| Frozen in Time | |
|---|---|
First edition cover |
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| Author(s) | Ali Sparkes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Novel |
| Publisher | OUP Oxford |
| Publication date | 1 January 2009 |
| Pages | 336 pp |
| ISBN | 0192727559 |
Frozen in Time is an award-winning book by author Ali Sparkes. It has won two Blue Peter awards. Set in Britain 2009, the story researches cryonic suspension and life in 1956 Britain as well.
Ben and Rachel Corder are staying in their house with their dreary old uncle when the TV satellite breaks and the TV explodes. Unable to do anything to amuse themselves, Ben and Rachel start digging in the garden and find themselves opening a hatch. They drop themselves into it and find themselves in what looks like an old-fashioned underground house. They find a what looks like a torpedo and are shocked to see two dead bodies in it. Rachel accidentally presses a button and suddenly the hatch opens and the bodies come to life. Rachel faints and Ben starts talking gibberish in his shock. The two people that had before seemed dead introduced themselves as Freddy and Polly Emerson and asked why they were in their fathers' vault. When Rachel and Ben explained, they first refused to believe it, but then believed when Rachel and Ben took them into their house. Freddy and Polly revealed they had been put into cryonic suspension - their father had stopped their hearts and was able to make them start again. Freddy and Polly had been put to sleep in 1956 and woke up in 2010. They couldn't understand why their father had deserted them. In time, Rachel and Ben introduce them to 2010, and Freddy and Polly are frequently shocked. They get sent to school (under the name Robertson, in case there's anyone old enough on the school staff to remember) and try to research what happened to their father. A cheerful librarian gives them documents. One day, Rachel reads an email sent to her by her uncle saying "Get out of the house now!!!You are in danger we hope you disobey our rules we will come to the house to investigate. " Ben and Freddy, who had been escaping bullies, come back to see Rachel and Polly being drugged and thrown into the boot of the car. Ben knocks a man out with a camera and runs to the librarian, who had been planning the whole thing. She had suspected Freddy and Polly's real identity and wanted to know about the cryonic suspension and how it worked. Ben eventually gets drugged too and thrown into the car also. The car drives away and Rachel wakes up to see Polly being taken out of the car to be boarded onto a helicopter . She finds a torch, picks the lock of the boot with a hairgrip and sprays antiseptic into the librarians' eyes. They then get taken to a place where the people know all about the cryonic suspension, but wanted to help them. Freddy and Polly are reunited with their father, who had put himself into cryonic suspension. The story ends with Freddy and Polly trying to teach their father about 2010 life.
The book has haid positive reviews from critics. TheBookBag.co.uk called it " the first brilliantly inventive and rollicking fantastical adventure for the 8+ audience for 2009".