Tim BowlerRecensioni

This book does have some scariness,I mean really scariness going on but it doesnt quite pull through ending rather weakly when the evil is revealed and then resolved in a too neat way.

Blade is running from his past but he gives few clues throughout the book to what that past entails. Blade lives in an unnamed British city, he is homeless, and he breaks into houses and apartments just to sleep, shower, eat, and read books, which helps to humanize him. The writing style is reminiscent of A Clockwork Orange with short, choppy sentences, an unusual slang, and the first person narration is directed at someone he calls “Big Eyes.” The short sentences contribute to the excitement and tension that build throughout the book beginning with when he is seven years old and the “porkers” are questioning him about his role in a traffic incident. Time leaps ahead to when Blade is fourteen and the main action takes place. First he is jumped by a vicious girl gang, and then a Good Samaritan rescues him. But then she is murdered by some thugs who Blade thinks he recognizes from his past, but is she really dead? He realizes he has to leave the city and find a new place to live to escape these people from his past, and winds up allowing a teen mother and her daughter to tag alone. This brutal, violent book is a page turner sure to appeal to reluctant readers, but it leaves more questions than it answers which will hopefully be addressed in the planned six additional sequels.

If this book had been longer, I would have DNFed it. And it was going to get two stars until it had an inconclusive and disappointing ending. The first page was intriguing but it went down hill fast. The narrator speaks directly to the reader but makes the reader a character that could potentially interact with the world. I'm all for breaking the fourth wall but not the reality of the book. If I'm the reader, I can't turn on lights. Also, the style was stream-of-consciousness, running narrative of every action and thought and was so tedious. There was a ton of weird British street urchin slang but then when calling the police, the narrator dialed 9-1-1 (The UK emergency line is 9-9-9.) The emotional barometer was very off: a big twist was mentioned casually but then obsessed over and then not true. I couldn't figure out what to feel. Overall, confusing and boring. I regret sticking with this book.

A young girl and her parents struggle with her grandfather's swiftly declining health as they all travel back to the rural area where he was born. Jess's grandfather is a painter, and his efforts to finish his last painting seem to be bound to both his own life and the mysterious boy who appears to Jess in the river near their vacation home.
The idea behind this one is really good, and potentially could be a great way to open up a conversation with kids about how to process the death of a loved one. But the writing wasn't great, and the character of Jess seemed a little flat, so the whole thing fell a bit short for me.

This book had so much promise, but sadly it did not blow me away. The author uses such beautiful language and detail, but the story was lacking:( I've read other stuff by him and it was much better. I'm kind of sad b/c I really thought the snow boy had potential.

This book is just gorgeous!
It talks about music and the way it can change someone's perception of living .
It talks about life and death, about love and hate.
This was one of those books which changed the way I see the world and helped me understand music a little better...

Luke is a gifted pianist whose life has taken a detour since his father's death. He's a reluctant member of a gang of boys headed by Skin who has been egging Luke on to steal a box of valuables from old Mrs. Little's house. When Luke first breaks into the house he discovers a blind little girl hiding there. On a second attempt, he is caught by the old woman. Familiar with his musical talent, she wants Luke to visit and play piano because music seems to be the only thing that soothes the distraught girl. Luke doesn't want to do it but ends up back at the house. His playing does positively affect the girl. But he learns Mrs Little had kidnapped the girl from an accident scene and has been caring for her since. Luke reunites the girl with her parents and the experience helps him come to terms with the loss of his father.

This reads like Tim Bowler's first novel. While a very fast read, it lacks character depth and doesn't build the story enough to really garner the reader's sympathies. The boat races are the most descriptive, with the intent of building suspense; but, instead they are just cumbersome. Midget's relationship with the boat-maker could have been much richer, Seb's relationship with Jenny could have been much more interesting, and the psychiatriatrist and father were never really explored and revealed. So, while this was a quick and easy read, it left me empty at the end.

This book was quite stupid. It tried desperately to be suspenseful, but only ended up in making me go, "What the f*%#?".

First off, the main character Dusty has absolutely no personality whatsoever and does stupid, irrational things that no one with an ounce of sense would do. She's mean and disrespectful to her father, (I noticed this trend in YA books today. How is this okay? My dad would've hung me in the backyard.) to her friends, and almost everybody else under the guise of being "a tomboy". Yeah, beacuse being a tomboy makes me look tough and badass and excuses me from asshole-ish behavior. *Eyeroll* Yet she doesn't do anything to make her appear as one. She just looks stupid and incompetent. Sad to say, because it's not always like this, but usually this type of female character is often created by male authors. I don't know what it is, but it's my personal observance.

The writing is boring, and full of useless pages of unimportant chatter with her poor father, who desperately needs support but gets only sh*t from his bratty daughter. Ugh, just-

This book made me sooooo mad. Mad enough to where I couldn't finish. So there.

Dropped at 31% or pg. 103.

I got really into this book and enjoyed it, until the end, when things stopped making sense. Boo. I really hate novels that leave it all up to the imagination, too. Some things I can figure out, other things I really need some help with--like, what that heck happened to the main character there at the end?

A mind blowing adventure of one girl and many unanswered questions, frozen fire takes you on a jorney to figure out the truth behind the mystery people are trying to solve

Hummmm. This book had many moments in it that really grabbed me, and I found myself completely absorbed. Unfortunately, for me, they were just that...moments. While I was reading, and waiting for those times, I was bored or confused. Kind of like fishing for me...throw out the line, start getting bored waiting...then confusion on why your wasting your time waiting and about ready to pack it in when, BAM ya get a bite.

An unusual story with unexpected elements.

Sort of an odd book. At first it seemed like it would fall into the Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys unobjectionable mystery category. Then it gets darker. There is some mild cursing, mostly by the dad who turns out to be a character with questionable morals anyway, having covered up an affair, an illegitimate child, and the child's accidental death.I got annoyed with the dowsing trope. It seemed like a really lazy way to propel the story and solve the mystery. It might have worked if there were other supernatural elements in the story. Sam the youngest brother having the dead child as an imaginery friend sort of counts as supernatural, but it is a tired tired way to go. I think it especially didn't work because we saw the whole thing from Sam's minds eye. Would have been more mysterious and interesting to NOT know what Sam was thinking. Maybe a bit overly didactic, but the theme is blackmail and/or things covered up coming to light...a quick, not-terrible read, and something I'd reccommend to a younger teen who wants something with a bit of edge/violence/suspense but nothing too-too graphic.Parents might object to:- swearing- adultery- violence (emotional violence, kid gets manhandled by kidnapper, boy pulls a gun on girl then shoots self)Teens might object to:- Britishisms- dowsing trope (kind of weird and out of place)

Reading this now, but Dusty, a teenage girl, is being stalked by a boy who no one can see or find. He says he is to dangerouus to find, which is why no one can find hin, incl,uding Dusty.

Playing Dead is a very intense and interesting book. The author is Tim Bowler. I loved this book, because I love adventure books. As a matter of fact, I love going on adventures myself. I think the theme of the book is living in the streets, trying to survive when there are people who want to kill you. A life lesson I learned from this book is to always be aware of your surroundings because Blade is always aware and he's always sees something that the other characters wouldn't notice. The main characters are Blade, Mary, Becky, Jaz. At the beginning of the book Blade meets an old lady named Mary, who really helped him out. Then toward the middle Blade meets Becky and Jaz who is Becky's Daughter. The author really made me feel as though the characters in the book were real because of the descriptions he gave. I think this book is great because of the adventure and intensity in the book, although I only recommend this book for anyone over the age of 12 because there are some parts that may not be suitable for a younger audience. Can't wait for the second one.½

Blade: Playing Dead is a fast-paced story of a young man on the run in an English city (presumably London) "Blade" is good with a knife and someone is after him but that's all the reader knows. In the course of the story he is beaten severely by a gang of girls ("trolls"), witnesses a murder-too-late, befriends another runaway girl, rescues her young daughter and spends lots of time running, leaping, hiding out, and hiding from unnamed enemies. The pace is breathless and Blade's hyper vigilance borders on paranoia. The English slang might be off-putting for some readers (why no glossary?) and the book's ending is unsatisfactory... a cliffhanger to set up book #2 Out of the Shadows. Still, this would be great pick for the reluctant reader who likes action and suspense.

Im on the 3rd book and i think this book is really intresting, im loveing this book already. this book is about this boy who is around 14 and his name is blade well thats what they call him.Him and his friend bex and her daughter is running aways from this little town where they came from. If you want to know why there runing away your gonna have to wait till the next comment i make .

This book had a very gripping beginning, but the rest was extremely unfulfilling. I found myself being forced to sit through the rest. I didn't feel like I got anything out of reading it.

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!

Dusty answers the phone when she's home alone one night and suddenly her whole world is turned upside-down by an androgynous person who most people assume is male, and who carries with him stories of rape and disgrace, along with a simple white ocarina. With his arrival, Dusty's town is thrown into an uproar, and a chase on the verge of a witch-hunt begins. All the while Dusty is forever drawn to the boy (as the town calls him) by possible clues as to the whereabouts of her brother and childhood best friend, who disappeared years before.
While I was disappointed by an unclear ending, the lack of an explanation was made up for by a clearing up of different facts, one that puts Dusty at least partly at rest and which I won't reveal so as not to spoil the ending for anyone who has yet to read this intriguing novel.½

With chilling suspense, this book grabbed me so hard I was stunned. But then I was completely ticked off when the source of all the suspense was left unexplained in a disapointing ending. So I would only recommend this if you can settle for a very vague conclusion. The author did do an amazing job with setting up the mystery though... a fascinating read if not satisfying.

Perhaps nothing really new, but well written and engaging. The author does a superb job creating a character that readers sympathize with despite flaws.

This boko is filled with suspense from page 1. I loved the mystery of who the boy was. I didn't know what to expect, but I really liked the writing, and the characters. Loved this book. AHS/BB

Blade is a teenager completely on his own in the big city. He survives by paying attention to details: he knows when people have left for the weekend and sleeps & showers in their house, he knows where to lift wallets and how to escape, he knows where other teenagers live so he can steal clothes that they'll never know are missing. After he suffers a humiliating beating at the hands of a tough girl gang, Blade sees one of the girls murdered-- and unwittingly gets involved with Becky, a 16 year old runaway with a 3 year old daughter, Jaz. Author Tim Fowler uses street language (not obscene), and the story is told through Blade's eyes as if he's giving a tour of his life. Blade addresses this person on the tour as "BigEyes" and provides some backstory. However, a great deal of the backstory is never revealed, and there are a lot of questions left unanswered. Perhaps the most appealing part of this novel is the fact that there is only one adult character of significance-- Mary, an elderly woman who is murdered early in the book. All major characters are runaway teens or young adults.½