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calcifer93's review against another edition
challenging
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
thegrimhobbyist's review against another edition
1.0
The writing in this one was absolutely awful. R.L. Stine must of had a bad writing spell for this one. Also, the idea behind this book was interesting, but it was poorly executed. Not that I'm expecting much in a short middle grade story, but there was TOO many plot holes for my taste for a Goosebumps book. Not to mention the character you follow, Gary, is an awful kid who learned NOTHING from this experience. There wasn't a moral to this story for anyone to learn from, honestly. I would have DNFed this if it wasn't for a buddy read. Avoid this one at all costs.
agentbird's review against another edition
adventurous
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
2.25
rkking's review against another edition
2.0
I recently got a bit of the nostalgia bug when thinking back to the Goosebumps books I read as a kid. Goosebumps, and by extension the Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark series, definitely introduced me to the genre of horror. After Goosebumps I moved onto classics like Dracula and Jekyll/Hyde, then on to the gown up stuff throughout my life and to this day. Well, this nostalgia bug got me wanting to re-collect the original 62 run of Goosebumps books, and in their first run printings because of the amazing covers. Perhaps the best part of the series was the covers. Next up;
#17, Why I'm Afraid Of Bees
What is most obviously a riff on the classic horror tale The Fly, Why I'm Afraid Of Bees deals with a young boy who wishes to be someone else, someone 'better' than himself. So he finds a company that lets you switch bodies with someone for a week, only something goes wrong and he ends up in the body of a bee.
I prefer my Goosebumps to have creep factor. They are kids' books, so the horror levels aren't exactly crazy, but at least have something spooky or monstrous or dreadful going on. This book doesn't really have any of that. More of a sci fi, this story doesn't capitalize on the themes that The Fly had (losing one's humanity, misuse of science, etc) and instead travels the path of a silly tale of a bee trying to avoid being swatted by anything and everything it encounters. Bring back the creep factor!
Join the RK King readers' list for an exclusive FREE short story, plus inside info, musings, promos and more: RK King Writes
#17, Why I'm Afraid Of Bees
What is most obviously a riff on the classic horror tale The Fly, Why I'm Afraid Of Bees deals with a young boy who wishes to be someone else, someone 'better' than himself. So he finds a company that lets you switch bodies with someone for a week, only something goes wrong and he ends up in the body of a bee.
I prefer my Goosebumps to have creep factor. They are kids' books, so the horror levels aren't exactly crazy, but at least have something spooky or monstrous or dreadful going on. This book doesn't really have any of that. More of a sci fi, this story doesn't capitalize on the themes that The Fly had (losing one's humanity, misuse of science, etc) and instead travels the path of a silly tale of a bee trying to avoid being swatted by anything and everything it encounters. Bring back the creep factor!
Join the RK King readers' list for an exclusive FREE short story, plus inside info, musings, promos and more: RK King Writes
alyshadeshae's review against another edition
5.0
Ah, those days when "pounding on" someone would only result in a call to the other boys parents and not a shooting. I notice that many of the Goosebumps books have some very violent bullying, though. o_O