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jayykitty's review against another edition
3.0
A bit of a nostalgic read because I used to read Lubar's books on a fairly regular basis. The stories were short and enjoyable.
kristenremenar's review against another edition
5.0
Short stories that are spooky enough to thrill but not filled with horror-film horror.
weweresotired's review against another edition
2.0
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This book was okay. Not great, not terrible. It was a very quick read -- I finished it in maybe a couple of brief commutes around town and one lounging-on-couch-eating-pizza session. All of the stories are incredibly short, with some clocking in at just a few pages long, so it is easy to just devour the book in one sitting.
As an adult, I found the stories in here to be lacking. They were all sort of predictable and although they were gruesome at times, I didn't find them to be too shocking. I didn't find them to be scary, although a few of them had plot twists that made me go "hm". However, this is probably most likely a case of me just not being the target audience, as I think I would have loved this book as a tween/teenager. I was a big fan of Goosebumps and Fear Street and anything Christopher Pike. Sure, I read the occasional Babysitters Club or Sweet Valley High novel, but I never connected with them in the same way that I loved horror stories. Extremities would have been right up my alley -- creepy and violent enough to my teenage mind to keep me up at night, most definitely.
With the stories being so short, you don't often get a chance to know any of the characters before something horrible befalls someone. The stories function more as vignettes, for the most part: set up the scene, drop in some foreshadowing, and bam, horrible deaths. Some of my favorites of the stories included "Apparent Motives", about a teenage boy and what he says is the impending divorce of his parents; "Blood Magic", about a robbery gone wrong; "A Cart Full of Junk", about some thugs and an apparently homeless man; and "The Ex Box", about a girl starting a new relationship.
While the book is marketed as Lubar's first book for teen audiences -- his other writings have been for the middle grade and younger set -- the tone of the writing still felt very young to me. Maybe due to the violence and a few stories that involve slightly sexual situations (nothing too bad that I can recall, just some making out and talking about how hot a girl is), this would be better for teens, but I think it could still be appropriate for younger-but-mature readers, maybe those just past middle grade reading.
This book was okay. Not great, not terrible. It was a very quick read -- I finished it in maybe a couple of brief commutes around town and one lounging-on-couch-eating-pizza session. All of the stories are incredibly short, with some clocking in at just a few pages long, so it is easy to just devour the book in one sitting.
As an adult, I found the stories in here to be lacking. They were all sort of predictable and although they were gruesome at times, I didn't find them to be too shocking. I didn't find them to be scary, although a few of them had plot twists that made me go "hm". However, this is probably most likely a case of me just not being the target audience, as I think I would have loved this book as a tween/teenager. I was a big fan of Goosebumps and Fear Street and anything Christopher Pike. Sure, I read the occasional Babysitters Club or Sweet Valley High novel, but I never connected with them in the same way that I loved horror stories. Extremities would have been right up my alley -- creepy and violent enough to my teenage mind to keep me up at night, most definitely.
With the stories being so short, you don't often get a chance to know any of the characters before something horrible befalls someone. The stories function more as vignettes, for the most part: set up the scene, drop in some foreshadowing, and bam, horrible deaths. Some of my favorites of the stories included "Apparent Motives", about a teenage boy and what he says is the impending divorce of his parents; "Blood Magic", about a robbery gone wrong; "A Cart Full of Junk", about some thugs and an apparently homeless man; and "The Ex Box", about a girl starting a new relationship.
While the book is marketed as Lubar's first book for teen audiences -- his other writings have been for the middle grade and younger set -- the tone of the writing still felt very young to me. Maybe due to the violence and a few stories that involve slightly sexual situations (nothing too bad that I can recall, just some making out and talking about how hot a girl is), this would be better for teens, but I think it could still be appropriate for younger-but-mature readers, maybe those just past middle grade reading.
opticflow's review against another edition
4.0
This is a deceptively clever book.
Imagine you're in 7th, 8th, or 9th grade. You hate reading, or you struggle with reading because books are too long, the language is too hard, there's too much detail, the books people choose for you are boring. Or maybe your attention span can't hold out, you have a learning disability, you are not interested in the kinds of emotionally mature relationship plots that happen in young adult books, or some other reason you aren't able to articulate because you're pumped full of puberty. You're forced to pick a book for silent reading time in English class, and you don't want to look like you're picking a book for a 4th grader, even though that might be your actual reading level. Plus, Goosebumps books are awesome and there are a zillion of them. Why won't your teacher let you continue to read those forever? You would probably end up choosing a book that is too hard and give up, frustrated, or stare blankly at the pages thinking you're getting one over on the teacher by pretending to read.
At my middle school library I saw kids fitting these descriptions every day, and this book is a great choice to actually get these kids to read.
Logistically, this is probably a 120 page book blown up with 18 point sans serif font with wide margins and double spacing into a 200 page book, so it's not meant for teens who devour books with intricate plots. It's also got a warning label on the back saying this is not a book for kids, which will particularly appeal to exactly the kind of reader who wants to be called a teen/young adult yet is still reading books for kids. The layout and the warning label can be reassuring confidence boosters for some kids who see their peers reading 500+ page YA tomes. There are still a lot of inflexible teachers who demand their students read books over a certain number of pages, and this is a way to help struggling kids compensate.
Not all the stories in this collection are stellar, but they each deliver a gruesome death or an unexpected twist that takes the Goosebumps format one baby step closer to Stephen King. A couple of them would make good stories to read aloud in a junior high class. This book is not sophisticated at all, but then, neither are most 13 year olds.
Imagine you're in 7th, 8th, or 9th grade. You hate reading, or you struggle with reading because books are too long, the language is too hard, there's too much detail, the books people choose for you are boring. Or maybe your attention span can't hold out, you have a learning disability, you are not interested in the kinds of emotionally mature relationship plots that happen in young adult books, or some other reason you aren't able to articulate because you're pumped full of puberty. You're forced to pick a book for silent reading time in English class, and you don't want to look like you're picking a book for a 4th grader, even though that might be your actual reading level. Plus, Goosebumps books are awesome and there are a zillion of them. Why won't your teacher let you continue to read those forever? You would probably end up choosing a book that is too hard and give up, frustrated, or stare blankly at the pages thinking you're getting one over on the teacher by pretending to read.
At my middle school library I saw kids fitting these descriptions every day, and this book is a great choice to actually get these kids to read.
Logistically, this is probably a 120 page book blown up with 18 point sans serif font with wide margins and double spacing into a 200 page book, so it's not meant for teens who devour books with intricate plots. It's also got a warning label on the back saying this is not a book for kids, which will particularly appeal to exactly the kind of reader who wants to be called a teen/young adult yet is still reading books for kids. The layout and the warning label can be reassuring confidence boosters for some kids who see their peers reading 500+ page YA tomes. There are still a lot of inflexible teachers who demand their students read books over a certain number of pages, and this is a way to help struggling kids compensate.
Not all the stories in this collection are stellar, but they each deliver a gruesome death or an unexpected twist that takes the Goosebumps format one baby step closer to Stephen King. A couple of them would make good stories to read aloud in a junior high class. This book is not sophisticated at all, but then, neither are most 13 year olds.
raohyrule's review against another edition
2.0
This wasn't really horror so much as weird slightly poorly written magical realism stories that happened to revolve around death. The first story was really the only one that came close to "horror" in that it was vaguely unsettling in an uncomfortable way, but that's it. The best story was The Ex Box, not that it was in the slightest bit related to horror, but because it didn't go where I was expecting it to and it was an intriguing take on vampires. I'd read a whole novel about a morally grey human girl and a vampire falling in love and doing Bonnie and Clyde shit together
mmorton's review against another edition
3.0
This is a creepy collection of fast paced short stories that mostly center around revenge or murder. The tales reminded me of the quick and spooky stories that Alvin Schwartz made popular when I was a kid, with the Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark series.
There is not much character development or descriptive language to help paint a picture of the narrative. The text is mostly used to move the plot quickly along to some sort of twist ending. You can almost picture a pre-teen narrating these stories at a sleepover full of friends.
Despite the cleaver warning at the beginning, this book is probably best suited for middle or reluctant high school readers. Most young adults will find the stories too predictable. I would recommend this book for middle school students that are ready to graduate from series like Goosebumps and American Chillers and perhaps want something a little darker to read. I have not read any of Lumbar's other books, but I imagine his fans will also enjoy this collection. Overall, nice collection of scary stories!
I received an advanced copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.
There is not much character development or descriptive language to help paint a picture of the narrative. The text is mostly used to move the plot quickly along to some sort of twist ending. You can almost picture a pre-teen narrating these stories at a sleepover full of friends.
Despite the cleaver warning at the beginning, this book is probably best suited for middle or reluctant high school readers. Most young adults will find the stories too predictable. I would recommend this book for middle school students that are ready to graduate from series like Goosebumps and American Chillers and perhaps want something a little darker to read. I have not read any of Lumbar's other books, but I imagine his fans will also enjoy this collection. Overall, nice collection of scary stories!
I received an advanced copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.
shrrawat's review against another edition
2.0
After months of being underwater with various assignments and projects (that's what you get for taking all honors classes), I decided to come up for air and finally read a book that wasn't assigned to me by my teacher. That book ended up being "Extremities".
I was expecting a well-developed collection of horror stories. But what I got was a disappointingly kiddish book of tales. Almost all of the "horror" present was fairly predictable, and to be frank, a bit boring. I was expecting more out of this book than the dull mess I did get.
Yes, there was blood and gore, that wasn't the problem. The issue lay in the fact that all the characters in each of the stories acted most erratically. Whenever they didn't like someone, they felt as if their only option was to kill them. That was the formation of the entire plot. For all of the stories.
Still, that isn't to say that the book was a complete waste. Lubar did have some creative ideas here, but it just seemed as if he was unable to implement it correctly. "Extremities" may not be something to read with a flashlight under the covers, but it is a book enjoyable enough if one has some extra time on their hands and desires a little lightheartedness mixed with some morbidity.
I was expecting a well-developed collection of horror stories. But what I got was a disappointingly kiddish book of tales. Almost all of the "horror" present was fairly predictable, and to be frank, a bit boring. I was expecting more out of this book than the dull mess I did get.
Yes, there was blood and gore, that wasn't the problem. The issue lay in the fact that all the characters in each of the stories acted most erratically. Whenever they didn't like someone, they felt as if their only option was to kill them. That was the formation of the entire plot. For all of the stories.
Still, that isn't to say that the book was a complete waste. Lubar did have some creative ideas here, but it just seemed as if he was unable to implement it correctly. "Extremities" may not be something to read with a flashlight under the covers, but it is a book enjoyable enough if one has some extra time on their hands and desires a little lightheartedness mixed with some morbidity.
readingundertheradar's review against another edition
4.0
This will be a relatively short review because it was a collection of short stories. And I flew through it in about an hour. At work. Hiding in the back of the frame shop so I could steal a few stories in between customers. Holy crap. This book was terrifying.
And not in an "Are-You-Afraid-of-the-Dark-"ghost-terrifying. In a these-are-real-people-who-were-pushed-over-the-edge terrifying. Sure, there were a few paranormal stories, my favorite of which involving a girl who meets a guy and they go on some dates at a diner and she finds out a secret. But it's the last page of each story that makes it the creepiest. It's not the paranormal that's the scary part, it's the last three lines of what they're going to do about it.
I didn't know this going in. And the first story about the girls and their gym teacher blew me away. Wow. My eyes I'm sure were so wide open by the end.
This one comes out in about a month, definitely put it on your radar for nighttime campfire ghost stories. Seriously. They're perfect for them.
And not in an "Are-You-Afraid-of-the-Dark-"ghost-terrifying. In a these-are-real-people-who-were-pushed-over-the-edge terrifying. Sure, there were a few paranormal stories, my favorite of which involving a girl who meets a guy and they go on some dates at a diner and she finds out a secret. But it's the last page of each story that makes it the creepiest. It's not the paranormal that's the scary part, it's the last three lines of what they're going to do about it.
I didn't know this going in. And the first story about the girls and their gym teacher blew me away. Wow. My eyes I'm sure were so wide open by the end.
This one comes out in about a month, definitely put it on your radar for nighttime campfire ghost stories. Seriously. They're perfect for them.
lazygal's review against another edition
5.0
Maybe I was just in the mood for these creepy stories, or that there's a certain sensibility here that I responded to but, well, this collection was so much fun to read! The creepy factor isn't so high that you can't read this late at night (well, for me, anyway, but I have a high tolerance for these things), but it's definitely there. Some of the stories reminded me of urban legends (or vague remakes of, say, The Haunting of Hill House), albeit ones with a little twist that made them uniquely Lubar's.
bookishdoll's review against another edition
5.0
This was really enjoyable. I read this with my Mom and we're both bummed it's over.