The Stereotypical Freaks by Howard Shapiro

Synopsis:
Four disparate high school seniors come together to compete in their school's battle of the bands. Sharing a love for playing rock and roll, the members name the band "The Stereotypical Freaks" because they feel stereotyped by their classmates - smart kid, geek, star athlete and quiet weirdo… when in fact they know they are much more than those labels that have been placed on them.

When one member reveals life altering news, winning the competition takes on more of a meaning to each member. Scared and angry, upset and yet still with a lot of resolve they set out to win one for the good guys… will they?

My Thoughts:

This is the first graphic novel that I have reviewed. When approached by the author I was skeptical that I would enjoy the book, but I am really glad that I took on this one! The playlists provided by the author helped set the tone for each chapter. I love the strong "good morals" aspect strewn throughout the book and became so engrossed in the story that I almost forgot that I was reading this book for review. Without really having something to compare it to, it's hard for me to judge the quality of the pictures. Now, with that said, I do think that they were adequate for the part of the story they were portraying. I recommend this book to anyone who likes a great serious/funny story with a few pictures and songs thrown in ;) (PS...I also HIGHLY recommend reading this book even if you haven't read a graphic novel. You'll be surprised by how easy to read they are ;) )

Author Bio:

I live in Pittsburgh, PA with my wife and two sons. I am the Controller for the Pittsburgh-based Visual Effects firm, Animal Inc., and I have written four children’s books and "The Stereotypical Freaks" will be my debut Graphic Novel. My 2008 book, "Hockey Player for Life", has been the #1 downloaded children’s hockey e-book on Amazon’s Kindle chart since its arrival as an e-book in November of 2011. 

My "Hockey Days" book was the only book featured in the December 2007 Sporting News Annual Gift Guide as a Best Buy Gift for Children. Through a corporate sponsorship program I set up (and maintain), since the 2010-11 season, both of my children’s hockey books have been given to NHL teams (over 2,500 copies to date) for use in their community and educational initiatives. Since 2006 my annual charity raffle, which he matches dollar for dollar donated, has raised funds for several hockey-related charities including the Mario Lemieux Foundation, Hockey Fights Cancer and the Keith and Lisa Primeau Scholarship Fund. 

Stalker Links:

http://www.howardshapiro.net
http://www.twitter.com/hockeyplayer
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Howard-Shapiro/296610707017204
http://vimeo.com/42301172