Reviews

Reader Beware: A Fear Street Appreciation Anthology by Briana Morgan, Roxie Voorhees

tfabers's review

adventurous dark lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

poisoned_icecream's review

dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I had a lot of fun reading these stories. R.L. Stine's Fear Street and Goosebumps books played a huge part in me getting into horror. So it was nice getting to read similar stories as an adult. Many of these stories also feature queer characters, which made this anthology even more of a joy to read. I really appreciate that DarkLit Press published this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Antisemitism, Ableism, Fatphobia, Body shaming, Car accident, Child death, Classism, Mental illness, Pandemic/Epidemic, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Bullying, and Death of parent

sharron_joy_reads's review

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.25

Here there are demons , sea monsters, the Easter bunny, slumber parties, road trips, chain emails, bullies, nosy neighbours, summer camp, boarding schools, video games, ghostly passengers, traditions, rituals and legends. These are in homage to the classic 90’s Fear Street stories and these are so good. Feeling very much grounded in that era but with far more diverse representation, there are disabled and LGBTQIA characters as well as different ethnicities and beliefs. 

These are gory, gruesome, creepy, disturbing razor sharp stories that tap into primal human fears, just like the originals and I loved them all! 

There are otherworldly visitors, slashers, demons, urban legends , small town killers, cults, nightmares, vengeful ghosts, aliens, neighbours from hell, buried secrets and more. 

With themes of family, loss, grief, guilt, fear, revenge and redemption these are nostalgic journeys into a much loved world and the 90’s references will make you smile, a fantastic YA collection!