Frozen Fire

Reviewed by Grandma Bev for TeensReadToo.com

Dusty's brother disappeared over a year ago without a trace. The family thinks that he is probably dead, and Dusty is still mourning his loss. Then she gets a phone call from a strange boy who says, "I'm dying." Dusty is ready to hang up on him when he says some things that make her think he knows something about her brother. It sounds like he may really be dying from an overdose, and then she loses voice contact with him.

How did he get her cell phone number? Who is he? She sets off into the winter night to try to find him since she is pretty sure that he is close, and in trouble. Then things get really frightening when a man, two boys, and some wicked-looking dogs join the search and then chase and corner Dusty, demanding to know where the boy is.

After the boy contacts Dusty again, she discovers that other people have also had contact with this mystery boy who seems to be part human, part spirit. He has an affinity with Dusty but insists that he won't let himself be found because he is too dangerous. There are many people who agree and who want to see this boy dead . . . and who will hurt anyone who stands in their way.

Carnegie Medal winner Tim Bowler is a genius at plotting and characterization, and this story stands alone as a paranormal mystery/thriller about a boy that may not be of this world and a girl who is driven to protect him at all costs. FROZEN FIRE kept me reading most of the night, with suspense that just kept building to an unexpected ending. The elusive boy and Dusty are characters that you won't soon forget, in a story that will keep you wondering.

5 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

Meh.

I was intrigued by the first lines of this book. But from there, it was a writing roller coaster. At first, it was spectacular, and then it was just okay, and then it became brilliant again, and once again it shorted out. Despite the ups and downs, it still carries the air of mysterious wonderfully. However, there were quite a few grammar errors and awkward sentence structures.

I just couldn't get into this book at most parts. Sometimes its so melodramatic and trite I can't read on. But I somehow managed, and it was somehow predictable at the end. I wouldn't say it's an absoultely horrible book, just one I wouldn't reccommend.

3 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

GREAT WRITING BUT JUST KINDA ENDS

I love this book!! I just got it because of the cover and it sounds interesting. I love love the story line! It kept me interested till the very end but then it just left me with unanswered questions

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Very strange book...but one worth reading

This book was a page turner right from the beginning. The story is about Dusty and how she is dealing with the loss of her brother (he has been missing for two years). The boy who she is drawn to seems to hold the answers she is seeking but she can't seem to get them. Some might not like this book because it leaves a lot of things unanswered. While I agree that Patterson could have given the story a little more closure, I also think that the current ending lets the reader decide for themselves exactly what/who the boy is and why he came into Dusty's life. I have my own theories...now make yours.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

I LOVED IT!

i love this book. it was kind of weird that they left so much out at the end but i guess that was ok.i loved how you had to try to put the pieces together to get the story. i mean you can never tell whats going to happen next.i told my cousin about it,and she read what it was about, and she wanted to read it really bad.so if anyone is just thinking of reading it....READ IT: )


p.s. what also got me was it would have been cool if they made a second one.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Thas kool

It doesnt sound to interesting but once I started reading it i had a hard time putting it down. It was one of those books that just pulled you in from pnage one and I really did enjoy it.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

worth it

Once I started reaing it, I couldn't put it down. It started to get a little wierd throughout the story, but the suspense and mystery of the story never lightens up. Which is always a good thing.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Starts on fire. Ends with a smolder.

I must admit the cover drew me to this book but it was the first ten pages or so that made me buy it. Tim Bowler can build suspense like nobodies business but after a while, I realized this story wasn't going anywhere fast. I liked Dusty as a character but her relentless pursuit of her brother's mysterious disappearance became annoying at times and her "angelic" friend? Counterpart? Stalker? Well, that whole build up ended with a resounding thud. I wanted to like this book badly. I guess that's why I forced myself to read it to the very end. But alas, I was disappointed with the finale and was left just as aimless as the book's protagonist.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

I loved it!

I am the kind of gal who doesn't like reading when I don't have to, but this book is a different story. We needed to pick a free read book at my school, so my mom and looked and she found this book. I also am the kind of person that can read half of a story and then just stop. But I couldn't stop with this book. I kept reading it all night long. I would recommend trhis book to all readers, but especially teens who don't like reading! Totally fasinating!!!!!!!!!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

UNFORGETABLE!!!

WHEN I GOT THIS BOOK I WAS JUST LOOKING FOR SOMETHING INTERESTING TO READ, AND WHEN I SAW FROZEN ICE, JUST THE COVER WAS LIKE WOW! SO I READ THE FIRST WORDS "I'M DYING." I JUST WANTED TO KEEP READING, SO I DID. I BOUGHT IT I TOOK IT HOME AND I READ IT. NOT ONLY WILL YOU BE INTERESTED ON WHAT WILL BE NEXT BUT YOU WILL FINISH THE BOOK WITH WONDER. AND THE ICE THE SNOW!!! IT STAYS WITH YOU THE WHOLE TIME! I RECOMMND THIS BOOK. IT IS DIFFERENT AND IT IS GOOD.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

A reviewer

This book has left me speechless until the very end. [literally] This novel has such intense style and dialogue that's hardly descibed by the feelings of the speaker being spoken of or to or about. The scenes are completely exhilarating with anxiety and mystique, it's competely mad. Each chapter send chills down your spine, and the endings of each chapter make you want to keep reading. Though some parts, I have to admit, were quite too eccentric, some parts are quite dull - but after all, most good books have to have boring parts too. The edge of your seat feeling is fresh and never old though some parts were cliched. The ending was a big shock for me, never suspecting a dead person long before the story started to be the big link to all the chaos he's cast among the towns of Millhaven and Beckdale. If you like thrillers of psychological mayhem, do read especially.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

buy this book

i love this book, it was scary n some parts but not to scary and the thrill of seeing what would happen next was out standing, do be dumb by this book!! :)

I would highly recommend it to all the people

This book is spectacular it made impact when they found out THE BOY was innocent and how they found out. He was blamed of rape but how could he, it wasn't possible. But the start is the totally best the first words he says to her "I'm dying". The book catches your attention and ones you start reading it you don't want to but it down at all. It takes you to a world of adventure and confusion. Dusty herself has a hard live.
Her brother disappeared then her mom goes and abandons her and her dad. Then she receives this weird of a boy in midnight alone in her house in New Years Eve. But in the end it turned out that the her brother wasn't alive like dusty totally wished for. This is one of the best books ever

Full of Mysteries

I absolutely loved this book! I can't believe a lot of things that happened in the book, but one thing i do know is that if your a person who loves mysteries and intense stories, then, this is definitely a book for you. I love how the book started with a straight up comment/mystery that happens to be a weird phone call, from a strange unknown person...or thing. Anyway, i loved how the story kept me entertained throughout the whole book. I loved every part of it, except for maybe the ending. Even at the end of the book, the mysteries that were appearing throughout the book, still were unsolved and it sort of left me confused and wanting to know more on what happened. I highly recommend this book to teens, it's amazing!! (and i only gave it four stars because of the confusion towards the end of the book, other than that, it would have totally gotten five stars....read the book!!) :D

good!

This was a great book! It's a thriller and it will keep you on the edge of your seat. However,the ending was a major disappointment.

GREAT BOOK, but the end was kind of dissapointing.

this book was amazing, from the myserious characters to the story whole. But i kind of didn´t like the ending. So, did Josh rape the girl, and killed himself? and the boy? did he die, or just dissappeared? i liked it, but is was confusing. :S

A Must Read!!

You should read this if you are into supernatural or paranormal involvement and action. This book might not be for anyone that is not 13 or older ( that is my opinion). It has mystery and suspense and . . . it is just a fantastic book to me. I couldn't put it down. I am very picky in reading so, when i say it is a really good book, than it is.

Frozen Fire

Everything starts with one phone call and a voice on the other side of the line that says to Dusty "I am dying". Tim Bowler starts this Amazing story with a simple line in which the moment you have begun to read, you will want to do nothing else but continue this story. You will not stop until you have reached the very last page. 15 year old Dusty knows how to take care of herself. 2 years ago her older brother Josh disappeared and her Mother walked out of her life. Ever since it has always been just her and Dad, living alone in Thorne Cottage.

But after that mysterious phone call that Dusty receives, her life is about to be shaken up. How is it that this boy obtained her number? Even more mysterious, how is it that he says things to her that no one else but herself can possibly know? Personal and intimate things, such as the disappearance of her brother? But Dusty comes to realize that this boy is not normal and from decoding the tone of his voice and the sounds from the background of wherever he could be, she makes the choice to look for him in the cold and lonely winter night.

She knows that he has answers to the questions that she could never phantom. If anyone can tell her the reasons of why things happened, he can. But he warned her that he's dangerous and the he is unlike anything she has known, and little by little his presence begins to cause fear and anger to the people of her town. Rumors begin to surface of the sickening things he has done in nearby towns. No one knows who he is or where he came from, not even the Police who are conducting a major investigation. Dust encounters danger from the unexpected of places. But deep down, she knows that this boy is not like what the rumors describe him. She is willing to do anything it takes to find him and protect him. Even if that means that her very life could be in serious danger.

There are so many things that i want to say about this book! Because it was so good! It only took me 2 days to read this book- goes to show you just how much i got into this story. Tim Bowlers description and setting of this story was life like! Not to mention Beautiful! The lonely winter backdrop of a town with beautiful landscapes such as a Kilbury Moor, Raven's Fell and the long still lake. The winter made this story so eerily haunting. I really loved that about this story. The setting really made it all come to life.

Pick up this book guys! Trust me, you will instantly fall into this story and be lost within its mystery and beauty!

Thought-provoking and Full of Mystery

Frozen Fire is very difficult for me to sum up. There were so many different aspects of it and the overall message of the book was so different from what I had expected. The story opens with a mysterious phone call in the middle of the night. Dusty is home alone when a strange boy phones her and tells her he is dying. Some of the things he says invoke memories of Dusty's missing brother Josh and she sets out to find him. Instead, Dusty comes face to face with a menacing man, his two sons, and their pit bulls. From there, Dusty's world is turned around and the boy is at the center of it.

I can't really say too much about the plot without giving away any major details, but I will say that it was extremely well written and wrought with mystery and suspense. There are more than a few chilling scenes that may cause goosebumps and raise the hair on the back of your neck. The first few chapters are menacing in the best way possible and I was instantly hooked.

Dusty seeks the mysterious boy out because she yearns to find her brother, and in doing so, she is sucked into the mystery that is the boy. No one knows his name or where he comes from, but everywhere he goes, bad things seem to occur. There are people all over the country who wish to seek the boy out and persecute him for various crimes they cannot prove he was a part of. He appears to be some sort of paranormal being that is able to know intimate details of everyone's lives, including Dusty's. This boy doesn't look normal either. The best way to describe him is almost as an ethereal being. He is pale. So pale that he is as white as the snow. His hair is the same color and his eyes are a striking pale color that people are unable to forget. He is capable of great harm, but Dusty remains unafraid.

Dusty is by far one of the strongest female characters I have ever seen. She is described as a Tomboy and she is more than willing to get into a fight, but it isn't just her physicality that makes her strong. Emotionally, Dusty is a very strong character. She lost her brother and soon after her mother leaves. Her father is a self-described pansy, yet Dusty remains strong. She forges through life and attempts to maintain who she is. The appearance of the mysterious boy shakes up her world and Dusty is forced to summon all the strength she can muster.

Frozen Fire isn't necessarily the paranormal thriller that it is described as, but it is an engaging, mysterious, and interesting story. There are some very slow moments that drag out descriptions of snow and the landscape, but Bowler is able to create such vivid imagery that I almost didn't notice. The visuals in the book are absolutely phenomenal and I could easily picture it throughout. The mystery surrounding Josh and the boy were compelling, but they were dragged on for too long. The book isn't long, but I wanted answers sooner. There was so much build-up throughout the novel, but the payoff didn't come until very late on and it didn't fully answer all the questions that were presented. The ending also had me a little confused. The unanswered questions detracted from the impact potential that the ending could have had. Still, Frozen Fire was a thought-provoking read that examines so much more than just the mystery of Dusty's missing brother and a strange boy.

Opening line: "I'm dying," said the voice.

Favorite line: There could be no innocence in a world without justice.

Well, I liked the first page. The rest I hated.

This has to be one of the worst books I have ever read! The first page was promising and I couldn't wait to start this book. I found this book in the romance section and thought it looked good. But this book was NOT romantic at all! It had no scenes that could even be ASSOCIATED with it. I absolutly hate this book. Do not read it.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.