Young Adult book reviews by Katherine Vasilik, the Young Adult Librarian at Franklin Lakes, NJ Public Library.
Freeze Frame by Heidi Ayarbe
Kyle is stuck. Stuck in time, stuck in guilt, stuck in a shrink’s office once a week. All because he’s stuck with the memory of his best friend’s death, or the lack of memory, which makes things even worse. No matter how hard he thinks about that morning, and no matter how many times his mind repeats the scenes leading up to and following, he just can’t remember exactly how the bullet made it to Jason’s body. Vividly, Kyle can describe the scenes in which Jason and he had breakfast with Kyle’s parents and sister. Then they went outside and played around in the snow briefly before checking out Dad’s shed. There was some cool stuff in the shed, including the old film reel, which fascinates Kyle, whose dream is to be a movie director. It’s Jason who finds Dad’s old gun, but the loaded weapon ends up in Kyle’s hands while Jason lies in a pool of blood.
Following the shooting, Kyle needs to try to go back to a “normal” life, this time with his family, a parole officer and psychologist watching his every move. Kyle struggles to deal with life without his best friend, and with the fact that he could be at fault in his friend’s death. As Kyle writes screenplays detailing the various scenes leading up to, and immediately following, the “accident,” he begins to better understand the course of events, and the place that Jason held in his life. Despite the heavy material, this face-paced read offers humor and hope. Some friends offer emotional support from unexpected places, including a loner at school, the school librarian, Jason’s brother, and even his own sister. The characters are well-drawn, and the conclusion is overwhelmingly satisfying.
Frozen Fire by Tim Bowler
This mysterious tale introduces the reader to Dusty, a fifteen-year-old girl who lives in a small British town with her recently divorced dad. It is wintertime, and everything is covered in snow and ice, giving the novel a physical and emotional atmosphere of desolation. Dusty is home alone when she receives a phone call from a boy who knows things about her, and Dusty is convinced that this strange boy is the key to solving the mystery behind her missing brother, Josh. However, the more Dusty tries to follow or speak to the boy, who remains unnamed, the more mysterious her world becomes. More often than not, she meets up with danger, keeping the novel moving steadily through each suspenseful chapter. The mystery of the boy is never quite concluded, but Dusty does find out what has happened to Josh, even if these issues are not quite resolved. While the descriptions of Dusty’s bleak surroundings sometimes distract from the pace of the action, they do provide depth to the emotion of the book. Frozen Fire is mysterious, suspenseful, and fantastical, if a bit on the weird side. Readers who like something different, rather than the standard YA fare, will gravitate toward the ideas presented in this story.
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
This book is worth every enthusiastic review it has already received. The story takes place in an unspecified year in the future in a land once known as North America , which is divided into twelve districts. Each district has a specialty that supposedly benefits the whole, and sixteen-year-old Katniss lives with her family in a district of coal miners. The rulers of Panem maintain control primarily by conducting an annual survival competition that pits young people from each district against one another. The competition is broadcast visually so that all districts can witness the events. When her younger sister is chosen as the female participant from District 12, Katniss volunteers to take her place. Together she and Peeta Mellark, the chosen male, journey to the Capitol to prepare for the Games. Katniss soon learns that not everyone can be trusted, even when those individuals can be counted on for some assistance, advice, and good luck. During both preparation and the actual Games, Katniss must rely on her own strengths and intuition, until she discovers that she cannot win without Peeta. The problem is that only one survivor can win the Games.
This is the first in a projected series and is highly recommended. The gory action, face-paced adventure, and suspense will appeal to boys of all ages, and there is just enough kissing to even further heighten girls’ interests, as well. Read this and then pass it along. (You might also want to try The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau or Life as We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer.)