R.L. Stine - Goosebumps

[Erin *Proud Book Hoarder*]

I liked the Fear Street books better but Goosebumps are fun and had some of the best cover. Anyone else a fan?

[Erin *Proud Book Hoarder*]

The Horror at Camp Jellyjam

There's nothing over the top in creativity, but this is one of the better Goosebumps for young children. Kids that age should be surprised enough by the turn of events and want to keep reading to find out what's going to happen next.



The Curse of Camp Cold Lake

For a Goodreads installment, and the age level, this is actually an excellent, creepy little thing. The trademark chapter cliffhangers are there as always, but they're not as annoying as usual, and they actually aren't false leads. The story doesn't skip around but follows a natural, quick progression that makes the story fly by and remain interesting all the while. The end is a dark, twisted thing that beats most of the endings of other Goosebumps. There is a surprise twist I really didn't see coming too. Kids, and adults, should enjoy this one.



Ghost Camp

Not as good as The curse of camp cold lake, it has too many exclamation marks and false leads. The second half is a lot better than the first and kids should get a kick out of the mystery/revelation. The ending is a little cute/humorous with how it played out. Takes awhile to get into as the writing feels less sincere, but it warms up as it goes.

[Erin *Proud Book Hoarder*]

Say Cheese and Die!

One of the better known of the goosebumps, there were some dark twists with the 'wicked camera.' The ending was creative enough for Stine and the age group.



The Werewolf of Fever Swamp

One of the better goosebumps stories, mainly because of the ending. Dark for this sort of age group, it wasn't as cheesy as some of the others. Kids who like this series and type should have no problem getting into it and enjoying it.



You Can't Scare Me!

Cute beginning, overall an annoying, quick story. Didn't care for it, although the ending did leave me laughing.



Attack of the Graveyard Ghouls

Finally finished the last Goosebump I own. This one was cute, as most of them are, but irritating with some of the exclamation marks and silliness. What worked was I liked the main character well enough, the transformation into different animals and the humor of that. I do wonder did all the bodies die when he left the host though, like with the cat? There's a typical Stine humor twist at the end. I'd think the kids may end up going to prison now, so not sure how they explained everything, but I'm looking too hard into it...

[Erin *Proud Book Hoarder*]

Ghost Beach

FINALLY finished this one I started with my son. We went through a phase of watching the show Goosebumps together on TV, and after we watched this episode, he turned to me and made my reader's heart proud by saying, "The ending of the book was better!"

The cliffhangers at each chapter got a bit annoying but I suppose for the age group it makes sense. The ending did have me chuckle - I admit through reading it I was expecting more of a scooby doo type ending (it wasn't.) Good clean type for young adult thriller genre.



Beware, the Snowman

A quick read, to say the least. Cute book and surprisingly unpredictable. Clever enough short story although extremely cheesy - should we be surprised of that though, considering the cover, the plot, that it's Goosebumps, and the tagline? HE HAS A HEART OF COLD! Indeed...



The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb

Another excellent Goosebumps for the kids. I'm surprised at the layers for this one - it was in different discoveries, mysteries, and interesting characters, although I loathed his cousin Sari, what a brat. The ending pulled out a trick I had forgotten about from earlier in the book and it was a suitable ending for this kind of book. Kids who like stories like this should love this one. You can't go wrong with mummies. Well, unless it's a cheesy movie.



Piano Lessons Can Be Murder

I'm not sure how R.L. Stine came up with so many ideas for Fear street and his goosebump series. He definitely has a vast imagination, filled with either creative plots from something that makes sense - or something like this, taking the mundane to make it bizarre. The writing is catered to young children, but even then the italics get irritating. Some of the chapters end on the false cliffhangers, but not as badly as some of the other goosebumps. The story was a little silly, even if the robotics were convenient. Not enough is explained so this one comes off emptier than it should. I did chuckle at Bonkers the cat; reminded me of my own mean cat, Malz, who randomly attacks unsuspecting people.



Welcome to Camp Nightmare

The last children's thriller I have to go through that involves camping. This trilogy has been fun and all three have been different from each other. This one feels less personal and isn't as satisfying as Curse of Camp Cold Lake, but it does dish out an ending kids may ooh and ahh at. Stine takes a finish with the science fiction genre for that one. Although the ending is the best part, kids with short attention spans should like this one since it never lets up the tension. Something's always happening, there's always a mystery, it never settles or lets up. Adults should have a semi-decent time reading this one with their kids.

[Erin *Proud Book Hoarder*]

Deep Trouble

For a Goosebumps book, this was especially cute. Riddled with too many false scares where something grabs his leg in the water (this kid, geez), it still remained level enough in pacing and didn't overindulge in melodrama as much as some of the others. The twist of adding the possibility of mermaids was a good one. Stine even entered a little twist of a betrayal among their little group. For kids this is a fun adventure exploring different obstacles of the water, which is a mystery for any age.



Attack of the Mutant

This is a cute Goosebumps book - the main character is sarcastic, of course dislikes his sister (a theme), does terribly in school, thinks funny thoughts about others, and doesn't listen. He's actually likeable and realistic for one this age. His obsession with comics is fun and his best friend trying to show him his rubber stamp collection kept cracking me up. It became silly a little but that's part of the fun. The ending was another open-ended one.



Bad Hare Day

This is an adorable Goosebumps book, never lags in its plotline, hilarious in certain areas, just that right touch of magic/intrigue. The end is a surprising irony that works. What is it with Stine and making the worst, most loathsome sister characters for these poor kids? They're all such brats that you wish something would happen to them. And why are the parents always on the bratty sister's sides? At least the parents were funny in this book because they both just groaned and moaned about how much they hated their jobs. The sister, Ginny, was funny turned into a rabbit - especially since she took her annoying karate antics to the animal form. What I wonder is, why blame the brother when she's the stupid one who ate the carrot? Either way, it's a fun Goosebumps book that kids who like this kind of thing should totally dig.



The Cuckoo Clock of Doom

A Goosebumps children book that has the theme of a terrible sister - are you surprised? It's a common element in almost all these books I've read this year. Tara the terrible may be the worst - what an awful human being, she takes sibling brattness too far. The end has a nice twist about her at least. It's not as good as the others I've been reading, a little frustrating because he has to keep repeating a few terrible days, groundhog style. Stine dug into time travel with the cuckoo clock - how does he think of all this stuff? - but would have had more oomph if the character could have changed his reactions.