This was one of the rare occasions that I saw a book recommended in the newspaper after I'd read it. I bought Freaks Like Us because of its central theme of mental illness. Jason (Freak), Derrick (Drip) and Sunshine are best friends. They're all in the special education classes for their various "Alphabets" as they're called. Freak is schizophrenic (SCZI), Drip has ADHD and ADD, and Sunshine is selectively mute (SM). Anyone who has any sort of disorder is an Alphabet, and anyone without just doesn't really understand them. The three trundle along in life, trying to avoid confrontation and bullying as best they can.

Then Sunshine goes missing. Naturally, Freak, as Sunshine's best friend and confidant, is top of the list of suspects. He knows he didn't do it, knows that he would never hurt Sunshine but the authorities find it hard to believe a schizophrenic teen, especially one who can't distinguish between reality and imagination. Even his parents, the Captain and the Colonel, seem to be struggling with trusting him.

Why? Because Freak does know what happened, and he's not saying. Sunshine told him, the Saturday night he was with her before she disappeared after school. She made him promise not to tell anyone, to forget. And he did. The voices in his head are shouting at him and he can't unlock the secret he swore to keep. He's a prime suspect.

Written from Freak's point of view, it's no surprise that Vaught has such a convincing narrative: while she's been writing all her life, she is also a psychologist for young people and bound to know the true behaviour of people like Freak, Drip and Sunshine. Within the narrative, she weaves Freak's internal thoughts, all rushed and without punctuation, as well as the battling voices inside his head.

It can be difficult to read, to glimpse the true toils of a young schizophrenic, and the torture of confusing reality with imagination. As readers, we can only imagine how hard it must be for people like Freak, who find it hard to hold a conversation when everything is distorted - people's faces are melting and the voices are shouting at him.

It's all Freak can do to prove he's innocent, that Sunshine's still alive, without digging himself into deeper trouble, seeming guiltier than ever.

Because of the language as well as the difficult subject matter and upsetting narrative, I would recommend this book for those aged 15 and above. It's well worth a read, to better understand the unstable minds of teenagers with mental illnesses, a topic which is far too overlooked and underestimated.

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