SOLVED. science fiction novel kid is frozen and wakes up in the future [s]

[Lee]

Trying to remember a title / author of a sci fi book I read back in the 80s, a kid is critically frozen by a scientist, and "lost", wakes up in the future (no, it's not Futurama lol) and humans have learned how to extend their lives, but as they get older their flesh gets translucent - they are referred to as "guppies". Somehow this kids mind holds the secret to extending life indefinitely, but there are side effects, and people in power want you get ahold if him.

[Tab]

Lee, was this a book geared towards children, teens, or adults?

[Lee]

it's hard to say - I read it when I was 12, from my school library, but I also read it around the same time as The Star BeastThe Star Beast, so I would say adult.

[Lee]

bump! don't have any new information, just tossing a comment to move it up...

[She]

A World Out of Time by Larry Niven maybe?
http://www.whatsthatbook.com/?xq=2122
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0345...

[Lee]

I don't think that's it - one if the plot points is that a female nurse helps his escape from the facility where he is woken, and there is a lot of "chasing" in that everyone wants a piece of him (literally!) as he somehow hooks the secret to eternal youth (versus eternal life)...

[Tab]

The Forever Formula

longer description:
The year is 2164. Seventeen-year-old Evan Clark awakens after 180 frozen years into a society whose citizens commonly live well past one hundred years into uselessness and boredom. (view spoiler)[So scarce is living space in Los Angeles, now the U.S. capital, that young people, those under 60, are kept in kennels. Evan's own father, the legendary Dr. Clark, had in 1984 invented the formula that made longevity possible, though he was later killed in an accident; all that's in the history books. Dr. Clark also developed a refinement in the formula that promised not just longevity but continued youth, and he never disclosed it to anyone except Evan. (hide spoiler)]

And, and the Google Books page for this book, one of the common words in the book is "Guppies." And, searching within the book the phrase "translucent skin" pops up.

[Lee]

Tab, you are brilliant! I don't know why I was never able to find that before, your Google Fu is clearly stronger than mine :)

(and now that I see it, the cover is exactly what I read as a kid!)

[She]

Tab is the best! E helped me find a long-lost loved book too.
Lee, you've piqued my interest with this one. I want to read The Forever Formula too now.
So happy for this happy ending!

[Tab]

Happy you found your book!

I use an online book database called Novelist. Our library allows patrons to access it from home by just putting in our library card #.

It's a great resource; you should see if your local library allows access.

(I sound like a TV commercial :P)

[Lee]

Thanks for the heads up - I checked with my local library, and it looks like I do have access to it... what an awesome resource!