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Freeze Tag
Jealousy turns deadly in this chilling story from the author of Whatever Happened to Janie?
As kids, Meghan, West, and Lannie played freeze tag—but with Lannie, nothing was normal. With one touch, she could turn anyone as cold as ice, a human statue frozen in time.
Years later, they’re in high school and everyone remembers Lannie’s power as a silly childhood fantasy. But when Meghan and West become the perfect couple, Lannie intends to collect on a promise West made her all those years ago: If he doesn’t love her, she’ll freeze Meghan—and this time it will be forever.
Known for her intense, emotional thrillers like The Face on the Milk Carton, Caroline B. Cooney once again delivers an addictive, spine-tingling tale of love gone wrong.
This ebook features an illustrated biography of Caroline B. Cooney including rare images and never-before-seen documents from the author’s personal collection.
As kids, Meghan, West, and Lannie played freeze tag—but with Lannie, nothing was normal. With one touch, she could turn anyone as cold as ice, a human statue frozen in time.
Years later, they’re in high school and everyone remembers Lannie’s power as a silly childhood fantasy. But when Meghan and West become the perfect couple, Lannie intends to collect on a promise West made her all those years ago: If he doesn’t love her, she’ll freeze Meghan—and this time it will be forever.
Known for her intense, emotional thrillers like The Face on the Milk Carton, Caroline B. Cooney once again delivers an addictive, spine-tingling tale of love gone wrong.
This ebook features an illustrated biography of Caroline B. Cooney including rare images and never-before-seen documents from the author’s personal collection.
Kindle Edition
First published November 30, 1992
52 people are currently reading
978 people want to read
About the author
Caroline B. Cooney
129 books1,767 followersCaroline Cooney knew in sixth grade that she wanted to be a writer when "the best teacher I ever had in my life" made writing her main focus. "He used to rip off covers from The New Yorker and pass them around and make us write a short story on whichever cover we got. I started writing then and never stopped!"
When her children were young, Caroline started writing books for young people -- with remarkable results. She began to sell stories to Seventeen magazine and soon after began writing books. Suspense novels are her favorites to read and write. "In a suspense novel, you can count on action."
To keep her stories realistic, Caroline visits many schools outside of her area, learning more about teenagers all the time. She often organizes what she calls a "plotting game," in which students work together to create plots for stories. Caroline lives in Westbrook, Connecticut and when she's not writing she volunteers at a hospital, plays piano for the school musicals and daydreams!
- Scholastic.com
When her children were young, Caroline started writing books for young people -- with remarkable results. She began to sell stories to Seventeen magazine and soon after began writing books. Suspense novels are her favorites to read and write. "In a suspense novel, you can count on action."
To keep her stories realistic, Caroline visits many schools outside of her area, learning more about teenagers all the time. She often organizes what she calls a "plotting game," in which students work together to create plots for stories. Caroline lives in Westbrook, Connecticut and when she's not writing she volunteers at a hospital, plays piano for the school musicals and daydreams!
- Scholastic.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 144 reviews
March 4, 2020
"You ran alone. You caught alone. You froze alone".
Freeze Tag by Caroline B. Cooney
I think I enjoyed this way more then I should have. This was a dark little tale that I wanted to read because I like the concept. I used to play Freeze tag as a kid. Imagine if you really got frozen and could not get unfrozen? I mean the concept sounds crazy but I really got into this short book with an enthusiasm surprising even myself.
I read Cooney growing up. Some of her books are better then others. This one is great and maybe my fave by her. I mean one has to give her credit. What a mind she has! The game of freeze tag becomes reality and people can't get unfrozen. Think how terrifying that would be!
The whole book is like snow and ice. It has a cold blustery wintery feel. I enjoyed it very much.
I recently got into a conversation with some GR friends about book snobs. I am sure most book snobs do not read Caroline Cooney. What they are missing out on! I pity book snobs and all the incredible reads they are missing. I can see it now..a book snob's lip curling in disgust: "Freeze Tag"? "What is THAT"?
Well what it is is a heck of a fun creepy little read. It also inexplicably made me miss the game of freeze tag. The REAL game, not the scary one portrayed ion this book. I mean seriously we were the lucky ones growing up as we had no social media so we could go outdoors and play fun games like this.
Anyway in this book..which has a bit of young fatal attraction in it..the Spurned girl simply threatens to freeze the people who don't go along with her. And some of them she does freeze. You will have to read the book to see if they get unfrozen.
I am laughing here but I really did enjoy this..can be read in a few hours..Did not expect that ending. At first I did not know what to make of it. Upon further reflection though I realized I loved it and it made the book even better. 4 stars. Go for it. You will never think of the word "Frozen" the same way again.
Freeze Tag by Caroline B. Cooney
I think I enjoyed this way more then I should have. This was a dark little tale that I wanted to read because I like the concept. I used to play Freeze tag as a kid. Imagine if you really got frozen and could not get unfrozen? I mean the concept sounds crazy but I really got into this short book with an enthusiasm surprising even myself.
I read Cooney growing up. Some of her books are better then others. This one is great and maybe my fave by her. I mean one has to give her credit. What a mind she has! The game of freeze tag becomes reality and people can't get unfrozen. Think how terrifying that would be!
The whole book is like snow and ice. It has a cold blustery wintery feel. I enjoyed it very much.
I recently got into a conversation with some GR friends about book snobs. I am sure most book snobs do not read Caroline Cooney. What they are missing out on! I pity book snobs and all the incredible reads they are missing. I can see it now..a book snob's lip curling in disgust: "Freeze Tag"? "What is THAT"?
Well what it is is a heck of a fun creepy little read. It also inexplicably made me miss the game of freeze tag. The REAL game, not the scary one portrayed ion this book. I mean seriously we were the lucky ones growing up as we had no social media so we could go outdoors and play fun games like this.
Anyway in this book..which has a bit of young fatal attraction in it..the Spurned girl simply threatens to freeze the people who don't go along with her. And some of them she does freeze. You will have to read the book to see if they get unfrozen.
I am laughing here but I really did enjoy this..can be read in a few hours..Did not expect that ending. At first I did not know what to make of it. Upon further reflection though I realized I loved it and it made the book even better. 4 stars. Go for it. You will never think of the word "Frozen" the same way again.
January 13, 2015
Back when they were kids, Meghan Moore and the Trevor kids played a deadly game of Freeze Tag with their neighbor Lannie. Lannie said she could actually freeze them. The price for unfreezing Meghan, who Lannie hated, was for West Trevor to promise that he would always like Lannie best.
Years later, Meghan and West are in high school and in love with each other. That game of Freeze Tag is a distant memory, until Lannie returns wanting West to deliver on his promise.
I came across this book in a used bookstore and something about the premise sparked my memory. I remember wondering why Lannie had waited so long to make West deliver on the promise. But I had to re-read it to remember most of the details. The ending was a surprise to me - but it was a very interesting sort of ending. While you've got the love triangle so popular in paranormal stories today, there is no romantic happy ending here as would be forced by the Twilight generation of books. The story is told in a very fairy tale manner, very childlike and simple, a way that almost made me yearn for the days of playing tag during the summer and drinking lemonade on the front porch, and made me feel the contrasting coldness of freezing.
Years later, Meghan and West are in high school and in love with each other. That game of Freeze Tag is a distant memory, until Lannie returns wanting West to deliver on his promise.
I came across this book in a used bookstore and something about the premise sparked my memory. I remember wondering why Lannie had waited so long to make West deliver on the promise. But I had to re-read it to remember most of the details. The ending was a surprise to me - but it was a very interesting sort of ending. While you've got the love triangle so popular in paranormal stories today, there is no romantic happy ending here as would be forced by the Twilight generation of books. The story is told in a very fairy tale manner, very childlike and simple, a way that almost made me yearn for the days of playing tag during the summer and drinking lemonade on the front porch, and made me feel the contrasting coldness of freezing.
March 27, 2015
What a fantastic book. I highly enjoyed it. The details and the overall writing was poetic and amazing.
Now for the bad. I hated the heck out of Lannie, she made me so sick I couldn't see straight. There is no excuse for Lannie's behavior, and I got tired of Meghan trying to act like there was. Lannie was evil; too evil, and she enjoyed it.
Some of the chapters are basically the same chapters with the characters using similar words. Lannie gets mad at somebody, the others are scared of her, Lannie threatens to freeze somebody, the others beg her not to, Lannie freezes them anyway, the others beg her to unfreeze victim, Lannie whines and finally unfreezes victim, the others act relieved and then within seconds do something else right in front of Lannie that they well know will upset her and she'll threaten to freeze someone.
Didn't they get the memo? Upsetting Lannie results in getting your butt frozen or someone that you care about being frozen. I understand that it's hard to live totally by somebody else's whims, but then be prepared to be frozen if you don't. You know it's coming because it does every single time she gets mad, why act shocked and surprised?
I found Meghan to be quite annoying. She knew that Lannie wanted West for herself, and that she was not to be his girlfriend or even friend anymore, yet she kept forgetting. She kept touching him and trying to kiss him and then complaining when Lannie got ready to freeze someone out of anger over Meghan and West ignoring her orders. Meghan actually got her butt frozen over the West situation and still couldn't seem to understand that Lannie wasn't playing.
Finally, West and his younger sister and brother were so fed up with Lannie running their lives and being afraid that they took action. Meghan was against their plan. She didn't want to be Lannie's slave for life, but didn't want to hurt Lannie either.
It was a tough situation, but West was right. Lannie would control them forever unless she was stopped. Lannie was evil and dangerous and had no soul. While I understood Meghan's POV about not wanting to "stop" Lannie, the only other alternative was to live in fear every single day of being frozen alive.
I hated how the book seemed to imply that West, Tuesday, and Brown had turned into bad people like Lannie because they wanted her to die so they could live. She was torturing them. I had no sympathy for Lannie. She deserved to feel what it felt like to be frozen to death, if only by the weather and not some mystical power. Meghan was made out to be the good guy because she was against making sure Lannie was left outside to freeze.
In the end, it felt like the author wanted readers to feel sorry and bad for Lannie because of the pitiful lifestyle she had lived. I couldn't do it, Lannie was a danger to society and needed to be put down. Woe is me excuses aren't gonna cut it.
Now for the bad. I hated the heck out of Lannie, she made me so sick I couldn't see straight. There is no excuse for Lannie's behavior, and I got tired of Meghan trying to act like there was. Lannie was evil; too evil, and she enjoyed it.
Some of the chapters are basically the same chapters with the characters using similar words. Lannie gets mad at somebody, the others are scared of her, Lannie threatens to freeze somebody, the others beg her not to, Lannie freezes them anyway, the others beg her to unfreeze victim, Lannie whines and finally unfreezes victim, the others act relieved and then within seconds do something else right in front of Lannie that they well know will upset her and she'll threaten to freeze someone.
Didn't they get the memo? Upsetting Lannie results in getting your butt frozen or someone that you care about being frozen. I understand that it's hard to live totally by somebody else's whims, but then be prepared to be frozen if you don't. You know it's coming because it does every single time she gets mad, why act shocked and surprised?
I found Meghan to be quite annoying. She knew that Lannie wanted West for herself, and that she was not to be his girlfriend or even friend anymore, yet she kept forgetting. She kept touching him and trying to kiss him and then complaining when Lannie got ready to freeze someone out of anger over Meghan and West ignoring her orders. Meghan actually got her butt frozen over the West situation and still couldn't seem to understand that Lannie wasn't playing.
Finally, West and his younger sister and brother were so fed up with Lannie running their lives and being afraid that they took action. Meghan was against their plan. She didn't want to be Lannie's slave for life, but didn't want to hurt Lannie either.
It was a tough situation, but West was right. Lannie would control them forever unless she was stopped. Lannie was evil and dangerous and had no soul. While I understood Meghan's POV about not wanting to "stop" Lannie, the only other alternative was to live in fear every single day of being frozen alive.
I hated how the book seemed to imply that West, Tuesday, and Brown had turned into bad people like Lannie because they wanted her to die so they could live. She was torturing them. I had no sympathy for Lannie. She deserved to feel what it felt like to be frozen to death, if only by the weather and not some mystical power. Meghan was made out to be the good guy because she was against making sure Lannie was left outside to freeze.
In the end, it felt like the author wanted readers to feel sorry and bad for Lannie because of the pitiful lifestyle she had lived. I couldn't do it, Lannie was a danger to society and needed to be put down. Woe is me excuses aren't gonna cut it.
February 23, 2016
This was a creepy book about a girl who can freeze and unfreeze people with the touch of a finger and uses that power to manipulate all the people who live close to her. I suppose we are supposed to gather our own thoughts and make our own interpretations. This one definitely has me thinking. The "evil" girl in question is a kid who never felt love from her parents, or her step parents...at one time, they even flaunted a dog in front of her, treating it as if they loved it far more than they ever loved her...even that they would rather have it there instead of her. Noone ever acted like she was someone that they wanted to spend time with...perhaps that is what turned the girl so cold in the first place...but perhaps we'll never know.
January 15, 2022
I can see how some people might not enjoy this book. It doesn't give you a lot of explanation. But as a Caroline B. Cooney enthusiast, wow this just checked all the boxes for me.
She writes about suburbia in the most nostalgic and somehow horrific ways possible. I love how she waxes poetically about kool-aid for a full paragraph. There's nothing quite like it. Her words just stick with me. I always end up highlighting like half her stuff, feeling like I've been pulled into this little world that only she can write.
And yeah, this book is about a girl who can *literally* freeze other people into statues and eventual death and when I tell you, the scenes where main character Lannie just does this for fun—to watch people suffer—were absolutely (all puns intended) chilling.
Also, if you want a book that's just steeped in winter imagery, this knocks it out of the park.
She writes about suburbia in the most nostalgic and somehow horrific ways possible. I love how she waxes poetically about kool-aid for a full paragraph. There's nothing quite like it. Her words just stick with me. I always end up highlighting like half her stuff, feeling like I've been pulled into this little world that only she can write.
And yeah, this book is about a girl who can *literally* freeze other people into statues and eventual death and when I tell you, the scenes where main character Lannie just does this for fun—to watch people suffer—were absolutely (all puns intended) chilling.
Also, if you want a book that's just steeped in winter imagery, this knocks it out of the park.
July 10, 2012
I genuinely think this might be the best title Caroline B. Cooney ever wrote (and I'm a big fan of The Stranger). I read it when I was 12 and I reread it to my sisters as a bedtime story when I got older. They wanted the next chapter, and the next, just like me. It also has a good moral dimension to it, more akin to Christopher Pike's books than Point Horrors. I felt very satisfied with the ending and uplifted. Very good.
July 28, 2019
3.5 stars
During a game of Freeze Tag the local kids find out that Lannie can literally freeze people and she uses this power over her neighbour West, threatening to freeze his sister unless he promises to like her the best. Now the kids are all teenagers and West is dating Meghan. They are hopelessly in love until Lannie decides it is time to cash in on the promise West made to her.
Cooney's writing is fantastic (if you liked her writing in The Cheerleader I think you'll like this too). There is plenty of romance between West and Meghan which is not usually my favourite thing but for the most part it worked well here. There were interesting themes such as nature vs nurture, and how well do you really know someone. The 'chilling' moments about Lannie's power were my favourite parts of the book.
During a game of Freeze Tag the local kids find out that Lannie can literally freeze people and she uses this power over her neighbour West, threatening to freeze his sister unless he promises to like her the best. Now the kids are all teenagers and West is dating Meghan. They are hopelessly in love until Lannie decides it is time to cash in on the promise West made to her.
Cooney's writing is fantastic (if you liked her writing in The Cheerleader I think you'll like this too). There is plenty of romance between West and Meghan which is not usually my favourite thing but for the most part it worked well here. There were interesting themes such as nature vs nurture, and how well do you really know someone. The 'chilling' moments about Lannie's power were my favourite parts of the book.
January 15, 2019
Caroline B Cooneys weirdness really works in this one. I didn't realize until the end that it was based on "The Snow Queen", one of my favourite fairy tales. Although .
July 20, 2020
was this book brought to me by Pizza Hut? Anyway I want to go to Pizza Hut now.
https://www.frowl.org/worstbestseller...
https://www.frowl.org/worstbestseller...
July 6, 2024
I read this with my book club that I run on Instagram where we revisit Point Horror and other books from our childhood - @talespointhorrorbookclub
Tagline - Cold hands…evil heart.
Memorable For – Frozen but Point Horror Styley and cold 🥶
Blurb -
As kids, Meghan, West, and Lannie played freeze tag—but with Lannie, nothing was normal. With one touch, she could turn anyone as cold as ice, a human statue frozen in time.
Years later, they’re in high school and everyone remembers Lannie’s power as a silly childhood fantasy. But when Meghan and West become the perfect couple, Lannie intends to collect on a promise West made her all those years ago: If he doesn’t love her, she’ll freeze Meghan—and this time it will be forever.
Some Thoughts -
In a little town where the sun falls like a wet plate out of a dishwashers hands and it snows all the time there is a road called Dark Fern Lane and four children play a game called Freeze Tag.
You remember that game right? It was fun!
Well not the way Lannie plays it….she plays it for realises! With one touch she can freeze you so you can feel cold passing through your heart and snow piling on top of your eyes and basically going into another world……DEATH!
After making local hunk West promise to like her the best, a few years later when Meggie-Mogs and West are getting it on Lannie gently reminds everyone of the promise that was made that must not be broken!
One touch by Lannie and they will take Freeze Tag to a whole new meaning and be frozen FOREVER!
Other highlights include a creepy story of good vs evil, actual parents in a Point Horror, a frozen dog (sniff) and cheesey popcorn!
Tagline - Cold hands…evil heart.
Memorable For – Frozen but Point Horror Styley and cold 🥶
Blurb -
As kids, Meghan, West, and Lannie played freeze tag—but with Lannie, nothing was normal. With one touch, she could turn anyone as cold as ice, a human statue frozen in time.
Years later, they’re in high school and everyone remembers Lannie’s power as a silly childhood fantasy. But when Meghan and West become the perfect couple, Lannie intends to collect on a promise West made her all those years ago: If he doesn’t love her, she’ll freeze Meghan—and this time it will be forever.
Some Thoughts -
In a little town where the sun falls like a wet plate out of a dishwashers hands and it snows all the time there is a road called Dark Fern Lane and four children play a game called Freeze Tag.
You remember that game right? It was fun!
Well not the way Lannie plays it….she plays it for realises! With one touch she can freeze you so you can feel cold passing through your heart and snow piling on top of your eyes and basically going into another world……DEATH!
After making local hunk West promise to like her the best, a few years later when Meggie-Mogs and West are getting it on Lannie gently reminds everyone of the promise that was made that must not be broken!
One touch by Lannie and they will take Freeze Tag to a whole new meaning and be frozen FOREVER!
Other highlights include a creepy story of good vs evil, actual parents in a Point Horror, a frozen dog (sniff) and cheesey popcorn!
March 20, 2016
Well what can I say about this book? I found Meghan to be annoying. I remember Caroline B. Cooney as one of my favorite authors growing up. I had loved her characters. Meghan on the other hand? No. She was in a relationship and basically that was all she was. Was there really nothing more to her? And the ending? Oh come on. Am I to believe that Lannie changed because she was stuck in a car for a few hours? Really? Yeah, I don't think so.
December 14, 2017
"I want West to take ME to Pizza Hut!"
January 1, 2023
I didn't really love this one but it wasn't a bad read
January 6, 2026
Caroline B Cooney is so poetic and dreamy and descriptive in her books, and Freeze Tag was no exception! The ending and meaning of the whole story is deeper than I thought it would be, but it didn’t go too in depth as it didn’t explain how Lannie can just freeze people whenever she wants and undo it. But even without explanation and just taking everything for what it was at face value with no explanation, it was good. Sad, but a fun read!
January 24, 2021
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
October 28, 2007
When Meghan and West first played Freeze Tag with Lannie, it was no ordinary game. Because when Lannie tagged someone, they really froze. Icy blue and cold. Like death. And she wouldn’t unfreeze them until West promised to always like her best, no matter what. Now its three years later and Meghan has forgotten all about Lannie and the promise she extracted that day. Meghan and West are in high school and they’re the perfect couple. But Lannie hasn’t forgotten, and she’s determined to have West for her very own. And if she doesn’t get her way, she’ll freeze Meghan…to death.
My Response to the Story:
Taking love and warmth for granted. That was what Meghan had been doing for almost all her life on earth. Till she discovered how horrible Lannie really was. How sick and twisted the small thin and wispy little girl could be. So frightening that even teachers were scared of her. I pity Lannie. Even though she’s evil, she has a reason for being evil. Her father and mother were not there for her when she needed them. And being neighbours with the two warmest families on earth, she longed for warmth and love and just to be in Meghan’s position for a while. Some believe that people are born pure and innocent and beome tinted when they come into contact with the world. Others believe that humans are born wicked till they touch civilisation. This was how Lannie was pictured to be. Perhaps she was born wicked and the evilness had been contained till she realised how imperfect her life is, and how perfect Meghan’s was. That was when the dark side of her finally showed, borne out of jealousy and desire. For both family warmth and the warmth of a lover. At the beginning of the story, I hated lannie for breaking west and meghan up and threatening to kill West's siblings if he didn't obey Lannie, and when she confessed that she had caused her mother’s death by freezing her while she drove and she smashed into a tree, i thought of how sick she was to murder her own mother, as well as freezing her stepfather Jason and keeping him as a trophy. However as the story progressed I could see why she did all this. Meghan realised it too, and she longed forgave her. When the others wanted to kill Lannie, she wanted to change Lannie, to forgive and to make a good person out of Lannie, but everyone said it was impossible. And at the end of the story, when West and Tuesday wanted to leave her alone to freeze to death in a van, Meghan forgave all she had done and saved her. And she succeeded into warming Lannie. The last part was rather touching.
“Come in my house where its warm,” said Meghan
Lannie said nothing.
Or perhaps she was too cold to speak.
Or perhaps…she had waited all her life to come in where it was warm.
In the face of an enemy, everyone turned ruthless. They all wanted to kill, to turn violent, and to become an enemy themselves. But Meghan didn’t. She become a friend instead. Better a friend than an enemy. And she did change Lannie for the better. Perhaps it’s the power of love, it conquers all. Even the most cold-hearted, cold-headed person would be warmed by love. I loved this book fir it tells the story of love in a different way as most books will. It tells of a sick twisted story, andd then how love could change a beastly girl. Meghan is probably the most sensible one in the story for knowing this.
Im infatuated with Caroline B Cooney's books!
My Favourite Lines:
'Lannie covered her victims like a snowdrift with her hatred for one, and her love for the other.
The game of Freeze Tag had gone on.
And Lannie was still It.'
'Heart and soul. They are so close! So intertwined. What kind of soul could a coldhearted person have?
Perhaps, thought Meghan, no soul at all.'
My Response to the Story:
Taking love and warmth for granted. That was what Meghan had been doing for almost all her life on earth. Till she discovered how horrible Lannie really was. How sick and twisted the small thin and wispy little girl could be. So frightening that even teachers were scared of her. I pity Lannie. Even though she’s evil, she has a reason for being evil. Her father and mother were not there for her when she needed them. And being neighbours with the two warmest families on earth, she longed for warmth and love and just to be in Meghan’s position for a while. Some believe that people are born pure and innocent and beome tinted when they come into contact with the world. Others believe that humans are born wicked till they touch civilisation. This was how Lannie was pictured to be. Perhaps she was born wicked and the evilness had been contained till she realised how imperfect her life is, and how perfect Meghan’s was. That was when the dark side of her finally showed, borne out of jealousy and desire. For both family warmth and the warmth of a lover. At the beginning of the story, I hated lannie for breaking west and meghan up and threatening to kill West's siblings if he didn't obey Lannie, and when she confessed that she had caused her mother’s death by freezing her while she drove and she smashed into a tree, i thought of how sick she was to murder her own mother, as well as freezing her stepfather Jason and keeping him as a trophy. However as the story progressed I could see why she did all this. Meghan realised it too, and she longed forgave her. When the others wanted to kill Lannie, she wanted to change Lannie, to forgive and to make a good person out of Lannie, but everyone said it was impossible. And at the end of the story, when West and Tuesday wanted to leave her alone to freeze to death in a van, Meghan forgave all she had done and saved her. And she succeeded into warming Lannie. The last part was rather touching.
“Come in my house where its warm,” said Meghan
Lannie said nothing.
Or perhaps she was too cold to speak.
Or perhaps…she had waited all her life to come in where it was warm.
In the face of an enemy, everyone turned ruthless. They all wanted to kill, to turn violent, and to become an enemy themselves. But Meghan didn’t. She become a friend instead. Better a friend than an enemy. And she did change Lannie for the better. Perhaps it’s the power of love, it conquers all. Even the most cold-hearted, cold-headed person would be warmed by love. I loved this book fir it tells the story of love in a different way as most books will. It tells of a sick twisted story, andd then how love could change a beastly girl. Meghan is probably the most sensible one in the story for knowing this.
Im infatuated with Caroline B Cooney's books!
My Favourite Lines:
'Lannie covered her victims like a snowdrift with her hatred for one, and her love for the other.
The game of Freeze Tag had gone on.
And Lannie was still It.'
'Heart and soul. They are so close! So intertwined. What kind of soul could a coldhearted person have?
Perhaps, thought Meghan, no soul at all.'
March 12, 2022
More like 1.5 stars for startling moral complexity, given that the primary reason I read this was in order to laugh at the fact that every other sentence is an amusingly baffling analogy like this one:
This review is going to be one big spoiler, but I don't know if many people are reading this random trashy paperback from 1992 so I am not going to hide any of my text. If you care about this story for some reason, then stop reading, I guess.
Basically, Lannie is a rapist. Caroline B. Cooney keeps things pretty clean and never explicitly says that this is what is happening, but that's what's happening. Lannie has been neglected and unloved her entire life, and people who are neglected and unloved, the book posits, often grow up to be bad people (more on this in a bit). In this particular story, Lannie has a mystical freezie power that is never explained (I am fine with this and actually think that many horror stories would benefit by not attempting to fully explain every spooky happening), and she can get people to do what she wants by threatening to freeze their loved ones / random neighborhood children. Lannie uses her freezie power to get a popular boy to go steady with her. Our narrator is the guy's girlfriend, Meghan.
Meghan realizes that Lannie's vindictiveness is infectious when her friends decide to fight back. They create a trap for Lannie and convince her to enter a broken-down car with no handles on the inside, which is parked in a remote location in the midst of a snowstorm. At the end of the book, Meghan decides that she does not care about whether or not her boyfriend ever loves her back again, because she cannot live with herself if she does not love herself, and she cannot love herself if she allows someone to die, even an evil rapist murderer. She trudges through snowbanks in a blizzard to save Lannie from the car.
I do not agree that it is wrong to fight back against someone who is tormenting, threatening, raping, and killing people. I think it is justice. Specifically, I think that if a person rapes another, then that individual has basically revoked their humanity. Pretty much every other crime has potential justifications; even killing can happen in self-defense. But this sort of violation is not ever forgivable, in my opinion. Sure, Lannie was lonely and had been subjected to a loveless childhood, and she really really wanted a boyfriend. But the thing that gets me is that there are plenty of people who have awful lives who do not go on to do awful things. I hate, for instance, how every time an incel shoots up a school, the conversation turns towards ~mental health~ and the guy's internal anguish. Newsflash: we all have internal anguish. Trauma is not unique. It is commonplace! And trauma does not entitle you to traumatize others. Cooney did her readers a disservice by insinuating that it is "even more evil" to stand up to evil, especially considering that a lot of her readers must have been teenage girls, a demographic known for gaslighting themselves into meek compliance because that's what female socialization does to people.
So, do I think the Trevor kids were right to leave Lannie in an abandoned car to freeze to death after what she had done to all of the characters in this story? Yes.
...Would I also trudge through snowbanks in the middle of a blizzard to save someone I knew was about to die from a preventable death? Also yes. That is just the kind of person I am.
The sun was going down like a circle of construction paper falling off the bulletin board. No longer the yellow bulb of daytime, it was a sinking orange half circle.
This review is going to be one big spoiler, but I don't know if many people are reading this random trashy paperback from 1992 so I am not going to hide any of my text. If you care about this story for some reason, then stop reading, I guess.
Basically, Lannie is a rapist. Caroline B. Cooney keeps things pretty clean and never explicitly says that this is what is happening, but that's what's happening. Lannie has been neglected and unloved her entire life, and people who are neglected and unloved, the book posits, often grow up to be bad people (more on this in a bit). In this particular story, Lannie has a mystical freezie power that is never explained (I am fine with this and actually think that many horror stories would benefit by not attempting to fully explain every spooky happening), and she can get people to do what she wants by threatening to freeze their loved ones / random neighborhood children. Lannie uses her freezie power to get a popular boy to go steady with her. Our narrator is the guy's girlfriend, Meghan.
Meghan realizes that Lannie's vindictiveness is infectious when her friends decide to fight back. They create a trap for Lannie and convince her to enter a broken-down car with no handles on the inside, which is parked in a remote location in the midst of a snowstorm. At the end of the book, Meghan decides that she does not care about whether or not her boyfriend ever loves her back again, because she cannot live with herself if she does not love herself, and she cannot love herself if she allows someone to die, even an evil rapist murderer. She trudges through snowbanks in a blizzard to save Lannie from the car.
I do not agree that it is wrong to fight back against someone who is tormenting, threatening, raping, and killing people. I think it is justice. Specifically, I think that if a person rapes another, then that individual has basically revoked their humanity. Pretty much every other crime has potential justifications; even killing can happen in self-defense. But this sort of violation is not ever forgivable, in my opinion. Sure, Lannie was lonely and had been subjected to a loveless childhood, and she really really wanted a boyfriend. But the thing that gets me is that there are plenty of people who have awful lives who do not go on to do awful things. I hate, for instance, how every time an incel shoots up a school, the conversation turns towards ~mental health~ and the guy's internal anguish. Newsflash: we all have internal anguish. Trauma is not unique. It is commonplace! And trauma does not entitle you to traumatize others. Cooney did her readers a disservice by insinuating that it is "even more evil" to stand up to evil, especially considering that a lot of her readers must have been teenage girls, a demographic known for gaslighting themselves into meek compliance because that's what female socialization does to people.
So, do I think the Trevor kids were right to leave Lannie in an abandoned car to freeze to death after what she had done to all of the characters in this story? Yes.
...Would I also trudge through snowbanks in the middle of a blizzard to save someone I knew was about to die from a preventable death? Also yes. That is just the kind of person I am.
May 19, 2014
I had high hopes for this book but the ending was both disappointing and unrealistic (this book is about a girl who freezes people by touching them, so calling the ending "unrealistic" is really saying something).
I find Cooney books tend to focus heavily on close relationships with friends and family, so I appreciated Meghan's drifting away from her close relationships here, just for a change. And while I do think her reasons for doing so were fairly decent, I just can't get behind all the compassion for Lannie. Yes, the plan to kill her definitely was proof of the Trevor kids turning coldhearted, but at the same time I didn't feel like I could blame them. Lannie was holding West hostage, threatening the lives of his loved ones and even innocent strangers. The forced relationship and touching and kissing within it is sexual assault - should he really be expected to put all that aside for the rest of his life, to stay too kind to hurt anyone? Yes, they were cold, but Lannie not only made them that way but enjoyed it.
And that's another thing - Lannie is written with zero redeeming qualities. Cold, cruel, ugly, creepy, she's got them all. She enjoys freaking people out and torturing them, but is then puzzled when they dislike her.
Her attempted murder, I can believe. Her rescue and the reasons behind it are simply not convincing. The implication that that one act of kindness is all she wanted and that it would be enough for her to change is even less convincing and struck me as being an incredibly lazy way to wrap up. The ending seems forced and unfinished. I initially had a higher rating for this book but the more I think about it, the more flaws there are. I wouldn't reread it.
I find Cooney books tend to focus heavily on close relationships with friends and family, so I appreciated Meghan's drifting away from her close relationships here, just for a change. And while I do think her reasons for doing so were fairly decent, I just can't get behind all the compassion for Lannie. Yes, the plan to kill her definitely was proof of the Trevor kids turning coldhearted, but at the same time I didn't feel like I could blame them. Lannie was holding West hostage, threatening the lives of his loved ones and even innocent strangers. The forced relationship and touching and kissing within it is sexual assault - should he really be expected to put all that aside for the rest of his life, to stay too kind to hurt anyone? Yes, they were cold, but Lannie not only made them that way but enjoyed it.
And that's another thing - Lannie is written with zero redeeming qualities. Cold, cruel, ugly, creepy, she's got them all. She enjoys freaking people out and torturing them, but is then puzzled when they dislike her.
Her attempted murder, I can believe. Her rescue and the reasons behind it are simply not convincing. The implication that that one act of kindness is all she wanted and that it would be enough for her to change is even less convincing and struck me as being an incredibly lazy way to wrap up. The ending seems forced and unfinished. I initially had a higher rating for this book but the more I think about it, the more flaws there are. I wouldn't reread it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Read
February 24, 2016Caroline B Cooney dominated the YA scene in the 90's and after reading one of her books for the first time in 20 years (I'm so old :-() it isn't hard to see why.
In a market where authors churned out a book a month to keep up with demand, there were plenty of times when the writing was sub-standard or the plot ridiculous. Cooney wrote in a clear and distinctive voice - you always knew when you were reading one of hers. In short clipped sentences she was able to create a cast of characters that you actually had a sense of and became invested in a few words over a scant 150 pages. Even her peripheral characters had a personality of their own; they were never just window dressing.
She was always able to create a world the reader could fall into. Her similes and metaphors created a world not by description but by emotion and feel. You may not be a member of the type of society she was creating but you could feel the emotions and ambiance in the scene.
In terms of Point Horror, and in particular Freeze Tag (seen as this is meant to be a review for Freeze Tag and not just a Caroline B Cooney fangirl gushfest) the author manages to employ the above techniques whilst also creating a suspenseful and chilling tale that also includes many moral and philosophical ideas to make a teenager think about their own life and their position in their families and social circles. The open ended finale leaves readers clamoring for a sequel which is the beauty of a book like this as a teenager; your imagination is able to go into overdrive finishing off the tale as it suits you. This one actually has a supernatural vein to it rather than being more a mystery than anything else. Much better than the normal Point Horror fare with a Scooby Doo ending.
In a market where authors churned out a book a month to keep up with demand, there were plenty of times when the writing was sub-standard or the plot ridiculous. Cooney wrote in a clear and distinctive voice - you always knew when you were reading one of hers. In short clipped sentences she was able to create a cast of characters that you actually had a sense of and became invested in a few words over a scant 150 pages. Even her peripheral characters had a personality of their own; they were never just window dressing.
She was always able to create a world the reader could fall into. Her similes and metaphors created a world not by description but by emotion and feel. You may not be a member of the type of society she was creating but you could feel the emotions and ambiance in the scene.
In terms of Point Horror, and in particular Freeze Tag (seen as this is meant to be a review for Freeze Tag and not just a Caroline B Cooney fangirl gushfest) the author manages to employ the above techniques whilst also creating a suspenseful and chilling tale that also includes many moral and philosophical ideas to make a teenager think about their own life and their position in their families and social circles. The open ended finale leaves readers clamoring for a sequel which is the beauty of a book like this as a teenager; your imagination is able to go into overdrive finishing off the tale as it suits you. This one actually has a supernatural vein to it rather than being more a mystery than anything else. Much better than the normal Point Horror fare with a Scooby Doo ending.
January 9, 2022
Not quite the read I thought it would be but in a good way. Caroline B. Cooney has always had this way with writing characters that are relatable in small ways and despite the premise of some supernatural, terrifying element...we get human characters.
Meghan has been in love with West since they were little but so has Lannie. Sounds like a normal love triangle but Lannie has the ability to freeze people...literally.
A titular game of Freeze Tag brings that to light when Lannie freezes West's little sister Tuesday and his little brother Brown and Meghan as kids and only if West promises to like Lannie best...she'll unfreeze them.
West makes a child's promise but as a young man that's forgotten but Lannie will make sure he keeps his word. In the end, Meghan is the one with more to lose than the boy she loves unless she can find a way to reach out to Lannie and her heart of ice.
I won't spoil the ending but until I hit that last chapter...my expectations for the ending were not high. Let's just say I felt confused like I skipped something but I wasn't disappointed.
I'd recommend this to fans of Cooney and Point Horror in general.
Meghan has been in love with West since they were little but so has Lannie. Sounds like a normal love triangle but Lannie has the ability to freeze people...literally.
A titular game of Freeze Tag brings that to light when Lannie freezes West's little sister Tuesday and his little brother Brown and Meghan as kids and only if West promises to like Lannie best...she'll unfreeze them.
West makes a child's promise but as a young man that's forgotten but Lannie will make sure he keeps his word. In the end, Meghan is the one with more to lose than the boy she loves unless she can find a way to reach out to Lannie and her heart of ice.
I won't spoil the ending but until I hit that last chapter...my expectations for the ending were not high. Let's just say I felt confused like I skipped something but I wasn't disappointed.
I'd recommend this to fans of Cooney and Point Horror in general.
September 7, 2021
Lainnie has the ability to freeze and unfreeze people, which she uses to her on advantage. Manipulating her close friends to do as she wishes.
Her ability steams from the lack of love she received from her parents whilst growing up, which makes her cold hearted.
It’s a great premise, the book has some really chilling moments.
One of the better written books in the Point Horror range!
Her ability steams from the lack of love she received from her parents whilst growing up, which makes her cold hearted.
It’s a great premise, the book has some really chilling moments.
One of the better written books in the Point Horror range!
April 12, 2017
Really enjoyed this. It's not scary, and it's not a trashy-fun read like PH usually is, but it's genuinely a good book. Definitely the most literary in the PH series.
May 10, 2025
3.5 stars! This was so creepy and totally felt like a YA version of something Grady Hendrix or Stephen King would write.
I found this genuinely unsettling, reading it as an adult. It’s got a very effective claustrophobic feeling running through it. And the writing is pretty good! Cooney really makes the suburban setting feel so sinister, which was one of my favorite parts. It does get a little repetitive at times with the main character’s circular ruminations, but the juicy horror of the story made it well worth the repetition for me.
I wanted the ending to crank up the horror and really go there, but this has a very YA friendly ending, which makes sense, considering the intended audience.
I found this genuinely unsettling, reading it as an adult. It’s got a very effective claustrophobic feeling running through it. And the writing is pretty good! Cooney really makes the suburban setting feel so sinister, which was one of my favorite parts. It does get a little repetitive at times with the main character’s circular ruminations, but the juicy horror of the story made it well worth the repetition for me.
I wanted the ending to crank up the horror and really go there, but this has a very YA friendly ending, which makes sense, considering the intended audience.
January 1, 2023
2,5*
Even though this was a fast paced entertaining winter read, I did not love it as much as other Point Horror books. Probably part of the issue was that I found Meghan to be annoying.
When Meghan and West first played Freeze Tag with Lannie, it was no ordinary game. Because when Lannie tagged someone, they really froze. Lannie wouldn’t unfreeze them until West promised to always like her best, no matter what.
Another major issue I had with the book was the ending that made no sense and was not really something you can just believe.
Even though this was a fast paced entertaining winter read, I did not love it as much as other Point Horror books. Probably part of the issue was that I found Meghan to be annoying.
When Meghan and West first played Freeze Tag with Lannie, it was no ordinary game. Because when Lannie tagged someone, they really froze. Lannie wouldn’t unfreeze them until West promised to always like her best, no matter what.
Another major issue I had with the book was the ending that made no sense and was not really something you can just believe.
December 7, 2018
I don’t know what it is, but this story does not settle well in me. The Lannie character was described so horribly with no redeemable quality, which really bothered me.
I read on just because I wanted to find out what would become of her. I was careless about other characters.
This is one of the point horrors, and you can read it free if you are member of the Kindle Unlimited member.
I read on just because I wanted to find out what would become of her. I was careless about other characters.
This is one of the point horrors, and you can read it free if you are member of the Kindle Unlimited member.
July 26, 2025
I remember loving this when I was young but the writing is hard work as an adult. It's overstuffed with metaphors and similies of little substance. My moral philosophy has changed a lot since being a teen as well because I now I absolutely believe that people who commit sexual assault deserve to die so the ending was disappointing to me. Still an original and creepy story though.
December 17, 2022
I can’t quite get my head around what I’ve just read! A very strange point horror…more like point romance! The end was also very strange! Really not a favourite, though a pleasant enough read. 2.5/3 stars
January 24, 2025
DNF 23%
Cannot stand her writing style. So flowery, so many metaphors that don’t even make sense. Sadly this is probably my last Cooney.
Cannot stand her writing style. So flowery, so many metaphors that don’t even make sense. Sadly this is probably my last Cooney.
July 14, 2021
It wasnt a bad book but its definitely written for a younger audience. I liked some of Caroline's other books a lot better.
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