I enjoyed this book, I thought the plot was fantastic and well-done, and it was just a good story. However, I had a lot of trouble relating to the characters and the way the book was written kind of put me off. As high school teenagers, the characters didn't seem realistic to me. They used words and phrases I would expect 30 or 40-year-olds to use. Also, everything was too didactic. In a book dealing with the issues of abuse, I expected a lot of things to be more subtle, especially the emotions of the characters, but they tell you exactly what they're feeling and kind of analyze themselves along with that. I like it when there's mystery to characters' motives and actions and there wasn't any mystery with these ones. All in all, it was a good read, but it just wasn't fantastic. ( )

I enjoyed reading this book, but there were a series of issues I had with it that would preent me from telling anyone that it's worth buying. It took me awhile to figure out that there were two characters narrating at different times. That might tell you more about me than the writing, but there you go. I wasn't a fan of any of the characters, which is a big problem for me. I would recommend this book for a quick read from the library, but save your money for other things. ( )

This is a book my wife was reading so she could do a review. I ended up picking it up while we were on vacation. It was really good. It definitely wasn't what I expected. The narration came straight from the characters (more than one, hint, hint...) and it was really a good presentation of the story. ( )

A new favorite. This book was really entertaining while presenting a serious topic. It had hilarious moments, tense moments, sweet moments and striking characterizations. ( )

Wow! I liked this book and it didn't have my favorite character, Edward, involved. And it wasn't about vampires! Sheesh! I didn't know there were still book written about normal people.

In all seriousness, this book did a really good job of presenting a rough subject. It was appropriately humorous (I do enjoy good dark humor) and gave you an in depth look at the characters. Really good. ( )

I read Meeting Lizzy at the suggestio of a friend. I don't read a lot of contemporary fiction, but it was very good. I enjoyed the entire book from front to back (which is usually my problem with fiction...there's a lot of dead spots usually where nothing interesting is happening and nothing intersting is being said). But this book was NOT like that. It moved so quickly and drew me through the story seamlessly. ( )

oooh. I love this. I accidentally got it early. It says it's not available until Sept something, but Amazon shipped it right out to me. Yeah! I had been told it was one I HAD to read and now I'm the one telling people they HAVE to read it! So fabulous. ( )

Excellent job of telling this particular tale. I wish it didn't need to be told, but I think it does. And I also think that the writer did a very good job of portraying honest reactions and confusion and frustration. There's such a wide gamut of emotions involved in this type of situation. On top of ALL that...it had some truly hilarious moments as well. ( )

Great book. The characters seemed authentic and the recognition of self that was given through the first person perspectives really kept you involved in the story. ( )

I was surprised how easy it was to get caught up in this one...good book. ( )

This book jumped into some pretty serious action immediately on the very first page. It was pretty amazing that it never lost my attention. That's how fast it kept moving all the way through. I felt like I knew the characters somewhere before and couldn't stand to stop reading. ( )

Yeah! Fun new book. I love the cover. That's what got me intersted initially. The mix of girl and not-girly is indicative. It's set in Scottsdale, AZ which is interesting since I know the area. I read the prologue thinking that didn't know since I'd never heard of the author, but I never once thought about walking away from this story. It has wonderful characters presented in a fun, readable, realistic style with a story that I think most of us should hear. ( )

This is fast becoming a journal of all the books my friends loan me...PLUS all the cookbooks that I think are worthy of recommendation. This book was so intense. I had to put it down and take deep breaths a few times before I could go back and get into it again. I usually don't get that involved with my reading, but it just seemed so real. ( )

I'm so excited I finally got my hands on this book. A friend of mine borrowed it from a friend who got a pre-release copy and after hearing about it I had to read it. It's amazing! Great characters and a story that I felt totally involved in right from the get go. I have to admit that I didn't put the book down once. I had to see what was going to happen next! ( )

I can't get over how quickly I got attached to these characters! It made the books so fun to read. The story was totally haunting; I couldn't believe how thoroughly I was drawn into the situations presented. Read it...you'll want to read it over and over. ( )

Fun book. I liked the characters plus it's told about Scottsdale and I know Scottsdale. It has a gripping story and likeable characters. It was fun to read a story about some place that I've been. Once I started it...I had to finish it. And I'm not even that big of a reader. ( )

This book is so poorly written that it is essentially unreadable. ( )

Cy McIntyre works hard to keep himself isolated from the world. Hiding behind his “Freak” disguise, he distances himself from his neighbors, his classmates and, most importantly, from his father. However, Cy’s self imposed isolation slowly comes to an end as he finds himself growing close to Lizzy, the beautiful girl from upstairs who is hiding a dangerous and abusive relationship from her friends and family.

Readers may struggle with the alternating points of view and with some choppy sentence structure in the first few chapters, but the story itself is interesting and engaging. While some details and plot points seemed irrelevant to the overall story, the budding relationship between Cy and Lizzy makes this book worth reading. ( )

This was such a FUN book to read! The author did such wonderful job with the character descriptions. I felt like i personally knew each character and they were a part of my life. She really brought them to life along with their problems. The book addressed the very serious issue of teen dating abuse, but kept in mind who the targeted audience (teens) were and didn’t get too graphic. It was a great book that teens and adults alike will love! ( )

In order to get his dad's attention, Cy McEntire dresses as a "freak." But when he hears the girl upstairs being abused, Cy confronts his neighbor, Lizzy, and her boyfriend. Told in alternating voices, both Cy and Lizzy discuss the complicated relationship between an abuser and the abused. This book will attract teens who are interested in the topic of dating violence and relationships, however, the voices do not ring true and the premise is unrealistic. Full of grammatical errors and choppy sentences, pass on this book unless your teens truly demand more books in this genre. ( )

Cy, out of his freak costume, runs to the apartment upstairs when he hears trouble. He gets way more than he bargains for when he meets Lizzy and her beefy boyfriend. Lizzy and her boyfriend appear to be a high school power couple. But Lizzy is stuck in an abusive relationship, and she is not really sure how to get out of it. As Cy and Lizzy develop their relationship, they try to navigate a way for Lizzy to heal and reclaim control of her life. Absent dads become re-involved in the lives of these teens in a story that is ultimately hopeful and touching. ( )

Cy keeps to himself most of the time, and tries to keep others at a distance, until he meets the girl who lives in the apartment above his. She's one of the most popular girls in school, but her equally-popular boyfriend is secretly abusing her. At first Lizzy won't admit what's happening, but soon she starts confiding in Cy, and they develop a friendship that makes both of them start changing their lives.

The premise of the book is interesting; however, the book itself has a lot of problems. The characters spend too much time in their own heads, and not enough time actually doing things. Some things didn't feel believable, like Cy's relationship with his father and how quickly it changed. The book often veers off into irrelevant tangents, whether a parenthetical aside about some unnecessary detail or, in one case, a three-page discussion of the true meaning of Christianity. Overall, it just doesn't read quite like professional-level writing. The book also doesn't seem to be well-edited – there are many grammatical errors throughout the text. Despite the interesting premise, I ultimately found the book disappointing. ( )

I'm so disappointed with this book--it is very poorly written and looks as if it is self published or computer generated.While i like the concept of a book written from dual points of view--the narrative really lacks authenticity--One voice--purported to be told from the point of view of a male 17 year old, particularly does not ring true, --- no teen ever sees themselves, let alone speaks of themselves as "in disguise" as a freak because i hate my father. In public, Cy goes around dressed like what sounds like a poor man's version of Edward ScissorHands--everywhere, even to school where he is shunned for this by all but one, even stranger, friend...while at home (where he lives alone because his father is always out of town) Cy washes the makeup off his face and wears jeans and t-shirts, so he can be "normal" in secret. It is so contrived it is ridiculous and no teen will ever take this seriously...Domestic violence among teens is a topic of enormous importance and very little is written on it--the subject deserves better treatment than this. Poorly written, unappealing, contrived, contorted and ludicrous storylines such as this one hold the entire subject up to ridicule and actually make it more difficult to get teens to think about this very important topic. ( )

Cy is a freak--at least at school. He spends time in the morning putting on his freak outfit, his freak hair 'style' and his freak attitude. But once he gets home from school, it all comes off. It doesn't really matter anymore because no one will see him anyway--Cy is also a hermit. That is until one day he hears noise in the apartment above his that sounds like someone is hurt and someone else is doing the hurting. Unable to let it go, Cy knocks on the apartment door upstairs. That is how he meets Eliza, who's huddled on the floor, and her boyfriend, Ryan, who is angry Cy is butting into his business.
From this a strange, secret relationship forms between Cy and Lizzy. One that helps Cy let go of the freak and Lizzy get rid of the creep.
I enjoyed this book. The facts about dating abuse sometimes broke into the plot abruptly, stopping the flow of the story, but overall I thought the subject material was well handled and well written. ( )