10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
This one should be read by parents as well as teens, especially those working with abused teens, February 8, 2008
This review is from: Freeze Tag (Point) (Mass Market Paperback)
At the heart of this book is an odd girl, Lannie, who has the ability to literally get people to freeze during Freeze Tag - or any time she wants. Lannie is not a nice girl but I hope you'll feel as I did, oddly intrigued and drawn to this child (as the book opens) and then the teen she becomes.
Lannie loves West but West's heart is drawn to another person, Meghan. That sets up the main plot and tension in this one. I'd argue that this is really only a way to focus on the REAL subject, unwanted or neglected children.
It doesn't take a huge leap of imagination to see the symbolism here between the teen with the lack of empathy, the hunger for love, the evil that seems to rest in her soul...and the detached family that seems to pay little attention to her. But the connection isn't heavy-handed and the author of this book balances that point with some fine characterizations, ones that teens and adults should find compelling.
There are also other aspects of teen life that are clearly delineated. First loves. Being accepted or being an outsider. Happy families and those that simply don't care about their children - or never think of them much.
This book moves along quickly,making it fine for reluctant readers as well as any teen. From the perspective of this adult, I couldn't help thinking about how often we fail our children, intentionally or not. After finishing this one, I went off to find my son and give him an extra hug.
IMPORTANT: In reading other reviews, people seemed to have problems with the ending. I did not. I do understand why it left readers wanting a sequel. I'd make the case that the author wanted the reader to imagine the ending. Some may see this as a cop-out but I saw it as a sign of hope in a book with plenty of darkness.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Metaphor for Our Times, January 30, 2008
This review is from: Freeze Tag (Point) (Mass Market Paperback)
That is not a sparkler Lannie is holding on the cover--it's her fingertip. That is not fire shooting from her fingertip--it is icy crystals. When Lannie plays Freeze Tag, it is really freeze tag.
The other neighborhood children find out late one evening when it is still warm. The point of the game is to "freeze" in position when tagged, the more ridiculous, the better. Only these last minutes of daylight bring a real freeze. Lannie tags them and they are frozen! She leaves them long enough so they know what happened to them, saving Meghan for last to unfreeze. She extracts a promise from West, the older boy to "love me best" when she asks it of him. Of course he promises--he wants Meghan unfrozen!
When he is a senior and Meghan a sophomore, West and Meghan fall madly in love with each other. Giving them just a few weeks to get a rhythm going in their relationship, Lannie intercedes one day and claims West. The smallest girl in the sophomore class, Lannie is wispy and pale with clumpy, dead hair, and the palest eyes that can see right into you. It takes a simple demonstration before West gives in to Lannie.
West is the oldest child in a happy family of Trevors, the place where neighborhood kids meet, where they are always welcome. Meghan is an only child with under-appreciated parents who truly love her. Meghan lives next door to the Trevors, is best friends with Tuesday, West's sister who is Meghan's age. Lannie is also an only child, only this only child is not loved. She lives diagonally across the street and watches all the happiness and love, frozen from within her own home, frozen from without by neighborhood children, and worst, frozen in her own heart.
Meghan, the narrator, shares the fact that she has never seen either of Lannie's parents speak to her, much less hug her. She feels sorry for Lannie but not enough to seek her friendship, especially after the freezing episode, about which no one ever speaks. Words have magic and spoken, they have power to make things so.
These are just the first few pages and back-story of this profound and lyrical novel for young adults. I have given no spoilers. The story actually begins when Lannie claims West as her own. That is when the emotional blizzard hits. Lannie becomes a metaphor for all the unloved, unwanted, neglected children who become school shooters at worst and drug addicts, prostitutes, alcoholics, and violent offenders. Statistics are depressing. (Of course, I am not including the many who experience nightmares but survive and make a life.)
This is the story of those children who know absolutely no love. I cannot reveal how Cooney resolves this situation, except to say that evil begets evil, and a frozen heart can damage others. Yet....
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Freeze Tag, September 14, 2001
By A Customer
This book was actually pretty good. I loved the characters, the normal herione, the perfect guy, the evil one... and I loved the plot. All mixed togething in an incredible smoothie. It was delicious!
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