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Goosebumps: Movie Novel
THE GOOSEBUMPS MOVIE captures the chills, thrills, and giggles of Scholastic's original bestselling series. Jack Black stars as author R. L. Stine. * With exclusive introduction from the REAL R. L. Stine! Plus eight pages of color pictures from the movie. *Zach, 16, has just moved from NYC to a creepy small town. He soon realizes his new neighbor, Hannah (also 16), is in danger. When he tries to rescue her, he accidentally unleashes the monsters created and brought to life by her writer father, R.L. Stine. Now it's up to Zach, Hannah, and Stine to get the monsters back in their books where they belong. Can they stop the monsters... for good?
135 pages, Paperback
First published August 25, 2015
63 people are currently reading
555 people want to read
About the author
R.L. Stine
1,679 books18.6k followersRobert Lawrence Stine known as R. L. Stine and Jovial Bob Stine, is an American novelist and writer, well known for targeting younger audiences. Stine, who is often called the Stephen King of children's literature, is the author of dozens of popular horror fiction novellas, including the books in the Goosebumps, Rotten School, Mostly Ghostly, The Nightmare Room and Fear Street series.
R. L. Stine began his writing career when he was nine years old, and today he has achieved the position of the bestselling children's author in history. In the early 1990s, Stine was catapulted to fame when he wrote the unprecedented, bestselling Goosebumps® series, which sold more than 250 million copies and became a worldwide multimedia phenomenon. His other major series, Fear Street, has over 80 million copies sold.
Stine has received numerous awards of recognition, including several Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards and Disney Adventures Kids' Choice Awards, and he has been selected by kids as one of their favorite authors in the NEA's Read Across America program. He lives in New York, NY.
http://us.macmillan.com/itsthefirstda...
R. L. Stine began his writing career when he was nine years old, and today he has achieved the position of the bestselling children's author in history. In the early 1990s, Stine was catapulted to fame when he wrote the unprecedented, bestselling Goosebumps® series, which sold more than 250 million copies and became a worldwide multimedia phenomenon. His other major series, Fear Street, has over 80 million copies sold.
Stine has received numerous awards of recognition, including several Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards and Disney Adventures Kids' Choice Awards, and he has been selected by kids as one of their favorite authors in the NEA's Read Across America program. He lives in New York, NY.
http://us.macmillan.com/itsthefirstda...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews
March 29, 2019
When Zach and his mother moved to a tiny town of Madison,he thought that this was going to the most boring time of his life. Soon after he met a cute girl next door named Hannah. She seemed alright but her dad Mr. Shivers was a whole different story, he was creepy and standoffish.
One day when he heard loud screams coming from the Shivers house,he knew instantly he had to help Hannah. But that all went to dump when he found out who Mr.Shivers was. He was not the bad guy instead he was protecting the world from horrors and nightmares that was waiting to get out.
I loved this book. R.L Stine is one of my most favourite author of all times. I have completed reading most of his books and when I read this movie novel it was a page turner. Imagine all the goosebumps monsters such as The abominable snowman of pasedenia,the little evil garden gnomes, the werewolf of the fever swamp,the giant praying mantis and many more,all gathered to heave destruction and leading this band of crazy lunatics is the one and only SLAPPY. (The dummy who loathes to be called a DUMMY!)
Now that the horror is finally out it's upto Zach and his friends to save the people of Madison while R.L Stine writes one of the best and memorable book to contain all the monsters in the pages through words or Slappy would slave the whole world just like as he always wanted.
The beginning of the book was extremely hilarious and only R.L. Stine can know how to entertain the readers before the novel set its pace. And the way Slappy took over the stage during his intro was *EPIC*. I couldn't help myself but to read the introduction twice before delving into the story. Although this was a "movie novel" it did however made some major embellishments. But i don't mind the changes since it was well written.
I have watched the movie so many times that I lost count. The book itself is as entertaining as the movie. Highly recommend it to all goosebumps loving readers because this is like basically our dream seeing all the monsters under the spotlight and simply a battle of good verses evil and of course R.L STINE VERSES SLAPPY.😃
One day when he heard loud screams coming from the Shivers house,he knew instantly he had to help Hannah. But that all went to dump when he found out who Mr.Shivers was. He was not the bad guy instead he was protecting the world from horrors and nightmares that was waiting to get out.
I loved this book. R.L Stine is one of my most favourite author of all times. I have completed reading most of his books and when I read this movie novel it was a page turner. Imagine all the goosebumps monsters such as The abominable snowman of pasedenia,the little evil garden gnomes, the werewolf of the fever swamp,the giant praying mantis and many more,all gathered to heave destruction and leading this band of crazy lunatics is the one and only SLAPPY. (The dummy who loathes to be called a DUMMY!)
Now that the horror is finally out it's upto Zach and his friends to save the people of Madison while R.L Stine writes one of the best and memorable book to contain all the monsters in the pages through words or Slappy would slave the whole world just like as he always wanted.
The beginning of the book was extremely hilarious and only R.L. Stine can know how to entertain the readers before the novel set its pace. And the way Slappy took over the stage during his intro was *EPIC*. I couldn't help myself but to read the introduction twice before delving into the story. Although this was a "movie novel" it did however made some major embellishments. But i don't mind the changes since it was well written.
I have watched the movie so many times that I lost count. The book itself is as entertaining as the movie. Highly recommend it to all goosebumps loving readers because this is like basically our dream seeing all the monsters under the spotlight and simply a battle of good verses evil and of course R.L STINE VERSES SLAPPY.😃
December 1, 2022
A kid and a mother move to a small town from new York. A girl named Hannah says hi to Zach while he was carrying boxes inside but her dad came and pulled her away and warned Zach to stay away from Hannah and himself. The next day Zach goes to school and makes a new friend named champ. Later that night Hannah jump scared Zach and led him to an abandoned amusement park. They climbed all the way to the top of the wheelhouse, there was a really pretty view. When they were on the way home they got caught by Mr. Shivers and Zach ran home. School has been fun. His mom even interviewed the school to become a consular. Later Zach called Champ to come over because he heard a scream from Hannah from across the street. They sneak in from the attic and found Hannah with a huge frozen monkey. Mr. Shivers got there when slappy the dummy was released from his book. He wanted revenge for being stuck in a book. Slappy burnt all of Stines books and took them with him. They all needed to make new books and buy more locks to trap all of the monsters back in books including Slappy. They end up capturing slappy and the rest of the monsters that slappy had released into the world. When he got home his mom was slightly angry and very upset on with what happened over the night.
March 17, 2019
Well, well... if something this story deserves to get is that it's well told and well presented, after all young fiction... aka... kiddo books aren't so bad at all.
It's a good thought to keep if you need to go over a bookstore and buy children books!
It's a good thought to keep if you need to go over a bookstore and buy children books!
October 12, 2024
The book was fine. I prefer other Goosebumps to this one but still a fun read. Very nostalgic. Enjoyable one time read.
December 21, 2022
Review for the movie: I owe the movie so much credit.
It introduced me to Goosebumps and my priority back then is just to collect the Goosebumps books, and just because I wasn't that satisfied with what I've done, I not only collected and read Goosebumps. it spreads like a virus leading me to read in different genres and authors that are not even in the same vein as Goosebumps. So looking back at the movie with now the mindset of reading the majority of the Goosebumps books and heres my new thoughts.
It's great especially for the family. If you're a fan of the series or after you watched the film. It's a fan service for the readers even though there's what they call the Werewolf of Fever Swamp which is a good story but the complaint I have in that book is the lack of the titular monster's appearance which has more in the book, there's also the Abominable Snowman which I haven't read the book he's in. There's also a horde of zombies which the movie tie ins and the film says it's from the Series 2000 Graveyard Ghouls book which is no because the villains in that book were ghosts of an arsonist brothers rather than mindless walking dead.
Also we see the army of monsters from the climax which in some scenes it's a cool shot. if you pause it you can see some monsters in the background from some may be your favorite Goosebumps books like the Jack-o'-Lanterns. just a minor complaint and this is where my series of those rants ends is the dark brightness. I thought some scenes should be atleast colorful because some of the Goosebumps covers are those colorful while some shots in here are dark which I think the designs for their monsters kinda got wasted because they are presented colorful but was poorly brighten to see those colors. just that complaint.
Anyways for the characters like Jack Black as Stine and the three teens I think this captures the aspects of every Goosebumps books with some minor flaws of course.
It's perfect for Goosebumps fans and some people who maybe haven't will become after this movie.
Movie - 4/5
Novelization - 3.5/5
It introduced me to Goosebumps and my priority back then is just to collect the Goosebumps books, and just because I wasn't that satisfied with what I've done, I not only collected and read Goosebumps. it spreads like a virus leading me to read in different genres and authors that are not even in the same vein as Goosebumps. So looking back at the movie with now the mindset of reading the majority of the Goosebumps books and heres my new thoughts.
It's great especially for the family. If you're a fan of the series or after you watched the film. It's a fan service for the readers even though there's what they call the Werewolf of Fever Swamp which is a good story but the complaint I have in that book is the lack of the titular monster's appearance which has more in the book, there's also the Abominable Snowman which I haven't read the book he's in. There's also a horde of zombies which the movie tie ins and the film says it's from the Series 2000 Graveyard Ghouls book which is no because the villains in that book were ghosts of an arsonist brothers rather than mindless walking dead.
Also we see the army of monsters from the climax which in some scenes it's a cool shot. if you pause it you can see some monsters in the background from some may be your favorite Goosebumps books like the Jack-o'-Lanterns. just a minor complaint and this is where my series of those rants ends is the dark brightness. I thought some scenes should be atleast colorful because some of the Goosebumps covers are those colorful while some shots in here are dark which I think the designs for their monsters kinda got wasted because they are presented colorful but was poorly brighten to see those colors. just that complaint.
Anyways for the characters like Jack Black as Stine and the three teens I think this captures the aspects of every Goosebumps books with some minor flaws of course.
It's perfect for Goosebumps fans and some people who maybe haven't will become after this movie.
Movie - 4/5
Novelization - 3.5/5
November 23, 2015
It was definitely one of my favorite books it really brought R.L.Stine's monsters to life. It didn't really showcase all the monsters R.L.Stine created (ex: Little shop of hamsters,Son of sloppy) But it was really good one day I took it to school and all my classmates were like "OMG you have that book!?" so
im asuming my fiends agree with this comment. It was great,though.But we have something at our school called AR test's I looked it up on the AR search, all exited that i could take a quiz, and of course it isn't an AR book,woohoo way to get exited.
im asuming my fiends agree with this comment. It was great,though.But we have something at our school called AR test's I looked it up on the AR search, all exited that i could take a quiz, and of course it isn't an AR book,woohoo way to get exited.
August 28, 2015
Here's where I am with this book; it reads as though there's a lot missing. The novella paints a picture of what the movie will be like, but... is really only the skeleton of the beast with SOME of it's muscles. The pacing was very strange, and there was not much time given to developing the character's relationships. BUT I'm hoping that's a failure on the author producing the adaptation, and that the actual movie will rectify those issues. If so, this movie looks like it'll be REALLY good.
May 20, 2016
I haven't seen the movie yet but I can imagine a lot of this working on film. It's action packed and I'm sure it's visually exciting. Unfortunately, this does not translate well to a 100 page children's book. The story feels hollow and rushed. The plethora of monster cameos feel expedited at best but often just obligatory. As a big Goosebumps fan, I still have high hopes for the movie but this adaptation falls flat.
Want to read
March 17, 2025In the book Goosebumps the beginning of the story starts with Zach moving to a new town and he doesn't like it. The reason that they moved is because his father passed away and they wanted a fresh start but ever since he arrived all he has got is eerie vibes which sets some of the mood and the tone. He meets this girl Hannah in the middle of the story and he really likes her; he just has no idea what to say. Then things fall apart in the town because the monsters got out of the books that R.L Stine wrote. Hannah and Zach finally meet with Stine and they go all across town to try and keep putting monsters back in the book which is a lot of man vs nature. At the end of the story They finally have to deal with Slappy and he is messing with the whole city from an electric tower and is causing major problems. By the time they finally get all the monsters gone they have a sense of not wanting to split up because they just went through all of the crazy things that they just did.
This book does not really relate to my life at all because it’s more of a nonfiction story because I don't have monsters running through my city on a random day. I have felt like the character Zach but only relating to the fact I moved from California to North Carolina. The character that I think is most like me would be Zach because adapting to things quickly is annoying. This book is different because I have never read a book like it. I would say so myself that all the characters have the same common problem and that is that there are monsters trying to kill them. I personally don't think this book can't really compare to real world situations because like I said it is nonfiction and me personally I have never seen a 300 ft tall gorilla destroying everything. My main thought about this book is that it is mainly meant for entertainment or imagery and not to teach any lessons or show anything valuable that could compare to real life world issues or things going on.
In my book I overall did not have any dislikes from reading it but I did have a few ideas that could make it better. One thing they could have done better is to not end off with them defeating the monsters and end off with them happy some time after the tragedy. Another thing they could have made the story better would be to add some death to an important character in a fight scene. As for the like side of the book I have a bunch of things to say on this such as when they were in the school getting attacked by a gorilla it was developed very well to where I could almost see the words as movie form. The scene where they were on the electric tower was also very interesting and detailed because it made the book seem like a movie which was just like the last one I stated. In conclusion this paragraph speaks on pros and cons to the making of this book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 17, 2025
Oh thank god it's here. I was wondering what's going on? This specific book wasn't coming up when I first searched Goosebumps and even the author's name. Another series books (!) were showing.
This was one of the first books I read completely. I guess I read it even before Jules Verne's "Journey to the Center of the Earth". I found this book in the school's library, so, obviously.
I liked the story, I guess.. it was nicely easy (?) to follow the story, like the ordeal bits that were going on (like at the ice rink). I liked the part where the girl touched the boy's forehead, that was nice. Oh, and the girl looked so pretty! It made me search for the actual movie. There were some other nice details in the whole book, like some gigs. Some dialogues like, "You're pretty. Pretty ugly." Some snapshots of the movie and some blurbs. And the author saying Jack Black is funny.
This was one of the first books I read completely. I guess I read it even before Jules Verne's "Journey to the Center of the Earth". I found this book in the school's library, so, obviously.
I liked the story, I guess.. it was nicely easy (?) to follow the story, like the ordeal bits that were going on (like at the ice rink). I liked the part where the girl touched the boy's forehead, that was nice. Oh, and the girl looked so pretty! It made me search for the actual movie. There were some other nice details in the whole book, like some gigs. Some dialogues like, "You're pretty. Pretty ugly." Some snapshots of the movie and some blurbs. And the author saying Jack Black is funny.
August 21, 2021
I pretty much anything to do with Goosebumps I have watched both movies back to back watching all of R. L. Stine creations come to life my favourite would all ways be the crazy poodle from Please Don't Don't Feed The Vampires because it all ways prepare you for the unexpected some Goosebumps taught me as a child.
Even if the movie novel felt a little bit rushed in parts I still enjoyed reading the introduction by R. L. Stine and Slappy's interruptions it adds to the madness of it all. Though I would all ways be curious to why R. L. Stine refers himself to Slappy implying they are one of a kind joined together. It is a question I all ways ask myself as no one has been able to answer it yet a perfect mystery.
Even if the movie novel felt a little bit rushed in parts I still enjoyed reading the introduction by R. L. Stine and Slappy's interruptions it adds to the madness of it all. Though I would all ways be curious to why R. L. Stine refers himself to Slappy implying they are one of a kind joined together. It is a question I all ways ask myself as no one has been able to answer it yet a perfect mystery.
October 6, 2017
This was an interesting read.
I didn't really see the movie all the way through. I party watched it with my daughter. Which is why I am getting into the Goosebump books. This was interesting to read and making me want to watch the movie all the way through now. I feel that it is pretty close to the movie but I remember something different though in the movie that wasn't in the book. I am not going to spoil what it is. One, so people can see if they can figure it out it.
I love the pictures in the middle of the book. It helps you picture some things, if you never seen the movie before. It was a fun read.
I didn't really see the movie all the way through. I party watched it with my daughter. Which is why I am getting into the Goosebump books. This was interesting to read and making me want to watch the movie all the way through now. I feel that it is pretty close to the movie but I remember something different though in the movie that wasn't in the book. I am not going to spoil what it is. One, so people can see if they can figure it out it.
I love the pictures in the middle of the book. It helps you picture some things, if you never seen the movie before. It was a fun read.
November 28, 2020
My boys love listening to me read the Goosebumps books. I love how we can bond over the scary stories. They have seen the television adaptations and they enjoy listening to me read before bedtime.
We have seen the movie starring Dylan Minnette and Jack Black. They loved it and so my oldest jumped at the chance to read the book. The book adaptation stayed pretty true to the movie. It was funny and action packed. It read like many of Stine’s other books.
I think the books are great for the kids, but I wasn’t a fan of it. One of the biggest problems was that the big twist in the movie wasn’t in the book. I thought the twist was good, but it didn’t make the novelization.
We have seen the movie starring Dylan Minnette and Jack Black. They loved it and so my oldest jumped at the chance to read the book. The book adaptation stayed pretty true to the movie. It was funny and action packed. It read like many of Stine’s other books.
I think the books are great for the kids, but I wasn’t a fan of it. One of the biggest problems was that the big twist in the movie wasn’t in the book. I thought the twist was good, but it didn’t make the novelization.
December 20, 2024
Spoiler warning.
I had no idea there was a book based off the movie. The book was just as good and I still really recommend the movie. It’s one of my favorites and I watch it a couple times. I love that the Hannah situation has a difference from the movie. She’s human in the book and I like that champ, Zach. And Hannah would hangout after the monsters were defeated.
I had no idea there was a book based off the movie. The book was just as good and I still really recommend the movie. It’s one of my favorites and I watch it a couple times. I love that the Hannah situation has a difference from the movie. She’s human in the book and I like that champ, Zach. And Hannah would hangout after the monsters were defeated.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 12, 2017
I love this extension.
Nothing like going back and getting to read a Goosebump for the first time. It's like finding your favorite blanket you didn't remember moving in the back of your closet. It's so good.
Nothing like going back and getting to read a Goosebump for the first time. It's like finding your favorite blanket you didn't remember moving in the back of your closet. It's so good.
November 9, 2018
I just finished reading this to my son. Does it count toward my challenge?
March 5, 2019
Jasmine really didn't care for this book at all.
December 21, 2019
My first time reading any of the goosebumps books and I really enjoyed this read and cannot wait to read the rest.
May 10, 2022
Powrót do młodości 🥲💜
July 20, 2022
Good solid fun, and not entirely the same as the movie, which was a nice surprise for us both. I particularly enjoyed all the Stephen King puns.
May 15, 2023
Low expectations because it’s the novelization of the movie. But it was charming. It had me laughing more than I expected
August 3, 2023
Got to love a good R.L. Stine book, even if it was written based on the Goosebumps movie. Even after all these years Stine can still keep a reader interested, even if the reader is an adult.
September 28, 2024
Way better than the movie
October 26, 2025
Me ha gustado muchísimo este libro sobre todo el hecho de que está escrito como si se tratara de uno más de los libros de Goosebumps; además de haber sido escrito por el mismísimo R. L. Stine.
September 7, 2023
Very similar to the already amazing film with some very small tweaks. Honestly really enjoyed this one, even if it’s just the movie again. Hearing Zach’s thoughts is such a great idea yet so simple. Zach is a show stealer in this one.
April 11, 2024
The movie is WAY better than this... But this book was acceptable.
February 24, 2017
its a really good book because it is in a movie too and it is about a boy that open one of R.L. Stine and a monster came out of that book well l do not want to tell you every thing so look for this in your library
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 23, 2016
Dyslexic Review
A really fun read, whether you are new to the Goosebumps world or returning to it!
This is a stand alone book so, if like me, you haven't read any of the original Goosebumps stories, you don't have to worry, but if you have I think you will enjoy this story even more. I've know about Goosebumps since I was a little kid, as my brother had some of the books. So I went into this books knowing a little bit about the world already but not much. This story does a brilliant job of introducing you to that world and crazy mind of R.L. Stine who wrote the original books.
The basic plot: When Zach moves to the sleepy town of Maryland with is mother, he meets Hannah the girl next door, who's father just happens to be a total nightmare. When Zach hears Hannah scream he rushes over to rescue her and unwittingly open one of her fathers locked books and releases a monster. That's when the madness starts!
This is a fast action packed book with lots of twists and turns. I was amazed by this considering its small size of only 137 pages! My only slight criticism would be that some of the suspense scenes didn't work for me but I can see them working really well on the big screen! This book has made me really want to go and watch the movie.
Dyslexia points:
I love the style of this book and think it would be a great read of a young dyslexic or even an older one, like me :)
All of the pages are decorated with either splatter marks or different illustrations that go with the story, which add a 'creepyness' to story.
The text is easy to read and the chapters are about 4 pages long, which makes for a quick read and helps slower reader to not get frustrated.
When Slappy (the dummy from one of the old stories) is talking in the book, that sections of the page is coloured black and the words are in white with a larger bold font. Which I actually found easier to read, may have to investigate this.
I would recommend this is mainly to younger readers (the target audience) but older generations of the goosebumps will also love the scares!
Thanks for reading my review :)
A really fun read, whether you are new to the Goosebumps world or returning to it!
This is a stand alone book so, if like me, you haven't read any of the original Goosebumps stories, you don't have to worry, but if you have I think you will enjoy this story even more. I've know about Goosebumps since I was a little kid, as my brother had some of the books. So I went into this books knowing a little bit about the world already but not much. This story does a brilliant job of introducing you to that world and crazy mind of R.L. Stine who wrote the original books.
The basic plot: When Zach moves to the sleepy town of Maryland with is mother, he meets Hannah the girl next door, who's father just happens to be a total nightmare. When Zach hears Hannah scream he rushes over to rescue her and unwittingly open one of her fathers locked books and releases a monster. That's when the madness starts!
This is a fast action packed book with lots of twists and turns. I was amazed by this considering its small size of only 137 pages! My only slight criticism would be that some of the suspense scenes didn't work for me but I can see them working really well on the big screen! This book has made me really want to go and watch the movie.
Dyslexia points:
I love the style of this book and think it would be a great read of a young dyslexic or even an older one, like me :)
All of the pages are decorated with either splatter marks or different illustrations that go with the story, which add a 'creepyness' to story.
The text is easy to read and the chapters are about 4 pages long, which makes for a quick read and helps slower reader to not get frustrated.
When Slappy (the dummy from one of the old stories) is talking in the book, that sections of the page is coloured black and the words are in white with a larger bold font. Which I actually found easier to read, may have to investigate this.
I would recommend this is mainly to younger readers (the target audience) but older generations of the goosebumps will also love the scares!
Thanks for reading my review :)
October 14, 2015
I was so excited to read this book. I wanted to buy it as soon as it was published but I was not able to do so. My husband had to go away for a few weeks for work so we decided to pause our nightly Harry Potter reading until he came home. Knowing we needed a new chapter book to read, I quickly snatched up the Goosebumps Movie Novel. My husband going away for so long also means that we won't be able to go see the movie together when it comes out in theaters. At least not right away, so this will hold me over until he can return home.
It was really easy to fall in love with this book. It was very much like the old Goosebumps stories and brought R.L. Stine's characters back to life with ease. The story itself was very simple and straightforward. It wasn't complicated and wasn't difficult to figure out.
The characters were easy to like and somewhat relate-able (the human characters, obviously). The monsters were cool and creepy and demented all at the same time. It was definitely cheesy at times but that just made it even more enjoyable.
This book was great and was a nice homage to our favorite children's books. I absolutely cannot wait to watch the movie and eventually add it to my collection.
Rating: 4 Stars.
It was really easy to fall in love with this book. It was very much like the old Goosebumps stories and brought R.L. Stine's characters back to life with ease. The story itself was very simple and straightforward. It wasn't complicated and wasn't difficult to figure out.
The characters were easy to like and somewhat relate-able (the human characters, obviously). The monsters were cool and creepy and demented all at the same time. It was definitely cheesy at times but that just made it even more enjoyable.
This book was great and was a nice homage to our favorite children's books. I absolutely cannot wait to watch the movie and eventually add it to my collection.
Rating: 4 Stars.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews