FREEZE FRAME by Heidi Ayarbe

Jason and Kyle have been best friends for years.  Neither of them would be described as popular, but that's never seemed to matter.  Their offbeat common interests cemented their friendship.

To avoid a confrontation with Kyle's sister, the boys head out to the shed in Kyle's backyard.  It's a place they've used as a sort of hideaway, and it contains some occasionally entertaining junk.  When Kyle reached up to grab the key from its hiding place, neither of the boys realized this particular shed encounter would change things forever.

Shortly after they enter the shed, Jason makes a surprise discovery - a gun.  All Kyle remembers is Jason holding up the gun and asking what they should do with it.  Then he remembers a loud sound and watches his friend double over and slouch to the ground.

What follows is the 911 call and the flashing lights of the ambulance headed to the hospital followed by Kyle and two sets of frantic parents.  What Kyle can't believe is the fact that he killed his friend with a gunshot wound to the chest.  How did it happen?  Was it an accident or did he do it on purpose?

Author Heidi Ayarbe takes readers on a journey as Kyle, his family, and Jason's family deal with the loss of a happy fifteen year old.  Kyle must come to terms with exactly what happened in the shed and try to adjust to life without Jason.  The connections he makes with another misfit boy at school, with the librarian both he and Jason always imagined was a mob killer, and Jason's precocious little brother turn out to be connections that probably save Kyle's life.  The psychological battle raging within Kyle will draw readers in and carry them through to the emotional conclusion.