"Freeze Frame is, quite simply, a stellar first novel. Heidi Ayarbe's powerful prose compels you to turn page after page until, along with protagonist Kyle, you reach the necessary resolution to mind-numbing conflict. This story will stay under your skin for a very long time." - Ellen Hopkins, author of the National Book Award nominee BURNED and New York Times bestseller IMPULSE.

"Readers of Ayarbe's debut novel will be thrilled that she has a second book in the works. Offer this one to fans of Gail Giles' Right Behind You." VOYA (Starred)

"Satisfying and truly moving." Kirkus Reviews

"This tightly written story unfolds both through Kyle's memories and his current experiences of pain, self-loathing, and fear ... A truly strong first novel." Booklist

FAQ

Over the course of the past year, during school talks and library visits I've gotten quite a few questions about Freeze Frame and how it evolved. Here's a list of the most popular questions and some questions I just wanted to include that I wish people would've asked me! Why not? It's my Website.

What does FREEZE FRAME mean?

In cinema, a freeze frame shot is used when one shot is printed in a single frame several times. It makes the film stall -- looking like a still photograph -- in essence freezing the action. Why use FREEZE FRAME SHOTS? Directors use freeze frame shots in critical scenes to focus on characters' emotions or expressions.

Where did the idea for FREEZE FRAME come from?

I was at a poetry reading in Nevada (Ash Canyon Poets) and a woman came to the reading, laughing, because her grandson had just asked the question, "Which way is tomorrow?" I loved that question and wondered what would make a teenager ask "Which way is yesterday?" Over the next several months, I kept the question in the back of my mind. That year, two similar incidents to what happened to Kyle and Jason happened in the Northern Nevada area. And I decided I wanted to write about it.

Was it always called FREEZE FRAME?

Ahhh ... I'm title-challenged. We went through something like seven titles including: FINDING YESTERDAY, THE MEMORY KEEPER, SHATTERED, SUPPOSE, 10:46 ... Really, I lost count. Jill Santopolo, the most amazing editor in the Western Hemisphere (I'd say the world, but that's cliche, so I'll just use a hemispheric hyperbole), finally came up with the perfect title.

Can you name all the movies, directors, and actors Kyle references in FREEZE FRAME? (Nobody's actually ever asked me this. But it's fun to think about.)

Not off the top of my head, but I can name MOST of them. Kyle alludes to Hitchcock, Tarantino, Eastwood, Buster Keaton, Lynch, the Coen Brothers, Grindhouse-style films, Kubrick, Zhang Yimou, Iñárritu, Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, The Swarm, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Groundhog Day, Lord of the Rings, Dr. Frankenstein, A Clockwork Orange, Mission Impossible, The Butterfly Effect and more. You've got time to brush up on your movies and directors before FREEZE FRAME comes out!

How long did it take to write FREEZE FRAME?

From the time I actually began writing (not counting the months I thought about the question, "Which way is yesterday?") to the last revision -- three and a half years.

Are any of Kyle's favorite directors and movies your favorite directors and movies?

I love the Coen Brothers movies the most. I have other directors I like that I didn't include in Kyle's repertoire because they're more my taste, not his. And I definitely don't like some of the movies he does. (For instance, I'd never watch the horror movies or gore movies he does because they give me nightmares.) But again, that's because Kyle and I are two separate beings (even though I invented him).

How do you feel about your characters? Do you have a favorite? Least favorite?

I think, as a writer, you have to really like all your characters (because you spend so much time with them), but some are more difficult to get to know than others. Every scene I wrote with Chase and Kohana was a gift. I loved getting to know them better throughout the process of revisions. And of course, Cordoba. He is central to the entire book, and creating a character that I love, like I love Cordoba, was a privilege. My most challenging character was Jason, and I still feel like I don't know him all that well. I just know him through Kyle. And Kyle's sometimes not very communicative about things, as you'll see!

So much time is spent in the library. Why did you choose the library as Kyle's "place"?

I don't know of the first school library that isn't a refuge for students that don't quite fit in. I've always loved the neutrality and peace of libraries and the openness of librarians. I remember in school, when I wanted to hide, I'd go to the library. I kind of think of libraries like the Switzerland of the teenage world. Moreover, Kyle is a storyteller. What better place to find stories than at a library or movie theater? And who is better to open the doors of storytelling than a librarian?

What's FREEZE FRAME'S main theme?

I was actually asked this once (so technically it's not a FAQ, but it's a good question) and drew a blank. (This, of course, did not go over well with the English teachers since it was clear that this is something they were really pushing their students to think about.) So I thought about it, and I think it's forgiveness.