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3.24 AVERAGE
3.24 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Starting my revisiting-tweenage-favourites with this one, which I didn't actually read as a 12 year old. Point Horror were the books of my summer holidays, obtained from the local library and devoured with enthusiasm. I think even as a pre-teen I realised that objectively they weren't very good, and containing copious gender tropes. But they are also pretty silly, and I enjoy silly.
So, Freeze Tag. Read in 2021 it feels rather dated, but I suspect it would have in 1993 as well. There aren't any major issues though, nothing making it unreadable to a modern teen audience. As well as the "girl freezes people to extract revenge" plot, there are underlying tones of leafy suburbia turning a blind eye to the darker things they don't want to see, and how hatred can (metaphorically) freeze one's heart.
Bugbears: gender stereotypes (example: girls remember conversations to the letter, boys don't)
Impressed by: the ending, although as with many Point Horror novels this tends to be decided and resolved within the last few pages.
So, Freeze Tag. Read in 2021 it feels rather dated, but I suspect it would have in 1993 as well. There aren't any major issues though, nothing making it unreadable to a modern teen audience. As well as the "girl freezes people to extract revenge" plot, there are underlying tones of leafy suburbia turning a blind eye to the darker things they don't want to see, and how hatred can (metaphorically) freeze one's heart.
Bugbears: gender stereotypes (example: girls remember conversations to the letter, boys don't)
Impressed by: the ending
Spoiler
and how Meghan (despite being at what Cooney refers to being a selfish age) decides to try and fix things with kindness not revenge
My real rating would be 3.5 stars.
At first sight, the premise of this book seemed...very strange. It's only when I read it that truly got into it. It was a read I enjoyed. It made a story It maybe not have been the best, but the fact that they made this type of a book with the theme of jealousy? It's great.
At first sight, the premise of this book seemed...very strange. It's only when I read it that truly got into it. It was a read I enjoyed. It made a story It maybe not have been the best, but the fact that they made this type of a book with the theme of jealousy? It's great.
One of those rare YA books that has stuck with me and haunted me long after I've finished it! Cooney's writing can tend to be a bit too flowery and metaphorical for me, but this (literally!) chilling tale had me hooked. It's a book that really does make you think, even if you're in your mid-30s and not the target audience!
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
So far the Point Horror books I've read have been pretty mediocre. This is the 10th one I've read and was such a refreshing change. No jump scares, no dream sequences that go nowhere. Just a straightforward psychological thriller where a Lannie, girl with a dangerous power, uses it as a threat to have the relationship that she wants.
This was not pleasant to read, Lannie was so disconcerting throughout, and the situation that the other characters found themselves in felt so inescapable, that I needed to finish the book to get out myself out of it. Rarely does a horror story make me feel anything at all. Most horror books I've read have either bored me, or were not able to maintain any level of threat of discomfort for me. Not this time. What made Lannie's abilities so insidious wasn't just the fact she could freeze people solid, but she was able to project a level of amnesia that made people forget.
Like many endings to horror stories, this one will probably divide opinion, but the way the story is left off and how the characters were behaving at that point was so complex and deep that it even questions the progenitors of evil and villainy.
This was not pleasant to read, Lannie was so disconcerting throughout, and the situation that the other characters found themselves in felt so inescapable, that I needed to finish the book to get out myself out of it. Rarely does a horror story make me feel anything at all. Most horror books I've read have either bored me, or were not able to maintain any level of threat of discomfort for me. Not this time. What made Lannie's abilities so insidious wasn't just the fact she could freeze people solid, but she was able to project a level of amnesia that made people forget.
Like many endings to horror stories, this one will probably divide opinion, but the way the story is left off and how the characters were behaving at that point was so complex and deep that it even questions the progenitors of evil and villainy.
dark
emotional
fast-paced
dark
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
dark
tense
medium-paced
I didn't really love this one but it wasn't a bad read