Very LeFreak by Rachel Cohn
Book review by Katherine Kuang
Teenagers today probably can’t imagine life without their beloved iPods, their sleek and gorgeous Blackberries, and their humming laptops. A world without the Internet just seems preposterous. Thus, in a dangerous yet apparent way, technology has actually become their lives, and the main character of Rachel Cohn’s latest novel Very LeFreak is the ultimate representation of this idea.
Veronica aka Very (LeFreak) is a free-spirited girl who has a lot going for her: true friends, an aunt who raised Very to fulfill her mother’s dream for her, a scholarship at Columbia University, and a confidence guys find irresistible. Unfortunately, one thing has been luring her away from this seemingly perfect reality: the virtual world of technology. Very has developed an aberrant attachment to her machines: laptop, iPhone, iPod- you name it, and it is disconnecting her from everything that is near and dear, spurring an unhealthy obsession with an El Virus, the one guy she wants to but can’t be with because for all she knows, he may not exist.
Thus, Very is taken off guard when her friends stage an intervention out of sincere concern. Feeling betrayed but at the same time up for a change and perhaps an adventure, she allows them to send her to ESCAPE, a rehabilitation camp for technology addicts (like herself). There, she is at the crossroads between denial and acceptance: Will she jump back into the abyss of electronics that beckons to her or will she stand her ground and discover what is beneath all those gadgets- a girl who wants to make amends and reboot her life back under control?
Very LeFreak is a cleverly written novel by Cohn that is humorous yet emotionally moving. It will strike a chord with the teenage reader who may be all too familiar with turning to technology as a lifeline at times.
-Katherine Kuang
Thanks for the great review!
Sharon Long
Teen Services Librarian