Freaky Green Eyes
Joyce Carol Oates
 The novel opens with Franky explaining how "Freaky" came into her life. It was the week before her 14th birthday and she went to a college party near the Puget Sound in Washington with some friends from her high school. While there, she met Cameron (a college freshman at the University of South Carolina), who encouraged Franky to drink and tried to rape her. A strong swimmer, Franky used her legs to kick Cameron hard enough to get him off of her. Afterward, Cameron looked at her and said, "You should see your eyes! Freaky green eyes!" Franky, now 15, lives in Yarrow Heights (a suburb of Seattle) with her father, Reid Pierson, her mother Krista Pierson, her younger sister Samantha and her half brother Todd. A sports reporter, Reid had a big contract go through with a TV network and wants to celebrate with his family. Krista, however, goes to an arts and crafts convention in Santa Barbara, California instead, which angers Reid. When Krista returns home, Franky starts to notice the tension between her parents, especially after overhearing them fight. She hears her mom say she does not want to go Reid's work gatherings because she feels like she doesn't fit in with his crowd. In turn, Reid gets mad that Krista isn't fulfilling her role as a wife. Krista starts wearing scarves around her neck and long shirts to cover her wrists and arms, and Franky notices, thinking her mother is hiding bruises. Yet she cannot muster up the courage to ask her about it. Instead, she starts feeling resentful toward her mother, thinking all the fighting was Krista's fault for provoking Reid. Younger sister Samantha worries that Krista and Reid will divorce but both say that won't happen, "now or ever." Slowly, Krista moves out of the house and into a small cabin in Skagit Harbor. She starts by taking her art supplies, then clothes and her dog, Rabbit. Whenever Reid would be home, Krista would live in her cabin. When he'd Reid leave to cover sporting events, she would come back home to be with her children. Samantha would call Krista and beg her to come pick them up so they could all spend time together, but Krista would always say no, saying it was their father's decision. Reid, however, would say the opposite. Samantha's frustration angered Reid and he'd twist her arm to make her quiet, giving her welts. For the Fourth of July, Franky and Samantha go with their father to Cape Flattery to stay with one of his friends. While there, Franky learns that Reid's friend's sons steal animals from a wildlife refuge and put them in cages to make their own zoo. In the middle of the night, Franky releases all the animals. When confronted about it the next morning, she confesses but says she's not sorry. Enraged, Reid grabs Franky and shakes her very hard, stopping only after his friend pulls him away. Later that month, Reid finally lets the girls go down to Skagit Harbor to visit their mother. Franky vaguely remembers the cabin from her childhood, recognizing the fake rooster she had thought was real as a kid. Krista shows them around the property, including a small burrow hidden underneath a rock, but the reunion is cut short when Reid arrives, yelling at Franky and Samantha to pack up and get in his car. When they get in, Reid tells them Krista is having an affair and they should never forgive her for it. After that, Krista tries to call and talk to her daughters, but Reid tells the new housekeeper to forbid it. Twyla, Franky's best friend, tells Franky that Krista calls her to talk about Franky and see how she is. Twyla tells Franky that Krista said, "Don't forget Mr. Rooster!" One night, Franky phones Krista and angrily tells her she never wants to see her again. The next day, she regrets what she said and tries to find her mother's number but can't find it. She had no idea the conversation the night before would be their last. Krista (and her friend Mero Okawa) disappear. The police interview Franky about where Reid had been that night, but Franky says Reid took medication for a headache and slept the entire night. During the interview, she expresses her anger at her mother, only referring to her as "Krista Connor," not "mom." As a result of media attention on the case, Franky and her family move Reid's defense lawyer's house on Vashon Island. While there, the defense lawyer coaches Samantha and Franky, telling them that if Reid would have left in the middle of the night, they would have heard him leave. During this time, "Freaky" tries to convince Franky that something is not right. Franky searches the Internet and discovers that police investigators found "non-human" blood in the cabin, which she concludes belonged to the dog. One night, Franky dreams about her mother's cabin, and in the dream, the fake rooster is crowing. The next morning, Franky skips school and heads towards Skagit Harbor to visit her mother's cabin. She walks over toward the barn and looks into the secret burrow, where she finds her mother's journal, which Krista had kept throughout her separation with Reid. In the journal, Krista writes about how Reid beat and her threatened to kill her. After reading the journal, Franky realizes what her father has done. She also recalls waking up the night her mother disappeared, hearing Reid coming into the house through a door they never use. Franky calls her Aunt Vicky to pick her up and they go to the police station. In a second interview, Franky tells the police the truth, not what she has been coached to say by her father or the defense lawyer. Reid is convicted and sentenced to 50 years-to-life without parole for the deaths of Krista and Mero, whose bodies were found dumped at Deception Pass. Franky and Samantha, in the custody of their aunt, move to New Mexico. * Francesca "Franky" Pierson - The 15-year-old narrator and protagonist that keeps a journal to reflect on the time before her mother went missing. * Krista Pierson - Franky and Samantha's mother and also Todd's stepmother. Her maiden name is Connor (which the name she used to sign her artwork). She had been a TV announcer before marrying Reid. * Reid Pierson - Franky, Samantha, and Todd's abusive father. He had been a famous professional football player before becoming a sportscaster for CBS. * Samantha Pierson - Franky's 10-year-old sister. * Todd Pierson - Franky and Samantha's 20-year-old stepbrother who followed in his father's footsteps and plays college football. * Rabbit - Krista's Jack Russell terrier dog. * Mero Okawa - Krista's gay friend in Skagit Harbor. Reid thought he was Krista's lover. * Bonnie Lynn Byers - Reid's first wife and Todd's mother. She was killed in a boating accident. Reid was the only witness. Her case was reopened after Krista's case was concluded.