Who Let the Ghosts Out?

Mostly Ghostly #1

by R.L. Stine

Max’s life wasn’t going so well even before two ghosts moved into his closet. But when Nicky and Tara show up, claiming that they used to live in his room, everything changes for Max! Soon they’re following him to school, using their invisibility to embarrass him in front of the girl of his dreams. And to make matters worse, there’s some other totally evil spirit named Phears following him around turning animals inside out!

Genres: Horror, Middle Grade, Childrens, Ghosts, Fantasy, Fiction, Paranormal

144 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 2004

About the author

Robert 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...

Reviews

[Christine (KizzieReads) · Rating 3 out of 5]

More like 2.75. I've read and loved his Fear Street books, I read his Goosebumps books to my son and they were good. This one was different. I like the similarities to the movie The Others, but the violence that comes from Max's brother Colin is pretty heavy. He was constantly coming after Max. Max is a boy living in a house when 2 ghosts show up thinking it's their house, only to realize that they are dead. They need Max's help to find out what happened to their parents. As he is hounded by these 2, there is another ghost chasing him that travels by animal. His name is Phears and he is very nasty.

I know I'm not the target audience for this, but I can still enjoy middle grade. I will continue, as it leaves on a cliffhanger, but I'm hoping that they get better. My son read this on his own and said he didn't like it.

[Zoey De Leon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I give this one a low 3 stars, sti good but I think I am too old enough for this kind of stories for me to appeal me and I think some character's actions are illogical that bother me like the two ghost kids that are scared for being aware that they are ghosts then in a differnet character perspective, the two ghost siblings then acted like different persons. idk, it bothers me but I think for a middle grade book, it's good enough, This is also a series and I do not own the rest of it and I am interested to read the rest because this particular story leaves me hanging

[Alejandro Joseph · Rating 3 out of 5]

Released amidst the middle-grade horror dark age, Mostly Ghostly is an obscure little series by R.L. Stine that spawned three films and eight books, as far as I know. I’ve seen the movies before—multiple times each, and they suck, believe me—but now having read one of the books (the only fitting one to begin with), it’s clear this favored better on page and wasn’t deserving of being a live-action spectacle… not that it ever truly got that lmao. This book does an okay job setting up the simple premise for this series: two ghost kids and a human kid—Max, who is the only one who can see them—team up to face off against Phears, a being with a clearly bleak past with the ghost kids’ parents. It’s interesting enough, and whilst there’s better ways to get this ball rolling, I enjoyed the casual feel to it all. The characters are good, Phears as an obvious highlight with some grotesque imagery with his brief pursuits, and the book was a familiar Stine-influenced good time. Nothing crazy enough for a film, but a good Halloween time read. But, there’s some fallacies here: the book has a rushed conclusion and whilst this is the first of a series, it could’ve wrapped itself up far better than it did. There isn’t much of a story to this book either, and it feels quite aimless, like it was waiting for shit to hit the fan—and when it did, it was just about over by then. There’s some ideas in here that feel underwhelming, the book is super mean-spirited which wasn’t exactly helping anything mood-wise, and I felt the book was a bit slow/padded. Overall, 7/10. A score of all time, one of which that screams bland—but whatever. It’s a decent book, but I can’t tell whether or not I’m actually gonna come back to this series with the meandering plot. ‘Twas ghostly, mostly.

[Марија · Rating 3 out of 5]

Iako je R. L. Stajn kralj horora za mlađe, ovaj serijal mi ipak nije toliko dobar kao Soba Košmara.

[Pablo Guerrero · Rating 5 out of 5]

'Spoiler Alert 'Have you ever had people not believing you because they think you are weird? Well if you didn't I'm going to tell you about this kid name Max and nobody believes him because he could only see something that nobody could see. The genre of the book,'Mostly Ghostly' is scary and spooky because it has to deal with ghost.'Spoiler Alert' 'My opinion of this book is very awesome because it tells you a lot of detail that's happening in the book like in the book it says,'My sister and I were walking home on the night of horror began' In my opinion it's telling you that a horror began which brings the reader think the book is already bringing something scary.

The setting of the book 'Mostly Ghostly' takes place in Maxes room because that's where the ghost are and the 2 ghost named Tara and Nicky are trying to fined there parents so they are trying to tell Max to help them fine there parents and they will help Max on things he needs.Max has two ghost named Tara and Nick living in his bedroom and the 2 ghost are trying to tell Max to help them fined there parents because they don't know how they died and they don't remember anything but there is something standing in there way and that's the evil ghost named Phears, Phears is trying to kill Tara and Nicky, and Max is trying to kill Phears. The main event in the story is when Max fined out there is 2 ghost living in his room, in the text it says,'That's until I found out Tara and Nick where living in my bedroom.The conflict in the story is Tara and Nicky are trying to fined there parents, I know this because in the text it says ' Help us our parent's Max ,please,please.'

The title relates to the book because the title of the book is Mostly Ghostly and that relates the book by showing mostly ghostly and in the book its mostly talking about ghost.The major symbol of this book is,if you help someone they will help you back in the book, this shows in the book by saying this, 'If you help me and Nicky fine our parent we will help you before your magic tricks' this show that they will help Max if Max helps them.The author builds tension is when he buts this in the book, 'The door started knocking faster and faster, my heart kept beating faster' this brings tension because it makes the reader feel nervous and makes them feel whats behind the door.Max does not feel safe because Phears is trying to kill Max and there is 2 ghost living in his bedroom.

"Spoiler Alert" I was unsatisfied when I found out that there is 2 books because the book is really good and I wanted to fine out if Tara and Nicky finds there parents. My favorite part is when Tara and Nicky makes Max fly in midair and everyone is clapping for him in the text it says 'Nicky and Tara were helping me fly in mid air and the the cool kids where saying that's cool Max how do you do that.'I was angry when they where being mean to Max when he was doing his magic show, they kept calling them names because they didn't give him a chance to before his tricks.This author reminds me as Edgar Allan Poe because he uses sounds like boom boom and in the book they use the sounds tick-tock.

I would rate this book a 5 because book has good dialogue it's also a good book, it describes a lot what the character is dong. I would recommend this book to a person who loves scary books because this books talks about ghost and also there is nervous parts too.If you haven't read this book well your missing a lot you have to leave the book you have right now and get this book now, I'm telling you this book is so good it brings you in the book.

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

key issues: Ghosts, fitting in, evil, friendship, and magic

List of characters:
Max:nerd, magician, weak, fat, treated unfairly treated {protagonist and Narrator}
Nicky: rude, theft, selfish, funny, joker {protagonist}
Tara: mean, magician, creepy, weird, scary {protagonist}
Colin:big, strong, beats Max, favored, mean {antagonist}
Phears:ghost, mean, hateful, scary, monster {antagonist}

Plot summary:
The book who let the ghosts out is part of a series called Mostly ghostly. This book is #1 in the series. The book is about these two kids named Nicky and Tara. When they get home from school they cant find there parents. Max and his family are moved in were they use to live. Nicky and Tara soon find out they are ghosts and the only person that can talk and see him is Max. Soon an evil villain comes along named Phears and read more to find out what Phears what from the two ghosts and max.

Star rating:
I gave this book a three out of five stars because it was really boring in some of the chapters and It didn't get the reader to want and keep reading. People who like ghosts and mysteries book will get into this book.

[Aurora Dimitre · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a series that I read post-Goosebumps (ha ha, that's a joke, I'm still not post-Goosebumps), and one that I remember really enjoying - as well as the movie (Disney channel brought out Luke Benward, who was probably my first celebrity crush, tbh, after Minutemen and How to Eat Fried worms and then the Mostly Ghostly movie... little Aurora liked him) - and it was still enjoyable on a re-read. I do want to collect/re-read the rest of the series, though I'm pretty sure I only read the first three or four, because this was a fun time.

[Tiffany · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought that this book is just mind blowing when I started to read it I was not looking very ford to reading a bug book like that but then en I actually started to read I just got drawn into the book. I actually read the book around the whole house I even walked down the stairs reading the book and I ended up falling down them.

[Kayla]

i thouught a should read the story cause i got it out in the libray and i think it will be a good story to read kk

[Autumn · Rating 4 out of 5]

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So I was looking around in the library for some good books for K and I to read at bedtime and I found this book. Now I didn't realize this was by R.L. Stine so I was curious as to if it would be good and hold up to his other books.

Well for me I didn't really enjoy it as well as his other books though K did. Max for some reason can see ghosts and in his house he thinks he hears one in the kitchen. So when one day two ghosts named Nicky and Tara show up in his room he is very surprised. Why can he only see them and no one else can? Well we are never given a reason so we just roll with it.

Nicky and Tara show up to this house because it use to belong to them they don't remember how they become ghosts and they want to find their parents. With the help of Max maybe they will find the answers they seek though their way of helping Max out doesn't always turn out to be good. With Max dealing with this brother who likes to pick on him, to having a crush on a girl in his school, to getting ready for his magic act he meets an evil spirit. Phears is totally not good and we get to see the different forms that Phears can take on. It seems that he wants Nicky and Tara for a reason and it is not good.

K enjoyed the whole book but thought it was quite creepy with the cockroach on the stage. For me the things that Phears made seem real to Max was pretty darn cool and creepy.

K wants to continue on with this series so we will be getting the next book so we can see if Nicky and Tara will find their parents any time soon.

[Tyler Sidilau · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the horror book Mostly Ghostly by R.L. Stine there are ups and down with main character Max trying to help his ghost friends; Nicky and Tara figure out what happened to them to become ghosts. The only thing in their way is a spirit named Phears; he will do anything do make sure Max, Nicky, and Tara’s task is incomplete. But Max, Nicky, and Tara compete with Phears to stop him. But in Max’s free time he like to do magic tricks.
In the beginning of the book it starts out with Max befriending 2 ghosts, Tara and Nicky and help them out by finding out how they died and find their parents and in return; Nicky and Tara will help Max with things he needs done like become a magician and learn some tricks. Phears is trying to kill Nicky and Tara and max is trying to get rid of Phears for good so he can help Nicky and Tara find their parents. Max’s also has conflict with his brother Colin. The setting takes place mostly in Max’s bedroom because Nicky, Tara, and Max are planning how out figure out where Nicky and Tara’s parents are and how to get rid of Phears.
I recommend this book to people who like mildly scary books with ghosts and mysteries with decently developed characters. Some things I like about this book are the connections between the characters and the dialogue and conflict between each character. Some things I disliked about the book are at some points it gets very slow and I didn’t want to keep reading because it was getting boring.

[Jay · Rating 3 out of 5]

A few years ago, I reread all of the original Goosebumps books and ranked them. That was my plan for the Mostly Ghostly series until I realized that all of the books within this series are part of the same story rather than individual stories. Ranking them won't really work so I'll simply review them as normal.

Who Let the Ghosts Out? is a fun start to the series. Max is kind of an outcast in his family. His father and brother are macho men, products of a military style boarding school. To toughen up Max, they intend to send him to the same school. But Max is more interested in school and magic. Things start going off the rails for Max when he is visited by a set of sibling ghosts who used to live in his house. They need help finding out what happened to them and where there parents are. Unfortunately, there is another spirit, Phears, who is also searching for the ghost parents, but with seemingly nefarious intentions.

Overall, this is a solid book. There are some really funny parts, especially when the ghosts are trying to "help" Max. Phears is also a really cool villain. He inhabits animals and seems to have some really cool powers. I'm looking forward to seeing where this series leads.

[Britt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad RL Stine book, but not amazing either. It can be a little outdated and cookie cutter, but it has good creepy moments--Phears is a decent villain. You have a picked on nerdy magician kid that has two young ghosts in his house, but we never find out the reason or why Phears wants the ghosts. The whole story ends abruptly and unexpectedly. It leaves you hanging so you want to read more books to get all the questions answered.

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Is it the best book in the world? Probably not, but it’s a fun and quick read. It is pretty dated, but in an almost charming way. It’s also different from the movies, mostly because the author can actually go into detail about how gruesome the villain can be without having it censored by children’s television.

All I know is, Max likes Digimon. He’s cool in my book. Kids and teens who like mysteries and spooky stuff might like this.

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stine can really write ghost stories, I'm amazed that parents let their kids read this stuff. (But they're reading, so that's terrific!) This is a really quick, can't put down read - only took me a couple of hours and I found it a good read!

[Sha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Simplistic prose and quite a bit of idiocy on the part of one of the characters, but props foe some genuinely creepy scenes.

[Theresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

enjoyable read

[Samantha Vernon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Totally loved this book. My favorite character was max. My least favorite character was phears. I would definitely read this again. Just loved everything about this book.

[Ammar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good

[Giana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this book because during chapters the suspense builds up as you go on in the book. Each chapter has a little action or terrifying scenes. The book in all is the best that i have ever read.

[Thrilledreader · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5

[Knjiški Ahilej · Rating 3 out of 5]

Iako dječja simpatična i zabavna te zanimljiva knjiga uz elemente horora.

[Denia Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some slowness at the start, but Max was a fun little character to follow. I love a good underdog!

The (mostly) helpful ghosts were entertaining too.

[AndiMan]

Some things just don't hit the same as an adult. And that's okay.

[D.L. · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars rounded up. I hate there's a cliffhanger! Ugh, now I have to read more of these.

[Lisa Woodward · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read to my children in 2006

[Ny. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I lwk loves this book..
30 chapters not many pages,
Detailed as hell which makes it better to read.

[Conan Tigard · Rating 4 out of 5]

R.L. Stines begins his new Mostly Ghost series with Who Let the Ghosts Out?. Are Nicky and Tara really ghosts? Or are they something else totally different and unknown to them. Max is totally funny and his older brother Colin is a pain in the rear.

I love the trouble Max gets into when his new ghostly friends try to help him. It never goes right . . . which is quite the bummer for Max, a brilliant, but unpopular kid at school. Poor Max will not ever have a chance with the girl he likes with these two trouble-makers around. R.L. Stine, known for the Goosebumps series, has created another wonderfully haunting, yet funny, series in Mostly Ghostly.

Young Readers will love the perils that Max finds himself in as Phears pursues him looking for the scientist that held him captive. They will also love the ghostly characters of Nicky and Tara as they try to help Max. They always have good intentions, but it never works out well in the end.

Overall, I think Who Let the Ghosts Out? is a great start to a series that has a lot of promise. I can't wait to see what spooky happenings occur next in Have You Met My Ghoulfriend?. Can you?

I rated this book a 9 out of 10.

[Terry · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love supernatural stories, and I read lots of series books. So I was really excited about finally getting to this one by RL Stine. The story starts off in the perspective of two ghosts, and then switches to a human named Max, which I thought was kind of neat. Like other RL Stine books, the main characters are either really sympathetic (Max and the ghosts) or really mean/annoying (Max's family and Phears). My big criticism of the book (hence the three stars), is that this book just felt like a beginning. True, it's the start of a series, but I think that each book in a series should have a beginning, middle, and end, and this book didn't seem to wrap much up, and it left me with tons of unanswered questions. I'll probably keep reading the series (because who can ever get enough RL Stein?). Despite the flaw of not wrapping much up, the book is well written and the I want to know the answer to the questions raised in the story. Recommended for middle elementary through early middle school aged kids who like books about the supernatural.

[Ralphie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is mainly about Max misunderstood amateur magician, who has recently befriended two ghosts named Tara and Nicky. Throughout the book they work together to battle the evil spirit Phears. He is a disturbed spirit who's sworn task is to defeat Max, Tara, and Nicky.

I can connect to his book because Max is a character who isn't really appreciated the way he should be. Just like when I go to school I'm not really accepted by everyone. Or with any of my talents, not many people accept me for who I really am. For example, some people in the real world today aren't really accepted for who they really are. They are just expected to act like everyone else.

I give this book 5 stars because it really kept pulling me in to the story. I highly recommend it to any kid that likes R.L.Stine. Or a really good ghost story.