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Twistaplot #3
The Formula for Trouble
Vintage paperback
110 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published June 1, 1983
About the author
Megan Stine
188 books57 followersMegan Stine is an American author and editor known for writing more than 100 books for young readers. Her work includes teen etiquette, tie-in fiction, and bestselling Mary-Kate and Ashley titles. She has also developed television projects and works as a portrait and fine art photographer for Real U Guides.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 17, 2026
This felt extra random and if it wasn’t for the Turn to Page podcast on YouTube I probably would have hated this but they made it hilarious.
POV: Choose Your Own Path
Sad Level: 💧
Would I Recommend? Maybe
Emojis Based on Vibes: 🐶🧪📺
POV: Choose Your Own Path
Sad Level: 💧
Would I Recommend? Maybe
Emojis Based on Vibes: 🐶🧪📺
May 4, 2014
I was a big fan of the "Twistplot" series of choose-your-own-adventure books when it came out. They seemed to recapture some of the whimsy and imagination of the original Choose Your Own Adventure series, before it had become standardized and predictable. They are definitely written with a young audience in mind, and they don't seem to hold up as well to me now, but there's still a certain sense of nostalgic enjoyment in revisiting them.
This one is about what happens when you go to your Chemistry teacher's garage on a weekend and drink from an unlabeled beaker. It’s similar, in that sense to The Time Raider, which is also about a friendly mad scientist’s invention gone awry. Depending on choices you make, you will have different adventures, but in general the outcomes to this one seem fairly random. There aren’t really “good” and “bad” choices, just silly ones and sillier ones. There are really only two variants on the plot: either the potion turns you into a werewolf or it makes you invisible, although if you’re cautious you may get someone else to drink instead of you. This installment doesn’t have quite as many outrageous choices, although there is one place where they have you flip a coin to determine the outcome, one where the outcome is different if you are reading the book in the Autumn, and one ending that was “contributed” by a child.
This probably wasn’t the best in the series, but it still beat a lot of the latter-day “Choose Your Own Adventures,” so that counts for something.
This one is about what happens when you go to your Chemistry teacher's garage on a weekend and drink from an unlabeled beaker. It’s similar, in that sense to The Time Raider, which is also about a friendly mad scientist’s invention gone awry. Depending on choices you make, you will have different adventures, but in general the outcomes to this one seem fairly random. There aren’t really “good” and “bad” choices, just silly ones and sillier ones. There are really only two variants on the plot: either the potion turns you into a werewolf or it makes you invisible, although if you’re cautious you may get someone else to drink instead of you. This installment doesn’t have quite as many outrageous choices, although there is one place where they have you flip a coin to determine the outcome, one where the outcome is different if you are reading the book in the Autumn, and one ending that was “contributed” by a child.
This probably wasn’t the best in the series, but it still beat a lot of the latter-day “Choose Your Own Adventures,” so that counts for something.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews