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Party Line
Mark has discovered a way to meet girls—on the teen party line. Unfortunately, he also discovers that some of the new girls he meets on the phone have disappeared. What started as a way to get dates, leads Mark into a frightening mystery—one that becomes dangerous as well!
166 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1989
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757 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 50 reviews
January 26, 2021
3.5 Stars ⭐️ Omg! That was horrible and good at the same time! I loved it 🤣😂. I remember party lines, but I don’t remember them costing anything 🤔
This was a buddy ready with my friends at Horror Aficionados!
Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾
This was a buddy ready with my friends at Horror Aficionados!
Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾
April 15, 2024
Wow, what a lame read this was! The story follows an absolute jabroni who has no game whatsoever, so in true Point "Horror" fashion, he tries to meet with girls on the eponymous public phone-line and a bunch of teen drama ensues. This was pretty disgraceful overall. Basically nothing happens until the very final little bit, and by then it's too late to care. The payoff (if you can even call it that) is extremely underwhelming as well. I felt like this might have been Point Horror's answer to the "very special episodes" TV shows used to do, as the ending felt like one big turd of a PSA. Though not the worst, I wouldn't recommend this unless you're super desperate to read some lame young-adult 90's garbage and this is your only option.
January 19, 2021
Mark is a 17 year old who is awkward and shy around girls. He can't pick up signals and comes off as rude because of it. A cute girl named Marcy comes up to him at a dance and tries to talk, but he's so awkward he seems standoffish and uninterested so she leaves. However, using the
Party Line
, he learns how to gain confidence and communicate with girls. With this new power, he dates Marcy and another girl, Janine. There's also car repair, self-defense classes, and roller skating. But, mostly, this book really feels like it's a story about a teen guy growing up and learning how to manage relationships.
However, the mystery/horror part of the book, the story about the girls disappearing, it really only becomes a real thing in the last 1/4 of the book in a sudden change of the story's pacing. Not what I expected, but a solid short read.
However, the mystery/horror part of the book, the story about the girls disappearing, it really only becomes a real thing in the last 1/4 of the book in a sudden change of the story's pacing. Not what I expected, but a solid short read.
January 13, 2021
Done! I quite liked this one, I know I read it as a teen and I even remembered whodunnit, but I still enjoyed the story and the characters, especially the main character who went from having no idea about girls, to thinking he knew it all, to then realizing he know pretty much nothing!
A buddy read with some of the crew over at Horror Aficionados, and some fun teenage nostalgia time for me :-)
A buddy read with some of the crew over at Horror Aficionados, and some fun teenage nostalgia time for me :-)
January 16, 2021
I quite enjoyed this one. I felt for the characters and wondered what was going on. I did think it'd be predictable but I was wrong. I had a fun time with it.
January 3, 2021
This book was not part of my teen years. I read this with a group of friends in the group Horror Aficionados in 2021. This book was published in 1989.
First of all, I did not like Mark. He is an ass. The relationship he has with his mom is parasitic, him leeching off his mother, not caring one damn bit about her. And girls! What can he do to get more girls?! One finally gives him the time of day and all of a sudden he is God’s gift to women everywhere and oh boy! Can he kiss! Watch out ladies!
Oh yeah, the mystery. Girls are disappearing. But don’t worry cause Mark has it all figured out. The only good thing he does is he goes to the cops. But these are of the Fear Street quality and they are quiet useless. Thank goodness we have Mark to save the day- he really does.
I didn’t like the character, the story was thin and at times boring. I would read more by A.Bates but only with a group. I wouldn’t seek her out on my own.
First of all, I did not like Mark. He is an ass. The relationship he has with his mom is parasitic, him leeching off his mother, not caring one damn bit about her. And girls! What can he do to get more girls?! One finally gives him the time of day and all of a sudden he is God’s gift to women everywhere and oh boy! Can he kiss! Watch out ladies!
Oh yeah, the mystery. Girls are disappearing. But don’t worry cause Mark has it all figured out. The only good thing he does is he goes to the cops. But these are of the Fear Street quality and they are quiet useless. Thank goodness we have Mark to save the day- he really does.
I didn’t like the character, the story was thin and at times boring. I would read more by A.Bates but only with a group. I wouldn’t seek her out on my own.
February 8, 2016
Sad sack working-class Mark has to use the discount teen party line if he ever wants to score a girlfriend (is there a teen in the world who has any idea what a party line even is anymore?). I grabbed this 1989 teen horror novel at the thrift store thinking it would be good for a laugh, but unfortunately it was mostly....really dull. 90 percent of the book follows Mark and his lonely high school friends learning how to date 1950s style (I took Janine out last night but now Marcy at the roller rink wants to go steady, what shall I do?) and the entertainment to be had was in the outdated tech (computers have spell check now sometimes) and in Mark's terrible musings about girls (When I kiss her my knee joints tingle! Girls are just boys with boobs!). The guy making girls disappear from the party line doesn't appear until the end, and he's the least scary slasher ever. Boo!
Want to read
December 17, 2012Sometimes I'll see a book like this on Amazon, and I'll ironically click "I'd like to read this book on Kindle". Something about teen thrillers from the '80s and '90s which feature technology that isn't even relevant anymore amuses me.
July 24, 2022
Point horror number 3! It wasn't my favorite but I did enjoy the read for the most part. I did find it a little too much teen romance in the middle and started questioning when it would get to the creepy parts. This is definitely a little more thriller than horror but a lot of them are.
October 8, 2023
📖 Qᴜɪ ᴇsᴛ ᴀ̀ ʟ'ᴀᴘᴘᴀʀᴇɪʟ? 📞
(#3 - Collection Frissons)
Autant qu’à chaque fois j’adore me replonger dans cette vieille collection de livres parce qu’elle me ramène à ma jeunesse, autant que parfois il arrive que l’histoire me plaise moins. C’est le cas pour celui-ci. Je trouve qu’il a très mal vieilli et que l’histoire était un peu longue et somme toute, ennuyante. Probablement qu’à l’époque, la technologie des années ’90 aurait rendu ce roman un peu plus pertinent comparé à aujourd’hui ☺️
✶ Résumé :
𝑴𝒂𝒓𝒄 𝒏𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒖𝒕 𝒔'𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒆̂𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒅'𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒓 𝒍𝒂 𝑳𝒊𝒈𝒏𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒈𝒆́𝒆. 𝑪'𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒅𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒄 𝒍𝒆𝒔 𝒇𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒔 𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒔 𝒏𝒆 𝒗𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒗𝒐𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒑𝒂𝒔.
𝑴𝒂𝒊𝒔 𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒍𝒒𝒖𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒅'𝒆́𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒆. 𝑳𝒆𝒔 𝒇𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒔 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒍𝒆𝒔 𝒖𝒏𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒑𝒓𝒆̀𝒔 𝒍𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒔. 𝑴𝒂𝒓𝒄 𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒒𝒖'𝒊𝒍 𝒚 𝒂 𝒖𝒏 𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒄 𝒍𝒂 𝑳𝒊𝒈𝒏𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒈𝒆́𝒆. 𝑸𝒖𝒊 𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒍𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒏 𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒖𝒓 𝒒𝒖'𝒊𝒍 𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒑 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕? 𝑪𝒆𝒍𝒖𝒊 𝒒𝒖𝒊 𝒂 𝒖𝒏𝒆 𝒗𝒐𝒊𝒙 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒇𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒆 𝒒𝒖𝒊 𝒅𝒐𝒏𝒏𝒆 𝒍𝒂 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒊𝒓 𝒅𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒆? 𝑴𝒂𝒓𝒄 𝒂 𝒅𝒆́𝒋𝒂̀ 𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒖 𝒄𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒆 𝒗𝒐𝒊𝒙. 𝑬𝒔𝒕-𝒄𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒎𝒊 𝑺𝒆́𝒃𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒏? 𝑶𝒖 𝑩𝒆𝒏𝒐𝒊̂𝒕? 𝑶𝒖 𝒖𝒏 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒇?
𝑪’𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒍𝒒𝒖’𝒖𝒏 𝒒𝒖'𝒊𝒍 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒏𝒂𝒊̂𝒕, 𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒍𝒒𝒖’𝒖𝒏 𝒒𝒖'𝒊𝒍 𝒏’𝒂𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒕 𝒋𝒂𝒎𝒂𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒖 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒑𝒄̧𝒐𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒓. 𝑺𝒊 𝑴𝒂𝒓𝒄 𝒏𝒆 𝒍’𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒆̂𝒕𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒔, 𝒊𝒍 𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒂 𝒖𝒏𝒆 𝒏𝒐𝒖𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒆 𝒗𝒊𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆… 𝒖𝒏𝒆 𝒗𝒊𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒅𝒆 𝒍𝒂 𝑳𝒊𝒈𝒏𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒈𝒆́𝒆.
(#3 - Collection Frissons)
Autant qu’à chaque fois j’adore me replonger dans cette vieille collection de livres parce qu’elle me ramène à ma jeunesse, autant que parfois il arrive que l’histoire me plaise moins. C’est le cas pour celui-ci. Je trouve qu’il a très mal vieilli et que l’histoire était un peu longue et somme toute, ennuyante. Probablement qu’à l’époque, la technologie des années ’90 aurait rendu ce roman un peu plus pertinent comparé à aujourd’hui ☺️
✶ Résumé :
𝑴𝒂𝒓𝒄 𝒏𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒖𝒕 𝒔'𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒆̂𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒅'𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒓 𝒍𝒂 𝑳𝒊𝒈𝒏𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒈𝒆́𝒆. 𝑪'𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒅𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒄 𝒍𝒆𝒔 𝒇𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒔 𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒔 𝒏𝒆 𝒗𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒗𝒐𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒑𝒂𝒔.
𝑴𝒂𝒊𝒔 𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒍𝒒𝒖𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒅'𝒆́𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒆. 𝑳𝒆𝒔 𝒇𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒔 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒍𝒆𝒔 𝒖𝒏𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒑𝒓𝒆̀𝒔 𝒍𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒔. 𝑴𝒂𝒓𝒄 𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒒𝒖'𝒊𝒍 𝒚 𝒂 𝒖𝒏 𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒄 𝒍𝒂 𝑳𝒊𝒈𝒏𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒈𝒆́𝒆. 𝑸𝒖𝒊 𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒍𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒏 𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒖𝒓 𝒒𝒖'𝒊𝒍 𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒑 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕? 𝑪𝒆𝒍𝒖𝒊 𝒒𝒖𝒊 𝒂 𝒖𝒏𝒆 𝒗𝒐𝒊𝒙 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒇𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒆 𝒒𝒖𝒊 𝒅𝒐𝒏𝒏𝒆 𝒍𝒂 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒊𝒓 𝒅𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒆? 𝑴𝒂𝒓𝒄 𝒂 𝒅𝒆́𝒋𝒂̀ 𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒖 𝒄𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒆 𝒗𝒐𝒊𝒙. 𝑬𝒔𝒕-𝒄𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒎𝒊 𝑺𝒆́𝒃𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒏? 𝑶𝒖 𝑩𝒆𝒏𝒐𝒊̂𝒕? 𝑶𝒖 𝒖𝒏 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒇?
𝑪’𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒍𝒒𝒖’𝒖𝒏 𝒒𝒖'𝒊𝒍 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒏𝒂𝒊̂𝒕, 𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒍𝒒𝒖’𝒖𝒏 𝒒𝒖'𝒊𝒍 𝒏’𝒂𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒕 𝒋𝒂𝒎𝒂𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒖 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒑𝒄̧𝒐𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒓. 𝑺𝒊 𝑴𝒂𝒓𝒄 𝒏𝒆 𝒍’𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒆̂𝒕𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒔, 𝒊𝒍 𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒂 𝒖𝒏𝒆 𝒏𝒐𝒖𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒆 𝒗𝒊𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆… 𝒖𝒏𝒆 𝒗𝒊𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒅𝒆 𝒍𝒂 𝑳𝒊𝒈𝒏𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒈𝒆́𝒆.
December 26, 2022
I distinctly remember going to Waldenbooks at the mall to buy this book. Loved that I found a copy to reread!
December 31, 2020
This was a pretty good book. It was very similar to 1-900-killer. I liked the idea of it and I love the young adult 90's horror.
June 6, 2022
It seems that early Point Horror books are very tame and light on gore and going really out there but the reality of the suspense and horror is still there.
I wasn't old enough to do the whole party line scene but the danger it presents isn't that far fetched and I think it's interesting to use in a book aimed at teenagers.
Mark Carney is a teenage boy who is kind of awkward around girls and he's very shy so the party line seems like the best place to get to know girls his own age. They aren't talking face to face and it's where you don't really have to be yourself and using fake names way before the Internet isn't the scamming tool it is today.
Some of the girls sound a little young and some of the guys sound like real creepers trying to hard to get the real names and numbers of these girls who must be just lonely and looking for love or even a friend.
Mark becomes interested in one girl named Janine and they strike up enough words to almost connect and she teaches him how he can not get charged for the calls but still listen in. He hears a guy who goes by many names trying to woo a girl named Nicky and Mark can't help but think that the voice sounds...familiar.
In the real world, he gets advice from his friend Robbie and on the party line, Mark listens in to understand girls better. This works once Mark writes a horror story for English class and uses the knowledge to be more confident and show girls you're interested.
It works and soon Mark has attracted Marcy's attention and her friend Libby becomes interested in his other friend Todd. They go on some group dates and even take up self-defense classes together but there's good reason for that.
Girls are going missing and Mark is looking to be a new man especially when he realizes the newest one...is Nicky from the party line. Mark feels guilty that he couldn't do anything to try and help Nicky and he won't let any other girl be a victim of someone obviously stalking the girls on the party line.
It's a pretty good premise and even though it lacks in gore it makes up for it in thrills and chills and getting to know our lead better. Point Horror books centered on male protagonists are few and far between but it's refreshing to get a male perspective even if it may be from a female writer...it's like a character study.
The reveal is anti-climatic yet also very intense and leads to a nice mellow ending. It's a nice read for a summer afternoon so three out of five stars and a recommendation for your Point Horror collection.
I wasn't old enough to do the whole party line scene but the danger it presents isn't that far fetched and I think it's interesting to use in a book aimed at teenagers.
Mark Carney is a teenage boy who is kind of awkward around girls and he's very shy so the party line seems like the best place to get to know girls his own age. They aren't talking face to face and it's where you don't really have to be yourself and using fake names way before the Internet isn't the scamming tool it is today.
Some of the girls sound a little young and some of the guys sound like real creepers trying to hard to get the real names and numbers of these girls who must be just lonely and looking for love or even a friend.
Mark becomes interested in one girl named Janine and they strike up enough words to almost connect and she teaches him how he can not get charged for the calls but still listen in. He hears a guy who goes by many names trying to woo a girl named Nicky and Mark can't help but think that the voice sounds...familiar.
In the real world, he gets advice from his friend Robbie and on the party line, Mark listens in to understand girls better. This works once Mark writes a horror story for English class and uses the knowledge to be more confident and show girls you're interested.
It works and soon Mark has attracted Marcy's attention and her friend Libby becomes interested in his other friend Todd. They go on some group dates and even take up self-defense classes together but there's good reason for that.
Girls are going missing and Mark is looking to be a new man especially when he realizes the newest one...is Nicky from the party line. Mark feels guilty that he couldn't do anything to try and help Nicky and he won't let any other girl be a victim of someone obviously stalking the girls on the party line.
It's a pretty good premise and even though it lacks in gore it makes up for it in thrills and chills and getting to know our lead better. Point Horror books centered on male protagonists are few and far between but it's refreshing to get a male perspective even if it may be from a female writer...it's like a character study.
The reveal is anti-climatic yet also very intense and leads to a nice mellow ending. It's a nice read for a summer afternoon so three out of five stars and a recommendation for your Point Horror collection.
December 16, 2021
Another Point Horror book and this time we have an interesting concept, which unfortunately is not utilized to its full potential, but is still good enough to make this an intriguing mystery book. I am pretty sure the elevator pitch for this was simply "Like Rear Window but with telephones".
So, our main character, Mark, is addicted to a Party Line, something which is completely alien to today's youth, but which was something in the 80s and 90s. You'd call up a phone line where other people were connected to and you'd meet people over the phone. Like a chat room/group but with landlines. Mark learns how to fake a hangup, making a sound that sounds like he hung-up the phone, so that he can listen to conversations without anyone knowing he's there. When girls who he recognizes from the line start disappearing he has to solve the mystery.
I would have enjoyed this a lot more if that premiss would have gone throughout the book and the voyeuristic qualities of listening to other people's conversations had been explored more. But I get that this is a book for teens and so you have to get some romance into it, and Mark eventually leaves the line to juggle two girls and get one of them to act as bait for his supposed killer... not very smart. Still it's a fun book with a really intriguing core idea.
So, our main character, Mark, is addicted to a Party Line, something which is completely alien to today's youth, but which was something in the 80s and 90s. You'd call up a phone line where other people were connected to and you'd meet people over the phone. Like a chat room/group but with landlines. Mark learns how to fake a hangup, making a sound that sounds like he hung-up the phone, so that he can listen to conversations without anyone knowing he's there. When girls who he recognizes from the line start disappearing he has to solve the mystery.
I would have enjoyed this a lot more if that premiss would have gone throughout the book and the voyeuristic qualities of listening to other people's conversations had been explored more. But I get that this is a book for teens and so you have to get some romance into it, and Mark eventually leaves the line to juggle two girls and get one of them to act as bait for his supposed killer... not very smart. Still it's a fun book with a really intriguing core idea.
December 30, 2020
3 1/2 stars
Mark is enjoying the phone party line until girls start to disappear. Could the phone have anything to do with it?
I read this in one sitting, it was a decent way to while away an evening.
back cover below
***************Mark has discovered a way to meet girls—on the teen party line. Unfortunately, he also discovers that some of the new girls he meets on the phone have disappeared. What started as a way to get dates, leads Mark into a frightening mystery—one that becomes dangerous as well!
Mark is enjoying the phone party line until girls start to disappear. Could the phone have anything to do with it?
I read this in one sitting, it was a decent way to while away an evening.
back cover below
***************Mark has discovered a way to meet girls—on the teen party line. Unfortunately, he also discovers that some of the new girls he meets on the phone have disappeared. What started as a way to get dates, leads Mark into a frightening mystery—one that becomes dangerous as well!
April 2, 2023
1.5.
Dull YA thriller that forgets it's a thriller until the last 50 pages. I spent more time reading about the intricacies of car mechanics and awkward dates with girls than anything particularly thrilling or scary.
Dull YA thriller that forgets it's a thriller until the last 50 pages. I spent more time reading about the intricacies of car mechanics and awkward dates with girls than anything particularly thrilling or scary.
February 16, 2021
Nice mystery. Not very realistic, and the main character was so dumb, but the ending was worth it! Completely caught by surprise at who was the villain!
August 4, 2022
Fini mon 3e ptit Frissons !
Qui est à l'appareil ?
Un retour dans mon adolescence qui fait du bien...
Un étudiant timide et pas très habile avec les filles décide de faire des appels sur une ligne ou tout le monde peut jaser ensemble.. Mais il y a maintenant des disparitions inquiétante qui surviennent... Serait-ce un des appelants de cette fameuse ligne?
Un ptit livre je dirais 10 ans et plus.
Qui est à l'appareil ?
Un retour dans mon adolescence qui fait du bien...
Un étudiant timide et pas très habile avec les filles décide de faire des appels sur une ligne ou tout le monde peut jaser ensemble.. Mais il y a maintenant des disparitions inquiétante qui surviennent... Serait-ce un des appelants de cette fameuse ligne?
Un ptit livre je dirais 10 ans et plus.
April 18, 2025
I thought this was a fun story. It’s a very quick read with cheesy characters and the overall message is still really relevant if you replace the chat line with the internet.
July 1, 2019
Notes before I start: this was published in 1989, so I'm expecting some great 80s references. Please don't let me down, A. Bates!
---------
Okay, so now that I've finally finished this re-read, I have to say I'm surprised by how much I enjoyed the read. It wasn't as terrible and cheesy as I was expecting. I guess one complaint is that there just wasn't enough references to the era in which it was written, e.g. not enough descriptions of terrible clothes, etc. (the dance did feature some jean skirts, but still, the fashion wasn't a highlight of this book). However, there were SOME other highlights that had me laughing (or cringing/marvelling):
- There's only a house phone at Mark's place, and he's running up a huuuuuge phone bill with the Party Line (that era's version of social media messaging I guess)
- The Party Line is pretty creepy, actually, particularly at moments like this:
p.10 - Q: "Fifteen. Is that too young?" A: "Depends what for, I guess."
- Mark is hilarious about the chicks he's dating. I love the scene where he's being all reasonable and 'feely' with Marcy about why he can't commit to a relationship, because that wouldn't be fair to ANY of them - himself, Marcy, or his second girlfriend.
- Mark frequently amused me - he was well written as a teenaged guy. Like when he has 5 hotdogs for dinner, and then eats the rest 'cause he may as well finish off the whole lot.
- Mr. Santos was pretty 'hip', it seems, but he seemed to take it rather far at this point:
p.33 "everyone likes feeling high."
- There was mention of a "spell check program for computers", and the fact that Janine had a microwave and Mark was overawed, and Janine said "it's kind of fun to use!" (Paraphrasing)
- At one point, "pollution stickers" for cars are mentioned. I have no idea what that is. Is it related to leaded petrol?
- Unlike many Point books, this one gave some insight into the life of Mark's mother - we got to know her quite a bit, and how she wanted to live her own life etc. So I thought that was interesting.
- Dramatic ending! Mark was impressive, which also surprised me :P
All in all, I think I'm gonna have to add some of my fave quotes from this book onto GoodReads, to highlight how it entertained me at times (which was unexpected for me).
Here are my detailed notes about this book:
---------
Okay, so now that I've finally finished this re-read, I have to say I'm surprised by how much I enjoyed the read. It wasn't as terrible and cheesy as I was expecting. I guess one complaint is that there just wasn't enough references to the era in which it was written, e.g. not enough descriptions of terrible clothes, etc. (the dance did feature some jean skirts, but still, the fashion wasn't a highlight of this book). However, there were SOME other highlights that had me laughing (or cringing/marvelling):
- There's only a house phone at Mark's place, and he's running up a huuuuuge phone bill with the Party Line (that era's version of social media messaging I guess)
- The Party Line is pretty creepy, actually, particularly at moments like this:
p.10 - Q: "Fifteen. Is that too young?" A: "Depends what for, I guess."
- Mark is hilarious about the chicks he's dating. I love the scene where he's being all reasonable and 'feely' with Marcy about why he can't commit to a relationship, because that wouldn't be fair to ANY of them - himself, Marcy, or his second girlfriend.
- Mark frequently amused me - he was well written as a teenaged guy. Like when he has 5 hotdogs for dinner, and then eats the rest 'cause he may as well finish off the whole lot.
- Mr. Santos was pretty 'hip', it seems, but he seemed to take it rather far at this point:
p.33 "everyone likes feeling high."
- There was mention of a "spell check program for computers", and the fact that Janine had a microwave and Mark was overawed, and Janine said "it's kind of fun to use!" (Paraphrasing)
- At one point, "pollution stickers" for cars are mentioned. I have no idea what that is. Is it related to leaded petrol?
- Unlike many Point books, this one gave some insight into the life of Mark's mother - we got to know her quite a bit, and how she wanted to live her own life etc. So I thought that was interesting.
- Dramatic ending! Mark was impressive, which also surprised me :P
All in all, I think I'm gonna have to add some of my fave quotes from this book onto GoodReads, to highlight how it entertained me at times (which was unexpected for me).
Here are my detailed notes about this book:
September 9, 2022
- Not enough Party Line chats
- Antagonist was unexpected but a silly choice (and sillier motivation)
- Not really a thriller. I wanted a thriller.
I’m totally going to forget everything about this, I can already tell.
- Antagonist was unexpected but a silly choice (and sillier motivation)
- Not really a thriller. I wanted a thriller.
I’m totally going to forget everything about this, I can already tell.
March 24, 2018
If I'm being honest I picked up this book because the author has same initial/last name as me. I kept it around for years for that reason. When I finally actually read it it was sooooooooo dated and I don't think any modern teenager would be able to understand the premise of a teen chat line that you dial into from your corded home telephone where someone is stalking/killing the participants. As 80s teen thrillers go, this is not as good as Christopher Pike who I adored as a teen, but not the worst thing I've ever read either.
December 12, 2011
RL Stine memories from jr high and high school. (reading the books, haha)
March 19, 2023
I was excited to check this one out, as the first A. Bates novel that I read, Mother's Helper, (also part of the Point series) I really enjoyed.
I checked the copyright and noticed that this one was written three years before that one, and Bates' writing is certainly not as developed or as skillful as it was in Mother's Helper.
The subject matter, too, is not quite as interesting.
Advertised as a thriller, with the plot being a mysterious caller on a party line luring girls into meeting with him, takes the backseat as a subplot in this romance / coming of age story.
Most of the story is about the main character Mark, and his desire to be in a relationship and the anxieties that go along with romancing and courtship. Mark is shy and spends some of his time talking to strangers on the "party line" to ebb some of his loneliness.
There's some typical high school drama and Mark and his friends talk and joke about girls while the girl characters do the same. I normally don't mind the romance stuff too much if it's done right, and it was a bit amusing and relatable at first, especially with Mark's shyness around girls, but later on the romance stuff becomes awkward and even cringeworthy. He ends up getting into a relationship that didn't feel authentic or believable. It didn't help that the characters weren't the most well written of fleshed-out.
Throughout the story, there are a few brief mentions of girls that have gone missing, and Mark suspects it may be one of the "oily" guys on the party line that talks in a raspy, husky voice and tries to fish information from young girls and even meet up with them. This is, of course, the advertised plot of the story but like I mentioned, it's not the main focus, and really only comes into play at the climax.
The idea with that is, perhaps needless to say, very dark and almost too mature for a YA novel. We essentially have a child predator targeting teenage girls. And while it never goes too far with it, the implications are clear.
Mark becomes more suspicious of the disappearing girls and wants to figure out who's behind it. Him and his girlfriend take it upon themselves to solve the mystery after going to the police about their suspicions and the cops brushing them off.
What ensues is, naturally, Mark and Janine getting in over their heads and facing off against the kidnapper in a chaotic (almost goofy) climax.
I did like the twist/reveal of who the predator was, but the entire final act of the story felt clumsily handled. Bates also reins in the idea of having a child predator, and explains away his reasoning for kidnapping the girls and even makes an attempt for us to sympathize with him to a degree, which was not at all convincing and should not have been in the story, in my opinion. However, it's probably for the better that Bates (or the editor, possibly) decided to keep things somewhat family-friendly here, as this story could have easily headed in a pretty twisted direction for a Point Horror novel. SA stuff is not exactly appropriate for these.
Overall, this one was a bit of a disappointment, especially after going into this loving Bates' previous book that I read. The author has definitely shown a lot of growth and development in her writing with the later Point entries, though this one wasn't all bad. I did enjoy some of the cheesy teen melodrama in here and the mystery of the party-line caller was just intriguing enough to keep me turning the pages. It kind of fails though as a whole as the plot is just too unfocused and the characters are all a bit paper-thin.
But if Bates' storytelling abilities improved so much over the course of a couple of years, I'm now even more curious to check out her most recent and final entry in the Point Horror series, Krazy 4 U. (What a title that one is)
Anyway, this one gets a 2.5 rounded down to 2 for Goodreads. I only recommend it if you're a fan of Point Horror books in general or plan on reading them all. Otherwise, give the much better Mother's Helper a go.
I checked the copyright and noticed that this one was written three years before that one, and Bates' writing is certainly not as developed or as skillful as it was in Mother's Helper.
The subject matter, too, is not quite as interesting.
Advertised as a thriller, with the plot being a mysterious caller on a party line luring girls into meeting with him, takes the backseat as a subplot in this romance / coming of age story.
Most of the story is about the main character Mark, and his desire to be in a relationship and the anxieties that go along with romancing and courtship. Mark is shy and spends some of his time talking to strangers on the "party line" to ebb some of his loneliness.
There's some typical high school drama and Mark and his friends talk and joke about girls while the girl characters do the same. I normally don't mind the romance stuff too much if it's done right, and it was a bit amusing and relatable at first, especially with Mark's shyness around girls, but later on the romance stuff becomes awkward and even cringeworthy. He ends up getting into a relationship that didn't feel authentic or believable. It didn't help that the characters weren't the most well written of fleshed-out.
Throughout the story, there are a few brief mentions of girls that have gone missing, and Mark suspects it may be one of the "oily" guys on the party line that talks in a raspy, husky voice and tries to fish information from young girls and even meet up with them. This is, of course, the advertised plot of the story but like I mentioned, it's not the main focus, and really only comes into play at the climax.
The idea with that is, perhaps needless to say, very dark and almost too mature for a YA novel. We essentially have a child predator targeting teenage girls. And while it never goes too far with it, the implications are clear.
Mark becomes more suspicious of the disappearing girls and wants to figure out who's behind it. Him and his girlfriend take it upon themselves to solve the mystery after going to the police about their suspicions and the cops brushing them off.
What ensues is, naturally, Mark and Janine getting in over their heads and facing off against the kidnapper in a chaotic (almost goofy) climax.
I did like the twist/reveal of who the predator was, but the entire final act of the story felt clumsily handled. Bates also reins in the idea of having a child predator, and explains away his reasoning for kidnapping the girls and even makes an attempt for us to sympathize with him to a degree, which was not at all convincing and should not have been in the story, in my opinion. However, it's probably for the better that Bates (or the editor, possibly) decided to keep things somewhat family-friendly here, as this story could have easily headed in a pretty twisted direction for a Point Horror novel. SA stuff is not exactly appropriate for these.
Overall, this one was a bit of a disappointment, especially after going into this loving Bates' previous book that I read. The author has definitely shown a lot of growth and development in her writing with the later Point entries, though this one wasn't all bad. I did enjoy some of the cheesy teen melodrama in here and the mystery of the party-line caller was just intriguing enough to keep me turning the pages. It kind of fails though as a whole as the plot is just too unfocused and the characters are all a bit paper-thin.
But if Bates' storytelling abilities improved so much over the course of a couple of years, I'm now even more curious to check out her most recent and final entry in the Point Horror series, Krazy 4 U. (What a title that one is)
Anyway, this one gets a 2.5 rounded down to 2 for Goodreads. I only recommend it if you're a fan of Point Horror books in general or plan on reading them all. Otherwise, give the much better Mother's Helper a go.
November 28, 2020
I went to a cabin for a weekend and this was one of the few books there that wasn't an encyclopedia. And I really think that's the only circumstance in which a 35-year-old should read this book in 2020.
Look, contrary to most reviewers here, I thought the book was actually alright! It doesn't rise to the level of my fave 90s thriller writers like R.L. Stine or Christopher Pike; this book kind of seemed like their tamer older cousin?
Yes, it's super dated, but in a way that made it kind of charming. I've never experienced a party line, but I imagine it's something like an early internet chat room or Chatroulette, except not nearly as awful as that.
The main character felt drawn very much to appeal to teenage boys. Since I am not a teenage boy in the late 1980s, I don't know if it rings true. But I did feel that his development over the course of the book was genuine, and I really did care what happened to him.
The pacing is generally good for a thriller. I really did feel suspense building around the question of what was happening to the disappearing girls, although I was bothered that this somehow wasn't a major topic of concern in the town overall. And the ending kind of blew it; happened too fast, the villain seemed like a total wtf, everything just *happened* to work out OK. Bit of a letdown. But overall, glad I spent some time reading this book because it was some fun late-80s teenage escapism.
Look, contrary to most reviewers here, I thought the book was actually alright! It doesn't rise to the level of my fave 90s thriller writers like R.L. Stine or Christopher Pike; this book kind of seemed like their tamer older cousin?
Yes, it's super dated, but in a way that made it kind of charming. I've never experienced a party line, but I imagine it's something like an early internet chat room or Chatroulette, except not nearly as awful as that.
The main character felt drawn very much to appeal to teenage boys. Since I am not a teenage boy in the late 1980s, I don't know if it rings true. But I did feel that his development over the course of the book was genuine, and I really did care what happened to him.
The pacing is generally good for a thriller. I really did feel suspense building around the question of what was happening to the disappearing girls, although I was bothered that this somehow wasn't a major topic of concern in the town overall. And the ending kind of blew it; happened too fast, the villain seemed like a total wtf, everything just *happened* to work out OK. Bit of a letdown. But overall, glad I spent some time reading this book because it was some fun late-80s teenage escapism.
January 26, 2022
This was okay, but nothing more, and I really wouldn't call it a horror novel.
* I'm not quite sure how Mark went from not knowing what to do with girls, to having 2 girlfriends.
* What the hell did he think he was doing having two girlfriends anyway? Talk about greedy. I'll admit that he was honest with them both that he was seeing more than one girl, but really. What a way to start dating!
* Mark wasn't exactly honest with his mother about the phone bill either. He knew it was expensive, he knew she couldn't afford it, and he'd promised to stop, but he was still ringing the bloody party line. Like seriously?
* I didn't guess who the bad guy was, but the reveal wasn't exactly exciting.
* I'm not quite sure how Mark went from not knowing what to do with girls, to having 2 girlfriends.
* What the hell did he think he was doing having two girlfriends anyway? Talk about greedy. I'll admit that he was honest with them both that he was seeing more than one girl, but really. What a way to start dating!
* Mark wasn't exactly honest with his mother about the phone bill either. He knew it was expensive, he knew she couldn't afford it, and he'd promised to stop, but he was still ringing the bloody party line. Like seriously?
* I didn't guess who the bad guy was, but the reveal wasn't exactly exciting.
January 1, 2022
I really wish you could award half stars, because I'd give Party Line 3.5. I'm re-reading Point Horror books from my childhood, and this is the third or fourth one I've re-read, although I don't remember reading this one back in middle school...Aside from the cheesy title and obsolete technology, Party Line is actually an interesting read, main character Mark is a truly decent human being, and the dialogue wasn't vapid. Not the stereotypical empty-headed teeny bopper characters who only care about going to the mall. I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would.
March 17, 2021
Utter garbage. The writing was awful, the character's were awful, the plot spent more time on a boring teen love story then the suspense of the party line kidnapper. Our lead was annoying, immature and all in all a douche bag. I would have given it one star, but it is still not the worst book I have read. If you a fan of these Point thrillers... Skip this one.
August 2, 2022
2.5, The junior high re-read-a-thon continues. Not my fave Point Horror, but not a bad little cautionary tale. Instead of telling of the dangers of meeting strangers on the internet, this is the dangers of meeting strangers on a chat line. And running up your phone bill, which isn’t a thing anymore.
July 14, 2023
The Farmer Twins read these YA horror novels in the 90s, and now I'm revisiting them in honor of Aaron.
Party Line
Party Line
The early Internet! Party Line! Mark, Todd, Robbie, Janine, Marcy and Libby are navigating the chatting on a telephone Party Line while local girls go missing. I enjoyed this whodunit!
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