bookshelves: give-yourself-goosebumps
Two stars, because some sections just seemed rushed. There were parts with half a page of text, which then made you flip through the book to an end section that had one paragraph! It's pretty obvious they were simply trying to fill space. Lots of choices, but not many great ones. A few amusing pages, however, so all is not lost. ]]>
bookshelves: goosebumps-horrorland
A good start, but the story quickly delves into the utterly ridiculous. Manages three stars, though, because the two secondary characters are probably the most repulsive in Goosebumps history.
*** Haven't read the Horrorland section yet. *** ]]>
bookshelves: currently-reading, goosebumps
Ratings of the short stories, on a five-star scale:
1. The Haunted Guitar | *** (3 stars: Not bad. Pretty average. Good atmosphere in the opening section.)
2. Tune in Tomorrow | **** (4 stars: A well-executed tale. Nothing earth-shattering, but it's good at what it does.)
3. Live Bait | * (1 star: This story is really awful! It's terrible in every way! ALL CAPS MAKE THINGS MORE EXCITING!)
4. Something Strange About Marci | *** (3 stars: Well done for what it is, but what it is really doesn't make sense. Sort of amusing, though.)
5. The Ghost Sitter |
6. Fun with Spelling |
7. Matt's Lunch Box |
8. Stuck in 1957 |
9. Mirror, Mirror on the Wall |
10. What's Cooking? | ]]>
bookshelves: choose-your-own-adventure
Had a couple good moments, but quite a few senseless choice outcomes, which annoys me.
Average. ]]>
bookshelves: childrens-young-adult
I like the illustrations. The story is all right, but seems to end too soon. ]]>
bookshelves: goosebumps
Ratings of the short stories, on a five-star scale.
1. The Werewolf's First Night | *** (3 stars: Good build-up, but the character is too wimpy and gullible to take seriously. The end makes no sense.)
2. P.S. Don't Write Back | **** (4 stars: Pretty good, all things considered. Nice sense of dread and foreboding. Main character acted a little irrationally.)
3. Something Fishy | *** (3 stars: Was okay. Funny end. Not much characterization. Also, divorce in a Goosebumps book? I thought Stine wanted to avoided that.)
4. You Gotta Believe Me! | ** (2 stars: Decent idea, poor execution.)
5. Suckers! | * (1 star: Awful prose, no characterization, stupid plot.)
6. Dr. Horror's House of Video | * (1 star: Cliched, predictable, boring.)
7. The Cat's Tale | ** (2 stars: Could've been good, but dropped all sense of mystery halfway through. Could see the ending coming from a mile away.)
8. Shell Shocker | * (1 star: Awful in almost every way. The ending was nearly a spark of humour.)
9. Poison Ivy | *** (3 stars: The end was rather amusing; good humour throughout. Odd story. Typical Goosebumps tale.)
10. The Spirit of Harvest Moon | *** (3 stars: Average in most respects.)
FINAL COUNT: 3 dreadful, 2 poor, 4 decent, 1 good, and 0 excellent. 23/50 possible stars.
FINAL THOUGHTS: The camp stories end up being the best in this collection. The others are throw-away. ]]>
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bookshelves: childrens-young-adult
Charming little book. The people look somewhat stiff and robotic in a few of the illustrations, though.
Fictional kids always read the coolest books. I'd like the names of some of these. Also, are there more children's books about reading than any other subject? Hm... ]]>
bookshelves: childrens-young-adult
A couple interesting illustrations, but a pretty dull story. ]]>
bookshelves: ghosts-of-fear-street
A little worse than average. Characters are almost completely flat and the plot is predictable. Goes with the standard "I must one-up my rival" motivator, but this has been done much better in the Goosebumps book How I Learned to Fly.
The prose is lacklustre, though there is some nice atmosphere in the first half.
As horrific as some of the events are (I did find the roaches pretty nasty), the characters are not nearly as shocked and disgusted as they should be -- especially the mom. If the characters don't feel emotional involvement, it's unlikely the reader will, either.
Contains the golden line, "My beak quivered." Physics don't exist on Fear Street. ]]>