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hydenseek's review against another edition
4.0
Goosebumps is what got me into reading and my gateway to the horror genre. I will say that there are some really good stories and some duds in here. Overall, I read it over and over again.
chai_latte_auroras's review
Liked some of the stories in it, was hard to get through reading others. I loved Goosebumps when I was younger, but I guess now I'm little less sucked into the stories. Still good time killing books.
tcgarback's review
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Critical Score: B
Personal Score: B
Reading Experience: 📘📘📘📘(4/5)
I am relieved to see some unhappy endings and dark twists, which I’ve missed in nearly all the Goosebumps books I’ve read these past few years (not that I’ve read many, maybe 8) and remember being the best element of the series.
This collection operates pretty acutely on the (il)logic of childhood wonder and fear, giving the stories a surreal, nightmarish quality that is both nostalgic and unsettling—meanwhile, they’re children’s stories, so when something messed up happens, I genuinely get shocked.
I know it’s a bit extra to rank all 30 of these, but here we go:
“Good Friends” (A-) Bruh. The story is fine and then that twist happens…it’s sad, layered, and really surprised me.
“The House of No Return” (A-) A fitting tone-setter of an opening story.
"P.S. Don't Write Back" (A-) Could have used more clarification in the end, but otherwise a stellar premise and ultimately eerie.
“Click” (A-) What a deeply messed up ending for a kids story, though I was distracted by the lazy magic rules and the fact that there’s an Adam Sandler movie with the same title and premise.
"A Vampire in the Neighborhood" (B+) Yikes.
“Teacher’s Pet” (B+) Comically disturbing.
"The Haunted House Game" (B+) Sad.
"The Chalk Closet" (B+) Expected more of a twist, but very nightmarish.
“How I Won My Bat” (B+) Thought I’d hate it because it’s a sports story, happily surprised.
"Shell Shocker" (B) MC’s annoyingly dumb, but that ending is brutal, whoa.
“Strangers in the Woods” (B) Cozy setting but confusing ending.
“Strained Peas” (B) I guessed the twists before they happened but I’m looking back on it fondly.
"Dr. Horror's House of Video" (B) Predictable, but I got a kick out of the it.
"You Gotta Believe Me!" (B) Clever but rambling.
"The Thumbprint of Doom" (B) Nice to end on a lighthearted note. Was afraid this would get messy regarding cultural sensitivity or mental illness representation, but it steers clear of anything overtly problematic.
"The Perfect School" (B) Predictable. Sort of Stepford Wives-y. A conversation-starter.
"Don't Wake Mummy" (B) I don’t like mummy stories, but this one’s fine.
"The Werewolf's First Night" (B) Good, but very similar to the story that preceded it (even though in the original publications they’re in separate volumes).
"For the Birds" (B-) Predictable, and the premise didn’t interest me. Ending is nice and dark, though.
"The Spirit of the Harvest Moon" (B-) A standard twist, but good setting.
"I'm Telling!" (B-) Dumb ending.
"Something Fishy" (B-) Aw, poor kid.
“Broken Dolls” (B-) Refreshing in its happy ending, otherwise didn’t strike me.
"Home Sweet Home" (B-) Nothing special.
"The Cat's Tale" (C+) Lackluster.
“Mr. Teddy” (C+) Lackluster, and I am biased against the tropes in this one.
"Aliens in the Garden" (C) Steals one of the Twilight Zone’s iconic twists, which is sort of hard to excuse, and the story leading up the twist didn’t interest me.
"Poison Ivy" (C) Boring filler.
"Change for the Strange" (C) A silly story about animal transformations with a lighthearted ending—not for me.
"Suckers!" (C) Like “Poison Ivy,” this is not my subgenre of choice, so it bored me.
Critical Score: B
Personal Score: B
Reading Experience: 📘📘📘📘(4/5)
I am relieved to see some unhappy endings and dark twists, which I’ve missed in nearly all the Goosebumps books I’ve read these past few years (not that I’ve read many, maybe 8) and remember being the best element of the series.
This collection operates pretty acutely on the (il)logic of childhood wonder and fear, giving the stories a surreal, nightmarish quality that is both nostalgic and unsettling—meanwhile, they’re children’s stories, so when something messed up happens, I genuinely get shocked.
I know it’s a bit extra to rank all 30 of these, but here we go:
“Good Friends” (A-) Bruh. The story is fine and then that twist happens…it’s sad, layered, and really surprised me.
“The House of No Return” (A-) A fitting tone-setter of an opening story.
"P.S. Don't Write Back" (A-) Could have used more clarification in the end, but otherwise a stellar premise and ultimately eerie.
“Click” (A-) What a deeply messed up ending for a kids story, though I was distracted by the lazy magic rules and the fact that there’s an Adam Sandler movie with the same title and premise.
"A Vampire in the Neighborhood" (B+) Yikes.
“Teacher’s Pet” (B+) Comically disturbing.
"The Haunted House Game" (B+) Sad.
"The Chalk Closet" (B+) Expected more of a twist, but very nightmarish.
“How I Won My Bat” (B+) Thought I’d hate it because it’s a sports story, happily surprised.
"Shell Shocker" (B) MC’s annoyingly dumb, but that ending is brutal, whoa.
“Strangers in the Woods” (B) Cozy setting but confusing ending.
“Strained Peas” (B) I guessed the twists before they happened but I’m looking back on it fondly.
"Dr. Horror's House of Video" (B) Predictable, but I got a kick out of the it.
"You Gotta Believe Me!" (B) Clever but rambling.
"The Thumbprint of Doom" (B) Nice to end on a lighthearted note. Was afraid this would get messy regarding cultural sensitivity or mental illness representation, but it steers clear of anything overtly problematic.
"The Perfect School" (B) Predictable. Sort of Stepford Wives-y. A conversation-starter.
"Don't Wake Mummy" (B) I don’t like mummy stories, but this one’s fine.
"The Werewolf's First Night" (B) Good, but very similar to the story that preceded it (even though in the original publications they’re in separate volumes).
"For the Birds" (B-) Predictable, and the premise didn’t interest me. Ending is nice and dark, though.
"The Spirit of the Harvest Moon" (B-) A standard twist, but good setting.
"I'm Telling!" (B-) Dumb ending.
"Something Fishy" (B-) Aw, poor kid.
“Broken Dolls” (B-) Refreshing in its happy ending, otherwise didn’t strike me.
"Home Sweet Home" (B-) Nothing special.
"The Cat's Tale" (C+) Lackluster.
“Mr. Teddy” (C+) Lackluster, and I am biased against the tropes in this one.
"Aliens in the Garden" (C) Steals one of the Twilight Zone’s iconic twists, which is sort of hard to excuse, and the story leading up the twist didn’t interest me.
"Poison Ivy" (C) Boring filler.
"Change for the Strange" (C) A silly story about animal transformations with a lighthearted ending—not for me.
"Suckers!" (C) Like “Poison Ivy,” this is not my subgenre of choice, so it bored me.
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