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A review by liamunderwood
Freeze Tag by Caroline B. Cooney
3.0
I have very mixed feelings about Caroline B. Cooney's writing style - it worked for me in The Cheerleader but then really didn't work for me at all in The Return of the Vampire and her contribution to Thirteen Tales of Horror. I would hesitantly say that I found it more palatable in Freeze Tag for the most part, but it still reads to me as very detached from the story and the characters, too focused on flowery language trying to be poetic and deep and far too often stumbling. But Cooney does do one thing well which sets her Point Horror books apart from the vast majority of other entries - she incorporates supernatural elements.
Freeze Tag opens with an innocent childhood game, except one of the children playing actually possesses the ability to freeze others, rendering them unable to move upon touch. A hasty promise is made. Time marches on and the game and promise are forgotten, the kids grow up, friendships develop into relationships, and all is well. Until it is time to make good on the promise, and the threat of the power to freeze is dangerously dangled. I really enjoyed the set-up of this book and the first 100 or so pages are very compelling, with the plot enticing enough that I could overlook my struggles with the writing style.
However, the inevitable ending is very clearly signposted and the last 60 or so pages are spent painfully limping to predictability, and then it's all still rushed and underwhelming. The majority of this book is really solid, and Cooney's writing does have flashes that are very good. I liked the characters, and the book did an admirable job of side-stepping most Point Horror tropes. Yet for every flash of genius there are several moments that made me want to roll my eyes, and the limp ending (which also feels strangely unresolved) definitely put a dampener on the experience.
3/5
Point Horror Ranked
1) The Girlfriend - 4/5
2) Trick or Treat - 3.5/5
3) Fatal Secrets - 3.5/5
4) Teacher's Pet - 3.5/5
5) The Baby-Sitter II - 3.5/5
6) The Cheerleader - 3.5/5
7) The Hitchhiker - 3.5/5
8) April Fools - 3.5/5
9) My Secret Admirer - 3.5/5
10) The Lifeguard - 3.5/5
11) Freeze Tag - 3/5
12) Thirteen Tales of Horror - 3/5
13) The Accident - 3/5
14) Funhouse - 3/5
15) The Invitation - 2.5/5
16) The Waitress - 2.5/5
17) The Snowman - 2.5/5
18) The Mall - 2.5/5
19) The Boyfriend - 2/5
20) Mother's Helper - 2/5
21) The Baby-Sitter - 1.5/5
22) The Return of the Vampire - 1/5
23) Beach Party - 1/5
Freeze Tag opens with an innocent childhood game, except one of the children playing actually possesses the ability to freeze others, rendering them unable to move upon touch. A hasty promise is made. Time marches on and the game and promise are forgotten, the kids grow up, friendships develop into relationships, and all is well. Until it is time to make good on the promise, and the threat of the power to freeze is dangerously dangled. I really enjoyed the set-up of this book and the first 100 or so pages are very compelling, with the plot enticing enough that I could overlook my struggles with the writing style.
However, the inevitable ending is very clearly signposted and the last 60 or so pages are spent painfully limping to predictability, and then it's all still rushed and underwhelming. The majority of this book is really solid, and Cooney's writing does have flashes that are very good. I liked the characters, and the book did an admirable job of side-stepping most Point Horror tropes. Yet for every flash of genius there are several moments that made me want to roll my eyes, and the limp ending (which also feels strangely unresolved) definitely put a dampener on the experience.
3/5
Point Horror Ranked
1) The Girlfriend - 4/5
2) Trick or Treat - 3.5/5
3) Fatal Secrets - 3.5/5
4) Teacher's Pet - 3.5/5
5) The Baby-Sitter II - 3.5/5
6) The Cheerleader - 3.5/5
7) The Hitchhiker - 3.5/5
8) April Fools - 3.5/5
9) My Secret Admirer - 3.5/5
10) The Lifeguard - 3.5/5
11) Freeze Tag - 3/5
12) Thirteen Tales of Horror - 3/5
13) The Accident - 3/5
14) Funhouse - 3/5
15) The Invitation - 2.5/5
16) The Waitress - 2.5/5
17) The Snowman - 2.5/5
18) The Mall - 2.5/5
19) The Boyfriend - 2/5
20) Mother's Helper - 2/5
21) The Baby-Sitter - 1.5/5
22) The Return of the Vampire - 1/5
23) Beach Party - 1/5