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Kyle's best friend is dead.
Kyle pulled the trigger.
There's only one question he can't answer.
Why?
Gr 8 Up
Life can change in an instant and in Ayarbe's debut novel, 15-year-old Kyle learns that lesson firsthand after hearing the shot, feeling the weight of the gun, and watching blood pool around the body of his best friend. Readers are quickly drawn into the mystery of guilt or innocence, although Kyle accepts personal responsibility for Jason's death. Placed on probation by the court, he continues his daily routine in a daze, withdraws from his family, and tries to remember what really happened that morning. Readers learn the history of the friendship through "scenes" created in Kyle's head as though he were directing a movie. Still, he cannot recall the fatal act and continues to blame himself. Kyle finds sanctuary from accusing students in the library as he looks for books that Jason read. Mr. Cordoba, the librarian, provides insightful reading material and eventually Kyle is able to deal with his feelings and recall what really happened. This multidimensional book is rich in details about friendships, families, and their responses to needless death. The characters are well developed through contemporary, earthy dialogue and realistic, often humorous situations. Kyle's relationship with Jason is revealed as usually tight but more recently disappointing as Jason migrated to a more popular crowd. Although sometimes overworked and obtrusive, the movie-scene technique provides a high-interest vehicle for Kyle to communicate his thoughts and feelings. This book will be appreciated by many teens, especially those who have experienced the death of a friend or loved one.-Sue Lloyd, Franklin High School, Livonia, MI
Chapter One
Gray slats of light slipped between the bars, only to be swallowed by blackness. I shivered and pulled the colorless blanket around me, squeezing my eyes shut, holding my breath until the pain swelled and exploded in my chest. I exhaled and counted. Each breath took me farther away from where I wanted to be. But I had to go back. I had to change it.
Almost all of yesterday played like a movie in my head. I could start it, rewind, stop, fast-forward, and replay scenes—except for one. That scene never came clear. It was as if the film from the reel had been exposed to sunlight and gotten blotchy.
In some scenes, I even thought about making changes, doing a director's cut.
Melanie, go back and flip your hair to the other side.
When I thought about it like that, I felt like I had control, like it was a Quentin Tarantino movie, all out of order. I could change anything. But then I would remember. No matter how much changed inside my head, it was the same everywhere else.
October 8, 8:52 A.M., Scene One, Take One
We got up from the table because Jason had used all the syrup. The guy really poured it on. Dad ran down to the store to stock up, as if he knew I needed breakfast to be perfect.
Mom ordered us to get ready for the homecoming game andscooted us out of the kitchen. "You can eat in a couple of minutes."
"Sorry about the syrup, Mrs. Caroll," Jason said.
I shook my head. "My pancakes are gonna get cold. You could've saved a drop."
"Big deal, Kyle." Melanie flipped her hair. "God, Mom, he can be such a dumbass."
"Mel, watch your language." Mom glared.
Jason swallowed a laugh. In his house, he'd be nailed for saying dumbass. "Sorry, man. I like a lot of syrup."
"I guess so." I rolled my eyes. "Pig."
"You shouldn't insult your guest," Melanie huffed. "Grow up, Kyle."
Jason wasn't a "guest." You can't consider your best friend since kindergarten a guest, even if he hasn't been around for a while.
I glared at Mel. "It sure wouldn't have hurt you to save some either." I puffed out my cheeks and gut. "If I were you and had to wear that cheerleading skirt, I definitely wouldn't be eating pancakes—and especially not with syrup."
"Mom!" Melanie yelled. "Did you hear what he just said?"
Mom shot me her you're-a-step-from-deep-shit look.
"What?" I asked. "I didn't do anything. I swear!" But by that time Mom was after me with a spatula, and Jason and I ran out the kitchen door before she began screaming too.
"Oh, man," I grumbled, standing barefoot out on the frostbitten grass. I danced from one foot to the other. The cold burned my toes.
"Things don't change around here, huh?" Jason's teeth chattered. "It's cold, man. I'm, like, still in my pajamas." He looked around. "Remember when we decided to go snow camping out here after watching Vertical Limit?"
We'd thought it'd be pretty easy, pretend like we were mountaineers or something. Eat beef jerky for breakfast. We didn't even last an hour. We might've lasted longer if Jase hadn't insisted that he had frostbite. And I didn't want to have to explain to his mom why his toes fell off.
I laughed. "Maybe the coast is clear. Let's go back inside."
Jason and I peeked in the kitchen window. We saw Melanie blabbering away at Mom. Mom pushed a plate of half-eaten pancakes in front of her.
"It doesn't look good. Mel's pretty pissed." Jason turned toward me. "You might not get to go to the game."
"Nah." I shook my head. "You think?" I was standing on my toes, trying to keep my feet from freezing off.
"Yeah, man. That's the kind of shit that gets me sent to Pastor Pretzer."
Jason's family was really churchy, and he always had to talk to his minister when he got in trouble. Whenever we did something wrong at his house, Mrs. Bishop quoted something from the Bible. Her favorite was "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."
When we were in ninth grade, I asked Mrs. Bishop if that meant we could do unto Kayla Griffin as we would have her do unto us, and she sent me home. I didn't think Mrs. Bishop would get so worked up. It's not like we were twelve or anything, and it was pretty funny.
Mom told me I was being disrespectful. I had to write a letter of apology to Mrs. Bishop and was put on Jason's "probation friend" list. After nine years of being best friends, I became a probation friend. Only Mrs. Bishop could think of crap like that.
"Well, I wouldn't have called her fat if she really was," I told Jason. "I'm not that big of an asshole." I looked back in the window. "Plus, when did our sisters become such freak shows? I mean, Mel used to be pretty cool before all the cheerleading and diets and shit."
Jason shrugged. "I dunno. So, what's next?"
"Let's hang in the shed until things cool down, unless you want to go around through the front door."
"Our feet would freeze off before we got there."
We crossed the backyard to Dad's work shed. The dew soaked my pajama pants. The door was locked, but I knew where Dad kept the key and grabbed it from the ledge. The shed had metal doors, kind of rusty; they screeched when we opened them.
"Shhhh," Jason said. "Keep it down."
The shed smelled like a mixture of oil, fertilizer, and wood shavings.
If I were a director, I could change everything. Jason and I could've gone into the garage and waited. We could've sucked up the cold and snuck in the front door. We could've gone down the street to his house. Maybe I wouldn't have told Mel she was fat. As a director, I had so many choices.
Excerpted from Freeze Frame by Heidi Ayarbe Copyright © 2008 by Heidi Ayarbe. Excerpted by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
misstiki
Posted November 1, 2008
With Freeze Frame Heidi Ayarbe hit a home run. This debut novel is well written and will grip you from the beginning to the end. The characters and situations are very real. What would you do if your world changed irrevocably from one second to the next? This is what Kyle must decide. I had read that Ayarbe used a movie director "approach" in her novel. This worried me because I am not a movie buff. However, the book was so well done that my lack of movie sophistication (or even interest) did not get in the way. I loved the book. I got sucked into Kyle's world and stayed up way to late to finish it. And, yes, I was moved to tears by the end. I look forward to her next novel.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.madaven
Posted October 18, 2008
Heidi Ayarbe's debut is haunting tale of forgiving oneself. With vivid characters and a gut-wrenching story, Freeze Frame is a book that will stayed with me long after a I read the final word.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted March 24, 2013
A great book, YOU would nit be able to put it down
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted June 22, 2012
Its starts of somewhat confusing but be the end i loved it
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Posted May 21, 2012
If you havn read this book you NEED to!! :) ;) :) ;) :) ;) LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Posted March 8, 2012
This is my all time favorite book. Nothing else Ive read has ever touched me as strong emotionally as Freeze Frame. The author frequently makes connections to directors and other works which I loved. I highly recommend this book. Anyone who reads it will get attached. The second I layed eyes on the first page I couldnt put it down. Id give it 500 stars if possible.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.freeze frame was one of the best books i have read.i really like this boook beacuse there is alway something going on with their lives. i would recomened this book to teenagers and some adults. i really liked this book and you might to. so read it!
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.i never thought i could cry so much reading a book. ive read the twilight saga and im not sure which one i like more. if parents want their kids to get into reading, hand them this, then read it yourself. this book is just to amazing for words. i cant even begin to explain, but im begging you to read this book! there is no possible way youll be disappointed!
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Posted April 27, 2009
"Freeze Frame" is a book that will stick in your head forever. The setting and characters blend into an unforgetable murder mystery. Kyle is a character who can make you wonder if the guilty murderers of the world are truly guilty at all, or if they are innocent. This is an amzing story that any teenager would like.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.i can't begin to describe the depth of this book. one minute it had me crying the next i would gain composure again, and then the next i'd be bawling. this pattern continued all the way to the end. it was so good, and gripping. I really became attached to Kyle and Jason. really portrays Kyles feelings well. and gives you a background of there friendship that only deepens your interest in amazing book. <BR/>i highly recommend this book.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.No matter how hard he tries, Kyle just can't figure out that one scene that completes the movie he feels like he's in. <BR/><BR/>He has the beginning scenes. The first scene where Kyle and his best friend, Jason, are eating pancakes. As always, Jason uses up all of the syrup, making Kyle's dad go out and buy some more. After a little quarrel between the two, followed by an insult to his sister, Kyle and Jason run outside into the freezing cold. Not wanting to go back in, Kyle suggests the shed. <BR/><BR/>Once inside the shed everything goes blank - from here Kyle just cannot figure out the scene, the most important scene. <BR/><BR/>After the blackout, it's complete chaos - there's blood, calling 911, an ambulance, a trip to the hospital, and then off to a holding cell. Questioned, confused, Kyle just doesn't understand what has happened, or how it happened. <BR/><BR/>How he killed his best friend. <BR/><BR/>No matter how hard he tries, Kyle just cannot figure out the one scene that explains it all, the scene that decides whether he is innocent or not, the scene that ended with his best friend dead. Yet, if he can figure it all out, is it the end of the world for him, can he live with knowing the truth, or will it be too much for him to handle? <BR/><BR/>With brief interruptions of past events that Kyle and Jason shared, Heidi Ayarbe takes us on a breathtaking and thrilling journey of a boy trying to solve a mystery that leaves even the reader at the edge of their seats. Ayarbe creates a work of art using realistic thoughts and images that helps in developing a novel that will be gripped in the reader's hands until the very last page. <BR/><BR/>FREEZE FRAME is a great debut from a talented new author.
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Posted December 29, 2008
A friend of my son gave him the book to read, they are 14-15. He passed it on to me and said "read it, please." I read it in one night, and the next morning my eyes were swollen from crying. He said "yeah...I teared up quite a bit too." I recommend this book to all teenagers and their parents, males and females alike. I really dont think anyone can come away from it without feeling the emotion that the writer wants you to experience. It also was enjoyable that the writer was a native to Carson City, our hometown, and the places she describes in her book about our town helps make a few scenes in the story that much more believable. Enjoy it!!! Have a box of tissues by your side!!!
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Posted December 22, 2008
I read this book in about three hours, and I recommend it to everyone :) It quickly became my favorite book.
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Posted December 14, 2008
I Also Recommend:
This is now one of my favorite books because it is such a great read. These are my favorite type of books.Great for teens.You would love it!
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Posted May 17, 2009
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Posted February 8, 2009
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Posted April 3, 2010
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Overview
Kyle's best friend is dead.
Kyle pulled the trigger.
There's only one question he can't answer.
Why?