Freaking Fast


Young Adult - Thriller
182 Pages
Reviewed on 06/17/2018
Buy on Amazon

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Author Biography

David Pereda is the award-winning author of eight other novels, including Havana Blues and However Long the Night, as well as the Havana Series of thrillers featuring the dashing Doctor Raymond Peters and the beautiful but deadly Cuban assassin Marcela. He has traveled to more than thirty countries and speaks four languages. Before devoting his time solely to writing and teaching, David had a successful international consulting career with global giant Booz Allen Hamilton, where he worked with the governments of Mexico, Venezuela, Peru and Qatar, among others.
A member of MENSA, David earned his MBA from Pepperdine University in California. He earned bachelor degrees in English literature and mathematics at the University of South Florida in Tampa.
He lives in artistic Asheville, North Carolina, with his youngest daughter Sophia, where he teaches mathematics and English at the Asheville-Buncombe Community College. He loves sports and is an accomplished competitor in track and show-jumping equestrian events.

    Book Review

Reviewed by Deborah Lloyd for Readers' Favorite

The first line of this novel grabs your attention: “The year is 2066….Today I’m going to kill the love of my life.” It is Alexandra Martin’s sixty-third birthday, and she has the gun and a plan. Alex has always been a mathematical whiz, and she reminisces about her middle school years, when she had to find a sport to be considered for an elite high school. She joined the track team, working hard to eventually find success. Alex was also occupied with three boys in her class – Xavier, Andrew and Vitali. Her widowed father and Uncle Carl provided support and needed encouragement. Author David Pereda has written a fascinating, engaging fictional work in Freaking Fast. Through building a foundation of adolescent relationships, to fast-forwarding fifty years later, with the culmination of Alex’s decision to kill someone, this is an unique adventure thriller story.

The main plot in this book is unlike any other, truly one of a kind. Additionally, the writing flows easily, and it is rich in detail. The author depicts teenage angst in 2016 well, and his description of life in 2066 is interesting and thought-provoking. The range of characters is certainly diverse, and each one is developed well. There are several characters – such as the family from Mississippi, Alex’s father, Uncle Carl – that add an element of mystery and adventure to the plot. The final chapters of Freaking Fast by David Pereda are full of surprising twists and turns. This is a creative and intelligent read!

Ruffina Oserio

Freaking Fast by David Pereda is a fascinating thriller featuring strong and memorable characters, the story of a woman who sets out to kill the love of her life, but why? Freaking Fast is set in the year 2066 in Asheville, North Carolina, and thirty years after the religious war that saw the world divided into six confederations. The story starts with the conflict, the protagonist declaring that she is going to kill the love of her life and that she has already selected the best weapon for the job. She says it’s a premeditated crime and that she is not doing it under any pressure. It is her birthday and the anniversary of their first kiss. Now follow her as she indulges readers with details of her exciting life and sets out to visit the three men she’s loved deeply — Xavier, Vitali, and Andrew. She plans to kill one of them, but will she succeed?

When you create an intelligent character, readers want to see that intelligence come across in the character development and speech, and this author doesn't fail here. Doctor Alexandra Martin, nicknamed Alex, is a medical doctor with a string of successes to her name and three doctorates — one in pure mathematics, one in applied mathematics, and one in quantum physics. Through a fascinating stream of consciousness and reminiscences, she takes readers back through her life, her struggles to get admission into a reputable school, her love life, and the war that claimed millions of lives and her role in it. The story is told in a highly compelling voice. The narrator pulls the reader into the point of view of the protagonist and keeps their attention until the last page. Elements of the story like the setting, the plot, and character are brilliantly handled. Freaking Fast is the page-turner that will keep readers up through the night.

Grant Leishman

Freaking Fast by David Pereda is a young adult novel that thrusts us into the future, reminiscing about today. Alexandra Martin is a successful mathematician living in Asheville, North Carolina, in the year 2066. As she drives her flash robot car to shoot the man whom she describes as the love of her life, she begins to reminisce about her middle school years, her friends, and the day she met the boy who would have such an influence over her life, Ukrainian Vitali Borzov. Back in middle school Alex was your typical nerd; incredibly smart and bright, but equally totally uncoordinated, shy and doubtful about her looks and her personality. Eager to obtain a scholarship to an elite high school, Alex is dismayed when she is told she needs to be a more “well-rounded” teenager if she is to guarantee the scholarship – her high grades will not be enough. She knows she’s a faster runner than her schoolmates so in desperation she decides to give track and field a crack, sprinting in particular. Alex remembers her friends and her time as a rising sprint star, along with her new friends and the impact they had on her life, as she heads over to kill the man she loves more than anything in this world.

David Pereda has produced a fascinating story in Freaking Fast that gives us a peek into what the future might hold, but also spends much time reflecting on the angst and self-doubts that are part of any teenager’s makeup. The characters he creates are typical young teenagers, anxious to prove themselves to their peers, but equally terrified of not being accepted, or of being ridiculed. The author’s style is simple and flowing, as should be the case for a target market of young adults. As anything but a young adult, I still found the story compelling and especially enjoyed the deep and meaningful analysis of how Alex faced her sprinting races and dealt with both success and failure. The author made subtle references to how to deal with perceived “failure”, which I appreciated. I also found the little asides, relating to current events of today both relevant and clever on the author’s part. This was an extremely easy book to read and I can definitely recommend it for not just young adults, but for all those young at heart and especially anyone who tried to follow their dreams as a young teenager. Freaking Fast is an excellent read.