An interesting look at life through the eyes of an active schizophrenic. That also makes it hard to read at times. Definitely for older teens not because of subject matter or language, but because the narrative is challenging.

Jason is an "alphabet". He is schizophrenic and likes to go by the name "Freak"; his best friend Derrick is "Drip" is ADHD and his other friend, Sunshine, is selectively mute. They stick together and try to protect each other from the kids in school who give them a hard time. Jason lives with his dad, who is fairly understanding of his limitations, and sees his mother when she is not deployed in the military. When Sunshine goes missing, Jason is understandably upset, and just wants the authoriti More...

Full review on Reader's Dialogue: http://readersdialogue.blogspot.com/2...

Let me start with saying that Susan Vaught is a psychologist - and after reading this book, I'd recommend her to anyone I know! She obviously gets people with these illnesses - the descriptions of Sunshine's selective mutism and Drip's ADHD just sound so right, like she gets to the heart of how they think. And that is, of course, overshadowed by the way Freak is written.

Even though the entire story happens over one 24-hou More...

Special Ed students Freak, Drip, and Sunshine are alphabet kids, known by their respective letters – ADHD, SCZI, SM -- that stand for their diagnoses. Jason, a schizophrenic, has been called “Freak” his whole life by the voices that judge him, those living inside and outside his head. He even calls himself “Freak” to take ownership of the derogatory moniker and empower himself against his world of nightmarish visions and self-doubt. When Sunshine disappears after school, suspicion is placed on F More...

Freaks Like Us was a great read. I recommend it. The story follows an hourly account of the search for a missing girl through the eyes of a young schizophrenic nicknamed "Freak." Freak and the missing girl, Sunshine, are two members of a threesome who refer to themselves as "alphabets" because of the acronyms of their various diagnoses. Freak is an SCZI, Sunshine is SM (selective mute), and third member, Drip, is ADHD and ADD. Best friends since the age of six, the three teens are currently scho More...

‘Freaks Like Us’ by Susan Vaught was a book that demanded my attention just by its complex yet scarily simplistic front cover. It was one of the newer novels purchased by the school for the school library, and because I thoroughly enjoy getting my hands on new things, I loaned it out for some light reading. During that time, I also had a Jodi Picoult book loaned out and because I directed all my attention into trying to finish it, I never got around to starting Freaks Like Us until about two wee More...

After falling in love with Del Hartwick in "Going Underground" I was anxious to read another book by Susan Vaught. I was not disappointed. It's a fairly short book and an easy read. It took me a few pages to get into it, but about a third of the way in it became a page-turner I couldn't put down. I couldn't wait; no, that's not quite right. I needed to know what happened to Sunshine. I had to know. Freak (Jason) is such a lovable guy, and his plight just broke my heart. I hate everything about b More...

Seventeen-year-old Jason Milwaukee [he's known as Freak] and his best frienda Sunshine and Drip ride the short bus to and from school and are identified as Severely Emotionally Disturbed for various reasons. Jason, who has been identified as schizophrenic, refers to his friends and the other students in special education as alphabets since there are so many letters associated with them. As might be expected, life can be challenging for Jason and the others. Bullies such as Roland and Linden pick More...

Jason Milwaukee, AKA Freak, isn't your average narrator. He's schizophrenic and his observations of the world are interspersed with aural hallucinations. His best friend Sunshine disappeared between getting off the bus and going home, and there's a 24-hour window that's the best chance of finding her. Jason knows her best and thus refuses to take his meds, since they'll make him sleep for eight hours. He's willing to do whatever it takes to find Sunshine. Unfortunately, he might've hurt her. If More...

Freaks Like Us by Susan Vaught is a unique, gripping YA mystery that I highly recommend. Before ALA I had never heard of this book or the author, but saw an ARC at the Bloomsbury counter and picked it up by chance. I'm SO GLAD they were giving these out, because otherwise I might never have read this book.

Freaks Like Us is a mystery about three friends with mental disabilities, and when one of them goes missing, the other two try to find her within the first 24 hours of her disappearance. The bo More...

Jason, Derrick and Sunshine are Alphabets. This is not an official description; they gave it to themselves and others like them. They all have some sort of a mental disability with shortened descriptions (ADHD, MDD, BPD and GAD). Jason is SCZI (Schizophrenic) and hears multiple voices in his head. Derrick and Sunshine have been his best friends since childhood and they are now in the last year of high school.

Jason and Sunshine also have a secret. Sunshine asked him to do something for her on Sat More...

See My Full Review Here: http://www.hippiesbeautyandbooksohmy....

First Impressions: I’ve always had an interest in mental health and I have even considered going to school for psychology in the past. It’s kind of rare to find a young adult work of fiction that revolves around a person’s mental state, but that is exactly what Freaks Like Us promised to have within its pages. I was so excited to start to read this book. The subject matter just plain sounded amazing and I crossed my fingers and hop More...

ARC eBook courtesy of NetGalley.com

Release date: 9-4-12

Jason "Freak" Milwaukee and his friends ride the short bus. They call themselves the Alphabets. They've all been diagnosed with conditions like ADD, ADHD, OCD, ODD, or in Freak's case, schizophrenia.

Freak, Drip, and Sunshine have known each other since before elementary school. They are now in high school and have learned to cope through behavior therapy and medication. They put up with a lot in their daily lives, but at least they have each More...

Jason is a freak, or so that's what everyone tells him. Heck, he's not even called Jason anymore, he's just Freak, an alphabet. An alphabet, you ask? Yeah you know, one of those people who are identified by letters, in Jason's case: SCZI for schizophrenic. Kids like Jason, the alphabet kids, are also known as the short bus kids. Still for Jason, it's not just the special ed classes, no way - see some of those letters in the alphabet, well they can represent violence, so you cannot just stick tho More...

Maybe the easiest way to describe this book would be to say it's a mixture of Gone Girl, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, and Paper Towns.

The book is told in the first person by "Freak" a schizophrenic (SCHIZ) high school senior who is part of the 'alphabets'; kids who ride the short-bus and are in special classes with other kids who have been labeled with a whole host of acronyms.

His best friends are a spastic kid named "Drip" who has fairly severe ADHD and Sunshine who is S More...

Jason suffers from schizophrenia and is one of the "alphabets," students in the SED (severely emotionally disturbed) class at the high school. He's hung with Drip (ADHD) and Sunshine (selective mute) since they started kindergarten and the threesome have a special connection that allows them to accept and help each other. When Sunshine goes missing one day after school, suspicion naturally falls on the freaks, as Jason calls them. The unfolding situation makes the voices in his head become more More...

Wow. I haven't read anything this intense since Trueman's "Stuck in Neutral." Vaught takes us into the mind of a seventeen-year-old schizophrenic as he learns his best friend, Sunshine, is missing and he becomes the prime suspect for her disappearance. The voices in his head tell him he is bad and he hurt her, no he did not hurt her . . .

I appreciate Vaught taking her readers on this journey. Maybe we will become a little more compassionate.

Picked up this new book as it came in the library the More...

Freak, Drip, and Sunshine are best friends, there also alphabets; meaning they all suffer from some sort of psychological disorder. When Sunshine disappears, Freak; aka Jason is thought to be behind it, but Freak would never hurt Sunshine, he cares for her deeply and wouldn't want anything to do with hurting her, but the voices in Freak's head are trying to convince him otherwise.

I enjoyed this book for its realistic writing into the head of a schizophrenic. While I personally don't know anyone More...

3.5 stars

This novel is written is such a way that I think it might actually mirror the mind of someone suffering from schizophrenia. Now, I can’t be 100% certain of that, and I honestly don’t think anyone can be, but the way Jason interacts with those around him and the way he thinks during this narrative sounds like it might be spot on to me. Freaks Like Us gives the reader a very in-depth glimpse into Jason’s mind allowing us to see and understand why it’s so difficult for him to explain his f More...

THREE WORDS: Surprisingly Powerful & Poignant

MY REVIEW: It's rare to come across a YA book that deals with mental illnesses in a way that is sensitive, yet startlingly honest; poignant, yet funny and entertaining, yet very real. Susan Vaught's Freaks Like Us is one of those rare books.

Jason's best friend Sunshine disappears one day after school and Jason is automatically seen as a suspect because of his unpredictable mental illness. But Jason knows that schizophrenic or not, he would never h More...

Best Bits: First off, I think I should just say that I appreciate the uniqueness of the characters in Freaks Like Us. Yes, Jason and his friends have mental disorders, but as Vaught said in my interview with her, this isn't a book about life with schizophrenia. It's a book about friendship, love, and trust. The thing is, I think readers will gain a greater understanding of what it means to be diagnosed with something like schizophrenia. I'm not saying that the exact symptoms Jason experiences ov More...

Jason rides the short bus and is an "alphabet", i.e. someone with an abbreviated disorder. Told from his POV, this is in part a story of a schizophrenic. The most compelling part of the story is the mystery: where did Jason, or "Freak's" friend Sunshine disappear to? Can he trust that he was not somehow involved?

The author does a good job of capturing the voices in Jason's head, but I did not feel involved in his delusions like faces falling off. He had to tell someone about it. I wanted to feel More...

Second try here, since Goodreads ate my first review:>/

Freak (Jason), Drip, and Sunshine are best friends. They're also alphabets, in special programs at school because they've been diagnosed with various disabilities. When Sunshine disappears, Freak becomes a suspect. But he loves Sunshine. He couldn't hurt her--could he? The voices in his head have him confused, though, and he's not positive. The ending of this wonderful novel feels a little bit tacked on, but otherwise, I loved the charact More...

This novel gives us one of the most compelling characters in teen fiction--a young man named Jason who is schizophrenic. He goes to a special class with other "alphabets"--the term they invent for themselves based upon their psychiatric classification.

When Jason best friend Sunshine vanishes, Jason knows that something is terribly wrong, but solving her disappearance will require pushing through all the jangling voices in his head which tear at him and keep him from acting. Not sure what he can More...

I only give a book a five-star rating if I cry at the ending... not necessarily because it's a sad ending, but because the book is over. Man, did I cry at the end of this one. What a story! Jason (Freak), Derrick (Drip) and Sunshine have been friends ever since they all entered special education classes together. They are self-titled "alphabets", kids with various disabilities that have a lot of initials, like ADHD. One day, they all got off the short bus at their stop, and while it should have More...

When Sunshine, one of Freak's best friends from his special education class, disappears, Freak battles preconceptions about his cognitive abilities, prejudice against individuals who are often defined by what others perceive as their disorder, and inner doubts to help find her.

Expressed with honesty and humor, this novel gives readers a look into life for the varying individuals who live with special education specifications. Interestingly enough the main viewpoint character suffesr from SCZi (s More...

A taut, gripping, emotional mystery with a compelling main character whose narration you're not always sure you can trust. Jason is called "Freak" by bullies and also by his friend "Drip"--in fact he and his other friend Sunshine all embrace their "freakiness", considering themselves "Alphabets" for their multiple-acronymed diagnoses such as ADHD (Drip, whose perpetually running nose got him that nickname) and SM (Sunshine is Selectively Mute) and SCZI: that's Jason, he's schizophrenic and hears More...

Wow! This one is going to speak to many teens. How awesome to have three friends, alphabets, be there for one another. The mystery, Sunshine disappearing, and the search for her is a quick hook for even the most reluctant readers. The abuse, bullies, adults making assumptions and not listening or hearing what teens are saying, another great hook. I love that an official can actually be a good guy for a change. Great character development. The only difficulty, for some readers, Jason's voices spe More...

There are things I liked and things I didn't like about Freaks Like Us, but one thing I know for sure - this book is like no other. The writing style is very unique, making the book kind of hard to get into, at first. A lot of the narration is stream-of-consciousness-like, and that combined with Jason's voice causes for some confusing paragraphs. There are parts that don't use punctuation and defy all rules of grammar, and some parts don't even make sense. But after a while, I got used to it. An More...