Frozen Fire [Hardcover]

Tim Bowler (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 7, 2006

It starts with the phone call, late at night. The mysterious boy says he is dying. Dusty doesn't want to get involved - but the boy seems to have a link to the one person who's most important to her. Soon she has been drawn in - and now she has to deal with the other people who are looking for the boy - the violent man and his two sons, and the police too...Yet throughout all this, Dusty senses the presence of a boy who is not dying, a strange elusive boy who can show her what happened to her missing brother and solve the greatest mystery of her life. Where he is, who he is, why he wants to die, she cannot say. Only one thing is certain. Finding him will be dangerous.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 9 Up—"I'm sorry, little Dusty. Good-bye, little Dusty." These words, spoken by a stranger on a cell phone, are the same ones uttered by the British teen's brother before he disappeared. The boy on the phone claims he has overdosed and is dying. Dusty walks out into the snow to find him and enters into a supernatural puzzle beyond her imagination. She follows his snowy footprints to a place where they inexplicably vanish, but not long afterward, she learns he has not died. She soon finds herself pursued by vigilantes who are also looking for this boy. They claim he has abnormally snow-white skin and hair and is responsible for a number of reprehensible crimes. Dusty, convinced that he knows something about her brother, refuses to give him up to the mob before he reveals his secrets. Dusty is a bitter tomboy with many disagreeable characteristics, yet readers will find themselves rooting for her. The rest of the characters are flat. The mystery is creepy and compelling, and readers will want to know more. Unfortunately, that which is revealed is surface level, and the deeper mystery remains unsolved. Copious pages of dialogue thrust the story forward and will appeal to many readers; however, interpreting what has happened will take more effort than most teens will be willing to expend.—Heather M. Campbell, formerly at Philip S. Miller Library, Castle Rock, CO
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

In this atmospheric, British supernatural thriller, a stranger comes to town. Fifteen-year-old Dusty first hears his voice on the telephone, and she is startled by his words—last said to her in similar language by her long-missing older brother, Josh. As snow falls on the remote English countryside where Dusty lives, she searches for the mysterious boy, and the closer she comes to him (and he to her), the more danger surrounds her. Bowler’s writing chills, both in the way the author heightens the tension, chapter by terrifying chapter, and through his descriptions of the relentless snow beating down, brightening and frightening—the frozen fire of the title. Sometimes the descriptions burden the story, because readers will be anxious to get back to the compelling interplay between Dusty and the boy. Both spectral and powerful, the boy sends messages (by phone, in person, even through the snow) that propel Dusty forward, always hoping the boy will lead her to Josh. The tension doesn’t wane until the last possible moment. Grades 7-10. --Ilene Cooper --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Oxford Childrens (September 7, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0192719793
• ISBN-13: 978-0192719799
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,756,453 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Tim, this is getting very annoying., July 3, 2007

By 

Inspector Gadget "Go Go Gadget Reviews" (On the trail of Doctor Claw) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Frozen Fire (Paperback)

Having enjoyed some of Tim Bowler's earlier work I am always interested when he brings out a new book. He's the kind of writer who never insults a child's intelligence by writing them as weak, clueless characters. This really appeals to me. But, as with his previous novel Apocalypse, Frozen Fire strings you along with an erratic mystery that could never really make any complete sense and then offers no explanation at the end.

I know books don't always need everything explained but this is TWICE now that Bowler has done this and I am not sure I want to be fooled a third time. I think he should stick stories based in reality than reaching for these fantastical twists that add up to nothing.

The story has a young girl in snowy rural England meet a mysterious ghost-like boy who has magical powers. Many people are out to kill him for apparent past crimes but Dusty, still distressed from the loss of her older brother, becomes somewhat fascinated by him and her world fades away into some etheral, dreamlike state as suspicions build and lynch mobs form.

And then...none of it adds up!

'Oh, use your imagination!'

No. That's what YOU'RE supposed to do Mr. Bowler.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Really?, May 5, 2011

By 

Mrs. Kees - See all my reviews

This review is from: Frozen Fire (Hardcover)

I had never read one of Bowler's novels and after this one probably won't read any others. I felt strung along in this vague, rather than suspenseful mystery, that then was abruptly ended with a confusing resolution, with no real explanation. I found the excessive British terminology to be distracting as well. I would not reccomend this book to anyone. There are too many good reads out there to waste your time on this one.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nearly in tears at the ending ;), April 3, 2011

By 

Jaz - See all my reviews

This review is from: Frozen Fire (Hardcover)

I beilieve this book happens to be one of the most interesting books i've read in awhile. Right when you look at the book, it seems so interesting, and once I started reading, I became hooked. I even stayed up late to finish it! I totally recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a mystery fiction because the ending is so confusing, yet I figured it out. As you read this book, keep in mind that you will probably not get the ending right away. Read this book!