The Freedom Club

by Cindy Vine

‘The thing with being invisible, is that people forget that you are there and they say confidential things you are not supposed to know. It’s a bit like being painted with body paint so that you blend into the surroundings and become one with the background. If you are quiet you cease to exist.’ When Maddie was ten years old her teacher told her class to keep a Thought Journal to record their thoughts. Seven years later and Maddie is still recording her thoughts in her Thought Journal, only now she has withdrawn completely and stopped interacting with others. Why has Maddie become a shell of the girl she once was? What is going on at Rourke High? As Maddie writes down her thoughts, a horrifying high school culture is revealed which will end in a chilling climax that will leave you reeling.

Genres: Fiction

190 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 17, 2018

About the author

Cindy Vine is an author, mother of three kids, with lots of life experiences she uses as an inspiration source to write her books about. She is a teacher and uses her teaching qualifications to travel around the world teaching.

Reviews

[Robyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

You are not good enough.
You are a loser.
You are a freak.
You are fat.
You are ugly.
You should just kill yourself.

“…..words can hurt a lot. Words can hurt for a lot longer than a bruise caused from a stick or a stone. Words can hurt for years. Forever even.”

Words have the power to hurt you if you let them. Kids and teenagers can be cruel and bullying seems to be getting worse every year. When does the cycle ever stop? What makes a bully a bully?

The Freedom Club hits too close to home for many school age children and teens. There are many bullied kids who have no one to turn to. No one to seek help from. You can see it from this story with teenagers from Rourke High and there are many other schools just like this one. Teachers, guidance counselors and principals need to be more aware of what is going on in their classrooms and in their school. There needs to be tougher consequences for bullies such as community service, forced counseling, jail time, and/or being expelled from school.

What I love most about The Freedom Club is it takes a deeper look at students who are bullied, what their home life looks like and what feelings they encounter being bullied. We don’t often always see the different sides of the spectrum. We also don't always see what makes a bully a bully. Sometimes bullies don’t necessarily have the support of their families or come from a happy family. Bullying might be their only way of coping. I am not saying that every bully is the product of a bad family, there are bullies that are just mean in general and get a thrill from putting down others.

It is also sad to say that even parents are bullies. Grown adults behaving like children. You have seen it on the news a mother cyberbullying a fourteen year old girl until the point where the girl commits suicide. How much does your life truly stink that you have to harass a child. You are supposed to be the adult. You should be in jail and never let out.

Principal Timmins of Rourke High is a bully and his two teenage children Sean and Monique are just like him. They are the popular kids at school. They are mean, heartless, and have no care for other people’s feelings. They are the worst of the bullies and the outsiders of their little clique often feel the brunt of their bullying.

A group of students come together to form the Freedom Club. It is a safe place where they can get together and stick up for one another against the bullies of their high school. It is a club where they all watch out for one another and lift each other up.

"The Freedom Club,” Ethan whispers, “That’s what we can call ourselves. Stop the bullying and be free. The Freedom Club,” he repeats a little louder.”

Although the group starts out with the best of intentions they do get a bit carried away with the revenge aspect. Two wrongs do not make a right and why stoop to someone else's level. I can understand why they wanted revenge and to be honest, it felt good seeing it happen. I probably shouldn't be saying that, but I do believe in karma. If I was in the same situation? I hate to admit it, but I would probably do the same.  But, even though I liked that the kids finally stood up for themselves, you still never know what motivates a bully and you never know if the person you bully will have a breaking point and come back and do something very unexpected.  The ending of The Freedom Club is really tragic and it was really unexpected, but you can see what led up to this point.

Here is a short story about me. When I went off to college, I got stuck with the roommate from hell. She was a bully and looked down her nose at me because I was not from the rich part of the state. I am a city girl. I am pretty tough. I come from NJ and us girls are tough here in the city. I may be short at 4’8”, but my mouth is bigger than my entire body. You can’t bully me. I will just laugh in your face and tell you how stupid you look. My roommate tried and learned the hard way that I am not the one to be played with. I have been like this my entire life. In high school, girls said I was weird because I always had a book about serial killers in my hand. I embrace my weirdness and so should you. Never let someone define who you are as a person. Their opinions don’t matter. Just know at the end a bully is going to have a miserable future ahead of them. Karma again.

I do believe that people can change though. If you are a bully. Stop it. That is it. That is all you have to do. Only you can make these changes and learn to be good to people. If you see someone being bullied take a stand. Don’t sit quietly by and do nothing.

The Freedom Club is real, honest, raw and uncensored. Cindy Vine will evoke every single emotion out of you anywhere from anger and outrage to sorrow and understanding. The story, at times, is poetic and deep and it needs to be read slowly to let the words soak in. There is such a powerful message behind this story. Its stories like this that should be absolutely added to middle graders and high schoolers as mandatory summer reading programs. Every child/teen should have this book in their hands. It is a must read.

I would like to leave you with one final quote from The Freedom Club that I really love that has such a deep meaning to me. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

Our stories make us unique. They make us who we are. We’ll carry our stories with us through life. Our stories will make us, break us and ultimately shape us. How we react to different situations is dictated by our stories. Stories matter. Don’t cast them aside or try and bury
them. We can learn from them. Knowing our stories and owning them, means that next time around we have the power to change the ending. What’s your story? How will your story define your future?

[Kate Vocke (bookapotamus) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Is there such a thing as "HeavyLight Reading"? I'd like to nominate that as a new category. This book was just that. A really heavy subject, but light reading that is engaging, and quick. It's a short read as well, and at times feels a bit rushed because of it's length, but the story is there, the feelings are pretty real, and heavy, and I commend Cindy Vine for always writing about things that matter to the her, and things that are important.

The Freedom Club follows A LOT of characters POVS... I tried to count - maybe 11/12?? And they are quick snippets so you are flip-flopping all around between the thoughts of them all, while there are also a few other characters involved in the story, who we don't get into the mind of. It saddens me to look back on my own high school days because HS is rough! It's not an easy time in most people's lives and I can imagine with all the access to social media and the internet and having a camera with you at all times, makes the HS experience even harder in this day in age! The Freedom Club is started as an anti-bullying group - where high schoolers at Rourke High can gather to help, support and engage with each other after a series of bullying episodes and suicides at the school.

The club meets after the most recent suicide of Todd and secrets are uncovered and things begin to unravel as they eventually find out why he took his own life. The group grows, and friendships that would have been unlikely before, start to form, love blooms within the group, and the bullied, become more socially confident. As more and more secrets come out, a plot for revenge is formed and the ending is pretty shocking!

The story goes really fast and you don't have much time to digest it all it's so quick- I think it could be really great if it was longer and more thoroughly thought out, but I applaud Vine for taking a courageous look at bullying and writing something with such a difficult subject.

[Claire Self · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received The Freedom Club by Cindy Vine in exchange for an honest review. I have given this book four out of five stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I really enjoy reading books like this because I find them very close to home in the sense of it being relatable to almost everyone who has lived through their school life. This book covers quite sensitive subjects so don't think that this will be a light, fluffy read. The Freedom Club is raw and honest, which I think was a great way to write this book as you feel a lot of different emotions for each character.
I enjoyed learning not only the names and their backgrounds of the characters from The Freedom Club but also from the bullies too. Having more of an understanding from their side as well doesn't give them the excuse but gives them more of a reason for bullying. It is disgusting when you see adults, fully grown adults bullying people.
I really liked Cindy Vine's writing and thought although it hit hard on topics, it was an easy read because I enjoyed learning about the characters and the concept of the story.
A group of students get together to form The Freedom Club which, to start, is a safe place where the students can talk about their experiences with the bullies and work together to try and make the school a better place for the students to go to. However, things escalate and some of the students get carried away with the plotting of revenge.
Unfortunately bullying is a big part of schools and I don't think there will ever be anything to stop it fully. However, that's not to say people can't change.

[Danalynn Donovan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have nothing but GOOD things to say about The Freedom Club! This was my first time reading this author, and now I want to read MORE of her books! This story is an important topic about bullying in schools that raises questions of what is the right way to deal with these tough situations. This story really makes you think, and it needed to be told. The Freedom Club has a surprise ending and keeps you guessing until the last page. The prose is excellently executed, and the way Cindy Vine delves into so many different personalities by fleshing out each character with their own thoughts, feelings, flaws, and strengths is nothing short of amazing. There are so many characters in this novel, and I am in awe of how Cindy brings each and every one of them to life!

I didn't find anything that I didn't like about this novel! It's a very good read and highly engaging, and a fast read too. I read this in three days, and that's saying something because it normally takes me at least three weeks to finish a novel, due to me being a slow reader and time restraints. The Freedom Club kept me up late at night, and I couldn't put the novel down until I finished it.

Very well done, Cindy! I applaud your writing and your ability to tackle multiple points of view and tough topics with finesse and care, and I look forward to reading more from you!
:)

[Mary Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bullying is a battle in social situations, but in schools it is a devastating part of life for many students on the fringe in some ways. The Freedom Club by Cindy Vine is a quick read about a subject that puzzles adults who may have grown up with 'just ignore them' or some such platitude.

While well written, some aspects of the book make it hard to say it is a YA book for teens as it may touch on subjects and cause reactions that need to be addressed and dealt with in a more counselor-patient type of support system. Numerous backgrounds for the students are dealt with throughout the book, giving more of a face to the students involved. I would like to see a bit further development of the characters and changes over a bit longer time in order to feel more of a complete story. This might be a good book for college students working with middle and high school students at summer camps or tutoring programs I order for them to discuss and be prepared to deal with their charges.

[Brittany · Rating 3 out of 5]

Any form of bullying, gun control, and suicide are all topics that this book tackles. I am glad to see these topics have more light shed on them from every angle. These are all too real in our world and all need more help and resources then we are currently giving.

While this was a very heavy topic for a book, it was a very quick read. It was so quick that is was as if we were just skipping through many of these areas without the ability to dig in more. By the end of this book, it was as if we were in a rush to get to a conclusion. One comparison I made while getting into the second half of this book was that I was reading a Sparknotes Muggle version of Dumbledor's Army righting Umbridge. However, unlike what JK Rowling's superb writing and full-length novel did, this one just flew by major flaws to get to the end.

This would have been much better if the novel took time to develop, spent pages digging in deeper, and had more realistic reactions with the adults in the story.

[Alex · Rating 2 out of 5]

This ya book didn't quite land well for me. The topics discussed in this book are deep and I don't feel like they were appropriate for the audience or not handled well enough to be appropriate for the ya audience. It felt very surface level but you never got to go into what the characters more than that surface level. I wish that I would have liked it better because it had a twist at the end that I thought made it interesting.

A group of students decide to form a freedom club after being bullied. They unite together to help each other deal with their everyday life in school. Things happen and tragedy ensues.

I received a copy of this book from the Goodreads Giveaways.

[Jerilee Wei · Rating 5 out of 5]

Timely, thought provoking, and a must read --

There's a void in the underbelly of schools today when it comes to really talking about the true causes of bullying and group shaming that exists virtually in every middle school and high school in America. The Freedom Club certainly takes the many issues facing children, parents and educators to a higher level of conversation. This book should be a primer for the deeper discussions, decisions, and actions we all need to make in a better understanding that goes beyond training school safety guardians in how to take down shooters.

[Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thought provoking book about bullying and the profound effect it has on victims. Told from several students points of view, this is a book that Middle and High school students should read. It offers hope and potential ideas for students being bullied on how positive way to handle their situation. It may also make a person who bullies others take a look at their own behavior.

[Joan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book should be required reading in middle school. It brings up alot of issues facing our youth today. Very thought provoking.

[Antonia Johnston · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a thought provoking read , on the angst and challenges that teenagers face on a daily basis within the school system. It is a book that will speak to adults and children alike.
The unpredictable ending is brilliant.
Highly recommended.

[Amileigh Gordon]

#GoodreadsGiveaway