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The Baby-Sitter II

(The Baby-Sitter #2)

R.L. Stine (Goodreads Author)

3.64 · Rating details · 2,333 ratings · 113 reviews

Jenny's last baby-sitting job nearly killed her. But she's a survivor and she's over it. She's even got a new baby-sitting job. Then the phone rings. When she answers, she hears a familiar voice--a voice from the grave. ...more

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Paperback, 166 pages

Published July 1st 1991 by Scholastic

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Average rating 3.64 ·

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· 2,333 ratings · 113 reviews

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Nov 08, 2018 Ken rated it really liked it · review of another edition

The Babysitter is amongst the most memorable books in the Point Horror range. Within the first couple of pages, the whole story came flooding back to me.

Trying to deal with the events from the previous book, Jenny seeks counselling. As she try’s to deal with putting them horrific events behind her, Jenny decides to take up another babysitting job.
This time with 10 year old Eli, how hard can it be?
But then Jenny starts to receive the phone calls again...

I liked how the book dealt with Jenny’s tra ...more

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Feb 19, 2016 Schizanthus Nerd rated it really liked it

Shelves: mine-all-mine

“Hi, Babes. I’m back.”

Jenny survived her last adventure in babysitting (barely) and she’s now in therapy (thank goodness!). She’s done with Chuck, who she was dating during the first book, but he’s not done with her. Chuck swings between joking around and angry and when she rejects him he responds by shouting at her, “threatening and cursing”. Jenny’s internal dialogue?

Poor Chuck.

So, it turns out that Jenny needs therapy for more than the whole almost dying thing. Some more therapy wo

“Hi, Babes. I’m back.”

Poor Chuck.

So, it turns out that Jenny needs therapy for more than the whole almost dying thing. Some more therapy would probably give her some clarity about her decision to babysit again. Seriously, why, Jenny? Get a job at McDonald’s or something!

But Jenny isn’t listening to me so off to her next babysitting job she goes.

Jenny isn’t the only one in need of therapy. The ten year old kid she babysits is nowhere near the only male in this book that is well versed in temper tantrums. The males her age have some serious toxic masculinity happening and Jenny is quick to forgive or ignore all, even the behaviour that’s criminal.

Back to the kid Jenny babysits for a moment; it wouldn’t surprise me if I found him in a future Stine book as the serial killer. There’s almost certainly a jail cell in his future.

If you haven’t read the first book in the series, make sure you do before you start this one. Huge spoilers come at you right out of the gate, including who the big bad was and how the showdown happened.

There are some fun descriptions in this edition of Adventures in Babysitting, like

The head seemed to rise up, like a pulpy, bloodstained moon.

There’s no resolution for a lot of the characters in this book. As far as I can tell, Chuck is still a jerk, the kid Jenny babysits is on his way to some much more serious ‘pranks’, Jenny still needs therapy and Jenny’s mother is not as involved in the drama that is her daughter’s life as she probably needs to be.

“Believe me, child - nothing like that will ever happen to you again.”

I’d hate to tell you this, Jenny’s mother, but Jenny still needs to play a starring role in two more sequels.

I’m rounding up from 3.5 stars.

Blog - https://schizanthusnerd.com ...more

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Sep 28, 2010 Erin *Proud Book Hoarder* added it

Shelves: first-in-series, childhood-nostalgia, young-adult, part-of-series, reviewed

RL Stine books on fear street were such fun for me growing up. I remember the two babysitters being among my favorites for some reason. Fun story for young minds.

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Apr 24, 2017 Kirsty rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: for-teenage-scream-podcast, point-horror

Re-read this for the Teenage Scream podcast (lovingly dissecting the best and worst of 90s teen horror). https://soundcloud.com/teenagescream ...more

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Jun 09, 2020 Diana rated it did not like it

This was definitely an interesting read. The fact that the psychiatrist's secretary is secretly a psycho was slightly predictable. I don't usually do horror, and this book was okay. Even though it wasn't my most favorite read, I am curious about the next one in the series. ...more

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Jun 24, 2020 Alex (The Bookubus) rated it liked it · review of another edition

The story follows Jenny from the first book so I won't go into too much detail but I think I enjoyed this one a little bit more than the first one. I like the overall story of The Baby-Sitter but there is something about the details and the execution that err on the silly side and don't really reflect the dark subject matter. I think the sequel leans in a little more to the dark subject matter and, while there are still some silly moments (it is R.L. Stine after all!), this makes for a better re ...more

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Jan 04, 2018 Michael rated it really liked it

Jenny Jeffers had a rough time last autumn, but even though the creep stalking her and other babysitters in town is dead, Jenny can't get beyond the trauma of the experience. Every night, it's the same dream: she's at the abandoned rock quarry where her nemesis met his brutal end, but he's still there, still alive, dragging himself out of the pit, assuring her that he's on his way as he crawls towards her like a zombie, getting closer and closer until she wakes up screaming.

"Jenny, I'm back."

Jen ...more

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Dec 01, 2012 Ella rated it it was ok

Certainly not as good as part 1. Jenny was annoying in this one. I couldn't stand how many times she ran from people only to realize that it was just somebody trying to catch up with her, each time she would ask herself why she ran. Why didn't she just wait and see who it was? She did this so many times it made me shake my fist. The constant nightmare scenes were bad enough to make me wonder if I was having a nightmare. Chuck hurls her to the ground and she nearly breaks her skull and she still ...more

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Mar 08, 2015 Chelley Toy rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-ya, read-point-horror

4 out of 5 Point Horror Book Stars!

(I rate these books compared to other Point Horror Books Only)

I read this as part of the #pointhorrorbookclub that I run monthly!

You can read the post here http://talesofyesterday.co.uk/2015/03...

This is more of a discussion than a review with highlighted areas of the book and has a comedy feel to the discussion to. Please be aware that as this is a discussion there will be spoilers.

Want to know more about #pointhorrorbookclub - check this out http://talesofye ...more

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Jun 06, 2017 Angela rated it did not like it

Shelves: childhood-rereads, library-books, horror, read-2017

Marginal improvement from the first book. It's not very well written and the completely unnecessary overuse of the word 'spaz' has pissed me off and made me hate them though. This should have have been edited and changed in the edition I have.
All the main characters are still mind-numbingly stupid and immature and I'm kind of hoping they eventually die in the third book.
...more

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May 13, 2020 Emily Dean rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Basically the same plot as the first one, but with a woman refusing to get out of the river.

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Jul 25, 2019 Ryan M. rated it liked it

This was just okay. I figured out the twist pretty early on. I really enjoyed the first book. Hopefully the third and fourth will be better than this one.

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Sep 20, 2020 Jessica rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: vintage-young-adult, are-you-there-pod

Probably RL’s greatest (and dumbest) work. Is this his masterpiece? Yes, yes it is.

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Dec 10, 2020 Kylie Stoneburner rated it liked it

Jenny's luck seems to be very poor; she's surrounded by weirdos. And I'm sorry, but that 10 year old is a menacing spoiled brat whose parents need to grow up and discipline him! What a nightmare in itself... I don't know why Jenny even considered another babysitting job.

Moving along to book 3. It's been fun revisiting a series that was one of the first horrors to pique my young reader mind. Admittedly, they are much tamer than I remembered them being; but that is expected and interesting to see ...more

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Sep 03, 2016 astrea rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed, read-2016, ya

I don't know if I somehow skipped this one back in the day, since normally I'm really good at remembering the books I've read and this one I couldn't. Not that that's a bad thing, there is nothing quite like reading a new or "new" book.

This one comes six months after the first. Jenny has a new group of friends and is seeing a psychiatrist in order to deal with everything that happened to her. She's been having horrible nightmares where Mr Hagen comes back from the dead to get her. After some con I don't know if I somehow skipped this one back in the day, since normally I'm really good at remembering the books I've read and this one I couldn't. Not that that's a bad thing, there is nothing quite like reading a new or "new" book.

This one comes six months after the first. Jenny has a new group of friends and is seeing a psychiatrist in order to deal with everything that happened to her. She's been having horrible nightmares where Mr Hagen comes back from the dead to get her. After some convincing she decided to take on a new babysitting job, hoping that this will put an end to her nightmares. But then the phone calls start... "Hi babes... I'm back."

One thing I really enjoyed about this book is how there was so much fallout from the first. Jenny has a new group of friends because she can't deal with anything that reminded her of what happened with the Hagens. She hasn't taken a new job because she's had too much to deal with. She's broken up with Chuck. She's seeing a psychiatrist and every night she wakes up from horrible nightmares. I did wish that Laura made an appearance in the book since her and Jenny used to be best friends. It could have added some more stress to what Jenny's dealing with and another nice carry over from the first book.

I know Stine was probably trying to set up Chuck as a possible suspect but I really didn't like his behaviour in this. Considering everything that happened to Jenny the fact he waited around for her in the shadows, that he'd yell at her and grab her was kind of uncomfortable. I'm glad Jenny didn't get back together with him but I really wish she hadn't rationalized it to him just having a temper. That's a not a temper, that's having some serious issues and being a creep.

We didn't get to know much about her new friends, but then we didn't get to know much about Laura in the first book either. Rick was way too much like Chuch in the first book, which really wasn't interesting. And I'll admit on being surprised Cal turned out okay since no actual nice guy ever says "I'm not a bad guy" (I know I know reality =/= fiction).

I will admit to totally being surprised that it was Mrs Gurney making those phone calls to Jenny. I actually really liked that. I also liked that Jenny tried to deal with the situation head-on by trying to lure the psychiatrist after her when she thought it was him.

It was still a bit cheesy like the first one, but for what it is this was again a very fun and quick read. It also makes me glad I never really babysat when I was younger, because I'm a lot like Jenny and I'd probably imagine something like this happening to me. ...more

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Aug 15, 2011 Christy rated it liked it

I picked this book b/c I loved reading R.L. Stine as a teenager. Sometimes, I still like to read his books and remember how I felt when I read his books for the first time, how the page-turning suspense would keep me reading and wanting more. The Babysitter II is about a young woman who is slowly getting her life back on track after experiencing a trauma at her last job. She now as a new job w/h a new family... but she is still plagued by bad dreams and threatening phone calls. The Babysitter II ...more

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Dec 17, 2016 Chelsea Gouin rated it liked it

Jenny, Jenny, when will you learn? Jenny is suffering from PTSD after Mr. Hagen tried to kill her last year...and subsequently threw himself off a rock quarry. So Jenny is in therapy and has to relive the horror in detail as she recounts that night and the nightmares that resulted from it. Now Jenny has a new babysitting job, a new boyfriend, and new phone calls. That's right, the creepy calls are back, whispering the same eerie phrases that Mr. Hagen had. It was a lot slower and lower on the cr ...more

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Jan 15, 2009 Alicia rated it really liked it

Shelves: horror-thriller, r-l-stine

I like this one a bit better than the first. It had me guessing until the end who was pulling the pranks on her. There were several people it could have been but I never thought of who it was.

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Oct 11, 2009 Alexis rated it it was amazing

This one shocked me even more than the first one. I was surprised when the therapist wasn't the creepo who made those calls! I also thought that Eli was some creepy kid. ...more

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Mar 25, 2011 Ashley Alma rated it really liked it

A very interesting and amusing book, with a nice little twist at the end. R.L Stine just keeps putting horror books out there that never fail to put a little shiver down your back.

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Nov 21, 2012 Louise S. rated it liked it · review of another edition

Freaky babysitting experiences! It was a good suspense. I never thought the culprit was that character.

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Dec 29, 2019 Branden rated it liked it

Shelves: young-adult-horror

The Baby-Sitter II is a much different book in tone than the original, but, at the same time, follows a familiar path when it comes to the story beats. My biggest surprise throughout was the realization that, contrary to my belief, I had not read this story when I was younger. Sure, I may have skimmed the first chapter or two, but nothing felt familiar at all, and I am certain I was reading this in whole for the first time. Unfortunately for the book, that means the only nostalgic thing about it The Baby-Sitter II is a much different book in tone than the original, but, at the same time, follows a familiar path when it comes to the story beats. My biggest surprise throughout was the realization that, contrary to my belief, I had not read this story when I was younger. Sure, I may have skimmed the first chapter or two, but nothing felt familiar at all, and I am certain I was reading this in whole for the first time. Unfortunately for the book, that means the only nostalgic thing about it for me is the cover, which, to be fair, is pretty great (pictured to the left).

This first sequel picks up one summer after Jenny suffered the tragic events of the original. Now a survivor, Jenny is suffering from a great deal of post-traumatic stress disorder, and seeing a therapist to help talk through her mental health issues. Frankly, I was impressed that this was introduced given when this book was released. We are much more accepting and understanding of mental health issues today as a society, than in the early 1990s. So though this theme would be common for a young adult book now, I feel like it was likely more rare back then.

Jenny’s mental health is really the driving factor of the entire novel. Though she always had an overactive imagination in the first novel, and thought that most people were out to get her, it was nothing compared to the Jenny in this sequel. She doesn’t even look to see who might be behind her in one of the opening chapters, she just hears footsteps that start to get quicker, and immediately starts panicking, running down the streets for fear of being attacked. This is the start to the idea that Jenny has that everyone is out to get her, and that doesn’t falter throughout.

Jenny has decided to take another babysitting job this summer because, again, she and her mother need the money. Though her two new friends are working at a shoe store in the mall, she thinks this babysitting job will help her cope with her anxiety and move on from her past. The boy she babysits is nothing like the sweet kid from last summer, though. This child has a genius level IQ, few friends, and prefers his computers and pet tarantulas over any board games over hide and seek. She figures she can deal with him, though, until she starts getting some phone calls late at night from a voice that is eerily familiar to the voice from last year. Jenny knows that this can’t be the same person…or can it?

The Baby-Sitter II is a much darker book, and it touches on both mental health, and physical abuse from trusted individuals. There were moments that really surprised me due to their violence, and while it wasn’t explicit by any stretch, it was still unexpected. Stine creates these moments, but he doesn’t really do much to speak to them; they just happen, and the characters move on with little to no resolution. Likely because of the age of the book, and the target audience, Stine probably didn’t feel it necessary to provide any commentary surrounding these moments. It is disappointing, but not something the book chooses to explore any further.

Though we do get deeper into Jenny’s mental state, and meet new characters, the story feels quite familiar to the original, even going so far as essentially repeating the climax of the first book in some ways. This repetition was a bit of a drag on The Baby-Sitter II, and it didn’t do much to stand itself apart in any way. Because of this, it is a book that I didn’t hate nor love, but rather feel a bit indifferent about. Sure, it’s fine, and I enjoyed myself while reading it, but it’s not one that will stick with me at all. Still, I want to see where Jenny’s story goes, and discover if there is any eventual payoff for some of the things Stine established in this outing.

2.5 out of 5 stars ...more

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Oct 03, 2019 Mark R. rated it it was ok · review of another edition

**1/2

“The Babysitter II” contains enough jump scares to fill three novels. As it is, the 166-page book has readers frantically turning the page, only to find nothing especially terrifying, right up until the climax. If you were watching a slasher or thriller movie, you wouldn’t expect fake-out scares an hour into the film. But R. L. Stine loves these little cliffhangers—Jenny feels something tingly and threatening against her leg! End chapter; new chapter, oh, it was just a cat, just a cat she t ...more

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Mar 27, 2017 Christopher Waltz rated it really liked it · review of another edition

To me, The Babysitter II (even more so than the first book) is the quintessential point horror story of the 80s/90s. Following a formula seen in many-a-slasher film both before and after the book was written that translates surprisingly well to a YA horror novel.

Jenny is a Shadyside teen (almost as dangerous as being an Elm Street teen) who used to babysit, but decided to retire once the father she was babysitting for ended up being the kind of guy who murders babysitters in his spare time. Now, ...more

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Oct 16, 2017 Megan rated it it was ok

Shelves: young-adult, horror-thriller

Book 2 in the Babysitter Point Horror series

Not as good as the first one, which isn't saying very much. This had very little to no suspense/scare to it. Jenny has a new babysitting job looking after the Wexner's 10 year old son, Eli. Jenny also has new friends, a new boyfriend, Cal, and is seeing a therapist, Dr. Schindler. Everything seems to be getting better except that those phone calls start again: "Hi Babes, I'm back. Company's coming." Who is it this time? Is it Jenny's crazed ex-boyfrien ...more

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Sep 09, 2019 { U n s o l v e d M y s t e r y } rated it liked it

Shelves: books-i-own, favorite-authors, secrets, horror, i-m-in-love-with-a-book-cover, 3-stars, romance, suspense, mystery, ghosts

October reads 2019: book 2.

Let's face it: R.L Stine uses the word "frighten"and "frightened" a lot.
You could do a drinking game with how many times he uses them in books 1 and 2 of this series.
Its probably his favorite word.
That's alright with me though; I say "creepy" a lot. Its one of my favorite words. =)

This one lost the charm book 1 had.
The weather was different.
The time was different (Of course).
Even her friends and boyfriend were different. (I didn't like this at all and was highly d ...more

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Feb 01, 2018 Jaycie rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Jenny's last babysitting job didn't go so well because the kids father had tried to kill her but she dodged him and killed him. Now Jenny had a new babysitting job and she was going to therapy. The same things started happening. Her therapist's assistant had started making the same phone calls and tried to kill her but it didn't work. I also like little kids because they are always happy and playful.My sister Kaylee is also a babysitter and loves working with kids. My mom used to stay at home an ...more

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Apr 03, 2018 Gayle Noble rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: own-book, mystery-suspense, horror, young-adult

Jenny tries to move on from her near-death experience at the hands of Mr Hagen. She starts seeing a therapist and takes on a new baby-sitting job.

This one wasn't as good as the first, in fact it seemed really repetitive. Jenny is always shouting or shrieking at people. Admittedly she had a horrible experience, but even the kids she babysits get yelled at. PTSD? Also I have to add, were Aerosmith and Def Leppard ever considered 'heavy metal'? Rating: 2 stars ...more

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Sep 18, 2019 Mark rated it did not like it

Shelves: own, thriller, stine_pike, 2019

RL Stine is known for his false scares at the end of each Chapter for the Fear Street books and this one has to have the most I ever read from him! One literally needs to only read the first and last sentence of each Chapter and you'll get the whole story without missing a beat. This book has to be one of the worst I've read from him at this point. Makes me dread wanting to read Parts 3 and 4 now. ...more

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Nov 14, 2018 Heather rated it liked it · review of another edition

Starts off more promisingly than most RL Stine's books...then slides into the inevitable cliches, jumpscares and nonsensical ending. Also Chuck is the absolute worst.

I read this for our podcast Teenage Scream, which dissects the best (and worst) of 90s Teen Horror.

https://soundcloud.com/teenagescream ...more

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About R.L. Stine

R.L. Stine

12,812 followers

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 b ...more