Freak City

“Kathrin Schrocke uses a relaxed, but not ingratiating language to introduce young readers to the world of the deaf. […] Schrocke also vividly illustrates that non-disabled people often consider people with disabilities – of whatever kind – to be intellectually backward. With her novel, she fights against this prejudice in a light and compassionate way.” – letteraturen.letterata.de

“The way Lea is described is one of the book’s strengths. You sense that the girl, who is the only one in her family who is deaf, has not had an easy childhood – but you also realise that the rest of her family have not had an easy time either, because Lea’s deafness has meant that everything in the family life has always revolved around her. It is this complexity that shines through in many places and with which Kathrin Schrocke describes the life of a deaf woman that makes the book worth reading even beyond the plot.” – www.jugendbuchtipps.de

“Kathrin Schrocke tells a deeply touching love story. Most importantly, she has opened up a new world to young people.”– General-Anzeiger

“An extraordinary love story, told with empathy and wit.” – Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung

“Told in the first person by fifteen-year-old Mika with lively spontaneity and disarming humour, Freak City is a sensitive and convincing portrait of teenage life – from the torments experienced by adolescent boys in their obsession with sex to the difficulties of relating to their parents.
Inconsolable after being dumped by his girlfriend, Mika retreats for hours to the solitude of his bedroom. His best mates lure him into town to distract him, where they see an attractive young girl step out into the road without looking, causing a huge lorry to screech to a halt and miss her by a whisker. Soon after, Mika follows his ex to a house called ‘Freak City’, where he overhears her in the bar sniggering about him to her friends. Retreating to another room, he sees the girl who had nearly got run over, playing billiards. Without a word she hands him a cue. An older woman joins them, and starts making hand gestures to the girl, who responds in the same way. Mika realises she is deaf.
Alongside the agonies of teenage emotions in the course of their developing friendship, this captivating book is also a perceptive insight into the isolation experienced by the deaf.” – new books in german