’s child. It surprised me that she came close to killing herself as a result of all of her struggles. Keziah also did not seem to know much about HIV or the thought of pregnancy. This makes me wonder about how educated they are on these issues. Africa is known for having a serious HIV problem yet Keziah did not seem to know how to protect herself. In the United States, we learn about these issues in health class and are educated on the ways to prevent. At Andover high, it is extremely uncommon to know anyone who is HIV positive. However, this is probably not the case where Keziah is from. This makes me question the quality of their health education. They have a more prevalent problem of HIV positive people, yet they are being educated less on the issue. The pacing in the first part of the story versus the second was very different, as the novel began slow and somewhat eased the readers into the plot. During the second half, things felt a bit rushed and it left me feeling confused on some parts. I expected more of a character development, but this did not seem to happen. A question that I have is do teachers get in trouble for having inappropriate relationships with students?
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ReplyDeleteOverall, I did really enjoy Freaky Freedom because I like how the plot was unique and you never knew what to expect as the reader. I think in the end Keziah was a very different character then she was when she first entered the school. I felt that once she was nominated for the school pageant there was a shift in her character.When we read the first section everyone had the feeling that Moore was going to play out badly for Keziah but I was so surprised that she ended up having a pregnancy scare and thought she was HIV positive. I would have never expected that from Keziah and the way that the experience was described kind of left the reader on edge. When Lilian asks Keziah if she was raped she was almost at a loss of words and didn’t want to admit what had happened to her.
ReplyDeleteI thought that at some points the pacing was quick and could use more developing but at points like the pageant I liked the way it flowed. The school culture is quite different from experiences over here. For example, her whole innocence and lack of education on sex and HIV ended up being her biggest problem. While Keziah was well educated in other subjects of school, these topics were way out her comfort zone which then lead her to make irrational decisions. In health class, however, we learn about sex education and the ways of preventing pregnancy, which is something Keziah never got to experience.
I enjoyed the story. I thought the ending went by very quickly. Keziah having sex with Moore, thinking she's pregnant, thinking she had HIV, and trying to kill herself went by so quickly it was hard to roll with the punches. The ending was also a bit sudden for me. I would have liked to have read more about her starting to understand what had happened, maybe making a resolution to go back to the way things were before... I'm not sure. But other than the pace I thought the book was very good. I liked the characters a lot, and now I kind of want to read the second one.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the book, I can say that I enjoyed the story and had an easier time relating to the culture. The second half presented many surprising events with the transformation of Keziah’s character. The environment that she is in allows for her growth to be present. It seemed that she regretted the transformation when she had the HIV positive scare. She was never given the proper knowledge concerning the topic of HIV. It felt like such a quick transition to that. We, as readers, were unable to be exposed to how Keziah was before. I liked the drama many times and the quick plot, but I wish there was more development into the drama. I appreciate reading this in Lit and being exposed to another culture through literature during class. I cannot wait to possibly read the sequel!
ReplyDeleteSimilarly to many of my peers, I also really enjoyed the second half of this book. It had many twists and turns that I didn’t see coming and it kept me very entertained throughout. I think that the suspense that was incorporated into the second half is very important, especially in young adult novels, because it always keeps us reading. That being said, one thing I would note is the pacing of the end. Although the final events of the book were all very intriguing, it seemed that something different was always happening and sometimes it was hard to keep up with whatever Keziah’s current problem was. Something I might add would be longer explanations or more detail about Keziah’s situation in order to emphasize the importance of the last section of the book and the meaning behind it. I think it also would have been nice to see more of Keziah’s relationships develop, especially with characters like Moore or Jezabel. However, this book strays from sugarcoating very serious issues that can affect teenagers in Ghana, the United States, and throughout the world in general which I think contrasts greatly from many books that I’ve read with a young adult target audience. I think it’s important for adolescents to be aware of things like teen pregnancy, STDs, etc., that can affect them and not avoid talking about them because of the stigma that surrounds them.
ReplyDeleteI definitely enjoyed Freaky Freedom. It kept me intrigued at all times because of the fast pacing. At times it was a lot to keep track of as I felt like the second half of the story was going at high speed. I personally felt a little confused about why the part about her losing her money was included and took up so much of the book because when I reached the second half It just felt slightly unimportant. I think Mr. Pomary did a great job in the character development department. The contrast of Keziah and Lillian really made for a fascinating duo. And Keziah’s ignorance of real-life issues really opened my eyes to the lack of education and experience so people have along with the value and power of my own freedom. I think because of how I’ve been brought up and American Culture the message of freedom being a bad thing was slightly off-putting. I believe if Keziah had the education about these things that American students due to the story would have good very differently.
ReplyDelete-Kathryn
DeleteAs many other people have mentioned, I was struck by the fast pace of the second half of the book. While I found the first half to be slower and less captivating, it felt like everything in the second half happened very quickly. I preferred the faster tempo because it kept me on the edge of my seat. However, I wish the author would have added more context to this part of the book in between events. For example, in the first half, they talked about sex education and highlighted the stigma around it. I wish they would have talked more about the lack of education in the second half to bring a deeper meaning to Keziah's situation. I think the author was so focused on grabbing the readers attention that he may have missed some valuable opportunities to delve back into the culture and symbolism. Overall I really liked the book because of how much it differed from what we normally read in school. However, at the same time, it was similar to things we have read in the way that it addressed culture and allowed us to make comparisons to the way that we live in America.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this story. I liked seeing a similar execution of life of my own but in a different culture. I think most of the characters in this story were very well suited and each of them played the correct role in this story. To me it felt like this second part of the book had a lot more content in it. Switching between the first part and the second seemed as though I was reading a different book. I feel like this book is a very good start to the second book.
ReplyDeleteOverall I enjoyed reading this book and thought it was really fascinating. It provided a message at the end of the story and the whole book just really teaches us teenagers to be more cautious in life and to let us know that there are always consequences to our actions. I think it was an effective book and could teach people new things that they haven’t known before and how to avoid being stuck in situations like Keziah was in. The author Denice Yao Pomary really portrayed how if you are given too much freedom it can take a toll on you life in a very negative way. In a way though you should still be given freedom or you might go through what Keziah did. Since she was completely secluded in her house living under what her parents rules and only THEIR beliefs, that did not prepare her for reality and what actually happens in the real world. I would have to agree with the majority of the people and say that the pacing wasn’t my favorite. It started out a bit slow which kinda bored me, but then escalated so fast near the second half. His whole plotline and idea for the story is quite riveting and entertaining I just feel like if he added more to the story and got it edited by someone that spoke English as their first language his story would be a big hit!
ReplyDeleteOverall, I enjoyed the story of “Freaky Freedom.” The characters, such as Keziah, appeared to go through a change in characterization, even though it was at a much faster pace than usual. She began to gain confidence and started to try new things, even though it was out of the ordinary for her. I was surprised by how fast the events of this section unfolded and did not expect for them to happen. I think that while the pacing was fast, it did not take away from the story or the message behind it, and I was still happen to enjoy it. Something I was curious about was the sex education they received in Ghana and how effective it is. While Keziah was given a presentation, she doesn’t not seem to absorb or understand the information, as seen later in the novel. In the United States we go through sex education classes in 3 grades, starting at age 12. Is what we see in the novel the extent of the sex education they receive?
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