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battysbooks's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
paperbackstash's review against another edition
RL Stine wasn't perfect, but he was fun when I was younger. I read a lot of his stuff and always hunted them down in bookstores. Remember enjoying this one.
dtaylorbooks's review against another edition
4.0
How did we end up here?
More cheese pulled from my pile.
Okay, book. You've got 50 pages. Go!
Let me tell you, if this book were any longer I probably would have lit it on fire. Andrea, Maggie’s little sister by a year, was the most insufferable Fear Street character yet. I wouldn’t have been able to tolerate her for more than 150 pages. It’s surprising I got through 50. But it’s Fear Street so I carried on because I knew I would love it regardless.
What worked . . .
Maggie’s insanity. The more the dreams progressed and the more they bled into her waking life the crazier she became and when bad things started happening she guilted herself immediately despite the impossibility of her having done anything wrong. Stine did a good job of making her go bat shitty while balancing the dreams and the reality bleed. Was it real? Or not? Was Andrea possessed or just a little bitch? You’ll have to read it to find out.
What didn't work . . .
Andrea. Holy shitballs, was she just fodder for tire smudge. She was the over the top bratty little sister (although age-wise she was only a year younger than Maggie, you just couldn’t tell based on her attitude) that threw shit fits about everything that didn’t go her way until they eventually did. Of course she would throw it back in Maggie’s face because Maggie always got everything and Andrea got nothing despite everything she ever got but, you know, we had to have that antagonist in there somewhere.
And talk about having some of the most awful friends ever. Maggie was now dating Paul, whom her best friend dated the year before. What? Talk about violating a friend code of ethics. But it appeared that Maggie’s friend didn’t harbor any ill will towards her about it except they were on the swim team together and her friend constantly rooted for Maggie to lose. It was just . . . oh my god, get new friends. I don’t know if Stine thought this was a normal girlfriend dynamic or what but it was kind of painful to watch.
And in the end . . .
More epic cheese to feed my need for read. Despite the bads to this book it just ended up being a whole lot of good because it’s Fear Street. How could it not be? If you know what to expect when you go in you won’t be disappointed. It’s really very simple.
More cheese pulled from my pile.
Okay, book. You've got 50 pages. Go!
Let me tell you, if this book were any longer I probably would have lit it on fire. Andrea, Maggie’s little sister by a year, was the most insufferable Fear Street character yet. I wouldn’t have been able to tolerate her for more than 150 pages. It’s surprising I got through 50. But it’s Fear Street so I carried on because I knew I would love it regardless.
What worked . . .
Maggie’s insanity. The more the dreams progressed and the more they bled into her waking life the crazier she became and when bad things started happening she guilted herself immediately despite the impossibility of her having done anything wrong. Stine did a good job of making her go bat shitty while balancing the dreams and the reality bleed. Was it real? Or not? Was Andrea possessed or just a little bitch? You’ll have to read it to find out.
What didn't work . . .
Andrea. Holy shitballs, was she just fodder for tire smudge. She was the over the top bratty little sister (although age-wise she was only a year younger than Maggie, you just couldn’t tell based on her attitude) that threw shit fits about everything that didn’t go her way until they eventually did. Of course she would throw it back in Maggie’s face because Maggie always got everything and Andrea got nothing despite everything she ever got but, you know, we had to have that antagonist in there somewhere.
And talk about having some of the most awful friends ever. Maggie was now dating Paul, whom her best friend dated the year before. What? Talk about violating a friend code of ethics. But it appeared that Maggie’s friend didn’t harbor any ill will towards her about it except they were on the swim team together and her friend constantly rooted for Maggie to lose. It was just . . . oh my god, get new friends. I don’t know if Stine thought this was a normal girlfriend dynamic or what but it was kind of painful to watch.
And in the end . . .
More epic cheese to feed my need for read. Despite the bads to this book it just ended up being a whole lot of good because it’s Fear Street. How could it not be? If you know what to expect when you go in you won’t be disappointed. It’s really very simple.
manwithanagenda's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Fear Street # 33
After Maggie and Andrea Travers' dad passed away, money has been tight and it has led their mother to selling their posh North Hills home and moving them to a Victorian dump on Fear Street. So gentile are these ladies, they don't even know where Fear Street is! The pearls are in hock, or I would clutch them in sympathy.
Maggie is out heroine here, she is the elder of the two and the sister that seems to have a bit more of a grip on reality. Her and Maggie have fights for most of the book and it is so exhausting it's hard to believe the ghost doesn't off both of them and spare us all. Andrea is jealous that Maggie is prettier and has a boyfriend and has a popularity that wasn't tied in to her North Hills identity. Maggie is tired of Andrea being a crybaby all the time, but honestly does want to keep her sister in her rightful place at the bottom of the swim team rankings. A lot of family love.
A lovely Easter Egg for close readers of the series (and, boy, does this series reward a close reading) is that Andrea's boyfriend is Justin Stiles. Andrea's friend Dawn Rodgers dated Justin before, just one date, but it didn't work out so its not a problem for Andrea to be dating him. Which is awesome, however, no one talks about how that ONE DATE was part of the inspiration for the student body bloodfest that was 'The Prom Queen' and Dawn - spoiler alert - gets stabbed. Are we not going to talk about that? No? OK, fine. That's cool. I just think that would be a major talking point for a long time. I'm just saying that MY high school was abuzz for years when Ryan punched Jay in the face during drama club practice. I think a stabbing would have some traction.
But that was last year. THIS year we're talking about swim team tryouts and, weirdly, someone else is gonna get stabbed. Oh yeah, sorry, I got sidetracked from the main plot: Maggie keeps having bad dreams. An antique canopy bed had been left in the house when the Travers moved in and Andrea was furious that Maggie gets to sleep in it. Maggie hasn't had a full night's sleep since moving in and she's beginning to put two and two together: her sister is a bitch!
Also, there might be a ghost.
There are twists and turns to this one, and it was very silly, but I will always give extra credit to a supernatural Fear Street and the family dog Gus doesn't die!
Fear Street in Publication Order
Next #34: 'Double Date', Fear Street #23
Previous #32: 'The Dare', Fear Street #21
After Maggie and Andrea Travers' dad passed away, money has been tight and it has led their mother to selling their posh North Hills home and moving them to a Victorian dump on Fear Street. So gentile are these ladies, they don't even know where Fear Street is! The pearls are in hock, or I would clutch them in sympathy.
Maggie is out heroine here, she is the elder of the two and the sister that seems to have a bit more of a grip on reality. Her and Maggie have fights for most of the book and it is so exhausting it's hard to believe the ghost doesn't off both of them and spare us all. Andrea is jealous that Maggie is prettier and has a boyfriend and has a popularity that wasn't tied in to her North Hills identity. Maggie is tired of Andrea being a crybaby all the time, but honestly does want to keep her sister in her rightful place at the bottom of the swim team rankings. A lot of family love.
A lovely Easter Egg for close readers of the series (and, boy, does this series reward a close reading) is that Andrea's boyfriend is Justin Stiles. Andrea's friend Dawn Rodgers dated Justin before, just one date, but it didn't work out so its not a problem for Andrea to be dating him. Which is awesome, however, no one talks about how that ONE DATE was part of the inspiration for the student body bloodfest that was 'The Prom Queen' and Dawn - spoiler alert - gets stabbed. Are we not going to talk about that? No? OK, fine. That's cool. I just think that would be a major talking point for a long time. I'm just saying that MY high school was abuzz for years when Ryan punched Jay in the face during drama club practice. I think a stabbing would have some traction.
But that was last year. THIS year we're talking about swim team tryouts and, weirdly, someone else is gonna get stabbed. Oh yeah, sorry, I got sidetracked from the main plot: Maggie keeps having bad dreams. An antique canopy bed had been left in the house when the Travers moved in and Andrea was furious that Maggie gets to sleep in it. Maggie hasn't had a full night's sleep since moving in and she's beginning to put two and two together: her sister is a bitch!
Also, there might be a ghost.
There are twists and turns to this one, and it was very silly, but I will always give extra credit to a supernatural Fear Street and the family dog Gus doesn't die!
Fear Street in Publication Order
Next #34: 'Double Date', Fear Street #23
Previous #32: 'The Dare', Fear Street #21
cyanide_latte's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
I was vaguely interested in this Fear Street title after hearing Cameron from Library Macabre mention it in a book haul, and I have to be rather up-front in saying I've never read an R.L. Stine title before in my life. (Long story, and I don't have the energy to go over it.)
All in all, this was alright. It was roughly about what I expected it to be; I wasn't exactly shocked or put on edge, though it did make me somewhat nostalgic. It definitely has those early-to-mid-90s elements that I love. I believe the Fear Street series was marketed as a YA one, but I would say that the writing style still feels aimed at a much younger audience. I'm not sure if that's intentional on Stine's part or if that's just how he writes. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, it made the read much faster, but I did frequently feel like the plot suffered from being watered down. It almost feels like he restrained himself a lot from really cutting loose and writing this book the way he might have wanted to.
This was alright overall; fairly entertaining for what it was, and I'm glad I gave it a read, but I probably won't hang onto it.
All in all, this was alright. It was roughly about what I expected it to be; I wasn't exactly shocked or put on edge, though it did make me somewhat nostalgic. It definitely has those early-to-mid-90s elements that I love. I believe the Fear Street series was marketed as a YA one, but I would say that the writing style still feels aimed at a much younger audience. I'm not sure if that's intentional on Stine's part or if that's just how he writes. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, it made the read much faster, but I did frequently feel like the plot suffered from being watered down. It almost feels like he restrained himself a lot from really cutting loose and writing this book the way he might have wanted to.
This was alright overall; fairly entertaining for what it was, and I'm glad I gave it a read, but I probably won't hang onto it.