Scan barcode
sednadragon35's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Was a crazy book of horror and time travel!
foreverbeautifulbooks's review against another edition
4.0
This is the man that started it all…
The legend…
The Master…
The inspiration behind my need to write and the man that made me a book hoarder…
R.L. Stine…
This was the first book I ever read by him. I didn’t realize there were books out there that were for my age group that had some kissing, heavy petting, and a totally crazy psycho serial killer. Not to mention the beach house built on a time warp! Hello! For a twelve year old that was pretty amazing and graphic. In this story we follow two groups of teenagers. One group is in 1956, and the other is 40 years into the future. Basically, you are trying to figure out who the crazy one is, why he is crazy, and how can they stop him before he kills every teenager in this beach town.
R.L. Stine has a very simple way of making stuff scare the crap out of you. He doesn’t dose you with prose or over woven storylines. He’s basic, follows a formula, and makes her suck in a breath and itch for more. I like to call him the master of young adult fiction because at the moment it is so absorbed with paranormal romance love triangles. He gives the young adult section that edge for the readers that want a little bit of edgy slathered in death and gore. In a world where the bad guys are just the bad guys and the good guys do die, R.L. Stine will always hit a home run with me and this book!
The legend…
The Master…
The inspiration behind my need to write and the man that made me a book hoarder…
R.L. Stine…
This was the first book I ever read by him. I didn’t realize there were books out there that were for my age group that had some kissing, heavy petting, and a totally crazy psycho serial killer. Not to mention the beach house built on a time warp! Hello! For a twelve year old that was pretty amazing and graphic. In this story we follow two groups of teenagers. One group is in 1956, and the other is 40 years into the future. Basically, you are trying to figure out who the crazy one is, why he is crazy, and how can they stop him before he kills every teenager in this beach town.
R.L. Stine has a very simple way of making stuff scare the crap out of you. He doesn’t dose you with prose or over woven storylines. He’s basic, follows a formula, and makes her suck in a breath and itch for more. I like to call him the master of young adult fiction because at the moment it is so absorbed with paranormal romance love triangles. He gives the young adult section that edge for the readers that want a little bit of edgy slathered in death and gore. In a world where the bad guys are just the bad guys and the good guys do die, R.L. Stine will always hit a home run with me and this book!
pulp_fiction_books's review against another edition
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
msteasam's review against another edition
4.0
This is probably my favourite R.L. Stine book. I read it multiple times when I was younger and found it very entertaining. I'm sure that if I were to read it now I wouldn't like it nearly as much, but I'm happy to give it 4 stars for nostalgic purposes.
susysstories's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Nice set up with the going back and forth between the two summers, mysterious and oppressive atmosphere but oh boy, those characters were so obnoxious that I didn’t mind if they got all murdered!
Characters 6
Atmosphere 7
Writing Style 5
Setup 7
Plot 6
Intrigue 7
Logic 5
Enjoyment 7
Characters 6
Atmosphere 7
Writing Style 5
Setup 7
Plot 6
Intrigue 7
Logic 5
Enjoyment 7
aftanith's review against another edition
2.0
R.L. Stine YA books disturb me. No, not for the reason you’re thinking. They’re not “scary”. At best, they’re mildly entertaining. At worst, they’re ludicrously moronic. I find a significant number of R.L. Stine books disturbing because half of his teenage female protagonists are in obviously abusive relationships.
I don’t know. Maybe it’s an eighties thing. But it seems like at least half his books, including this one, feature a main female character, high-school age, who is in a steady relationship with a boy she is terrified of. The girls specifically state being frightened by their boyfriends’ raging tempers, possessive jealousy, threats and displays of violence.
And then, almost invariably, the next sentence will say that it makes them feel special.
Huh? Your abusive piece of shit boyfriend makes you feel special when he screams at the top of his lungs, breaks your things, and threatens you because you spoke to another male? You need your heads examined, R.L. Stine protagonists. Does R.L. Stine land have no healthy egos? No healthy relationships? No therapists? No parents who care if their daughter's abused? Nothing? Wow. I feel horrible for you, fictional late eighties/early nineties women. Like whoa.
For added fun, he doesn’t seem to know how sharks work. Buddy and Maria swim within a few feet of a recently-moved-in school of sharks, and the sharks show no interest in their presence. “They won’t attack until they smell blood,” Buddy explains.
lolwut? No. Just no. First of all, most shark species don’t live in schools, and none of the three most dangerous species do. Tiger sharks, perhaps the most dangerous (being considered the “garbage cans” of the sea) feed in schools, however, so I suppose I’ll ignore the fact Beach House implies that an entire school of man-eating sharks moves to a beach with heavy human traffic just for lulz. I’ll just assume an entire ecosystem of fish spawned off this beach a few days prior to the story, which is the only explanation I can think of for a ton of sharks deciding to show up and stick around.
But even that’s a minor problem when we get to, “They won’t attack until they smell blood.” What universe do you live in? Most shark attacks on humans aren’t about food/hunting/blood. They’re the result of a torpedo with fangs spotting a weird, gangly, too-scrawny-to-make-a-good-meal animal--one it may or may not ever have seen before--thrashing around like a dying fish. And, well, here’s the thing… sharks don’t have hands. They can’t grab your ankle and go, “Hey, what are you?” They grab you with their teeth and go, “Mind if I find out if you’re yummy?” It’s just too bad that by the time they’ve realized you’re not yummy, whatever limb they grabbed is probably mangled, severed, or swallowed.
So, yeah.
But I suppose I have to be fair. This had the typical R.L. Stine YA bullshit with some extra time-travel bullshit just for flavor, but it wasn’t horrible. I seem to recall enjoying it when I read it in middle school, so I suppose it’s fair to say that middle- or elementary-school children might have fun with this one.
Posted June 2012. Edited for minor typos 6/30/15.
I don’t know. Maybe it’s an eighties thing. But it seems like at least half his books, including this one, feature a main female character, high-school age, who is in a steady relationship with a boy she is terrified of. The girls specifically state being frightened by their boyfriends’ raging tempers, possessive jealousy, threats and displays of violence.
And then, almost invariably, the next sentence will say that it makes them feel special.
Huh? Your abusive piece of shit boyfriend makes you feel special when he screams at the top of his lungs, breaks your things, and threatens you because you spoke to another male? You need your heads examined, R.L. Stine protagonists. Does R.L. Stine land have no healthy egos? No healthy relationships? No therapists? No parents who care if their daughter's abused? Nothing? Wow. I feel horrible for you, fictional late eighties/early nineties women. Like whoa.
For added fun, he doesn’t seem to know how sharks work. Buddy and Maria swim within a few feet of a recently-moved-in school of sharks, and the sharks show no interest in their presence. “They won’t attack until they smell blood,” Buddy explains.
lolwut? No. Just no. First of all, most shark species don’t live in schools, and none of the three most dangerous species do. Tiger sharks, perhaps the most dangerous (being considered the “garbage cans” of the sea) feed in schools, however, so I suppose I’ll ignore the fact Beach House implies that an entire school of man-eating sharks moves to a beach with heavy human traffic just for lulz. I’ll just assume an entire ecosystem of fish spawned off this beach a few days prior to the story, which is the only explanation I can think of for a ton of sharks deciding to show up and stick around.
But even that’s a minor problem when we get to, “They won’t attack until they smell blood.” What universe do you live in? Most shark attacks on humans aren’t about food/hunting/blood. They’re the result of a torpedo with fangs spotting a weird, gangly, too-scrawny-to-make-a-good-meal animal--one it may or may not ever have seen before--thrashing around like a dying fish. And, well, here’s the thing… sharks don’t have hands. They can’t grab your ankle and go, “Hey, what are you?” They grab you with their teeth and go, “Mind if I find out if you’re yummy?” It’s just too bad that by the time they’ve realized you’re not yummy, whatever limb they grabbed is probably mangled, severed, or swallowed.
So, yeah.
Spoiler
These two idiot teenagers swim out into the middle of the ocean right on top of a school of apparent man-eaters, and not a single shark takes an exploratory bite. These two morons are pretty damn lucky already. And then Buddy pulls out his knife. “They won’t attack until they smell blood,” happens, and he enacts his brilliant plan to murder the girl who bullied him: slash her to bits atop a school of sharks. I assume he then calmly swam out of the cloud of blood and ravenous frenzy it apparently spawned while the sharks conveniently devoured only the already-dying girl while leaving him completely alone? You guys might just be the weirdest sharks ever.But I suppose I have to be fair. This had the typical R.L. Stine YA bullshit with some extra time-travel bullshit just for flavor, but it wasn’t horrible. I seem to recall enjoying it when I read it in middle school, so I suppose it’s fair to say that middle- or elementary-school children might have fun with this one.
Posted June 2012. Edited for minor typos 6/30/15.
kchessrice's review against another edition
3.0
I came across Beach House at a book swap at work and pure nostalgia made me reach out and pluck it from the shelf! Point Horror books were my first foray into thrillers when I was about 12 or 13 and definitely paved the way for book series I love now like the DI Helen Grace cases. What made me take it home was that it's written by the same author who wrote the "Goosebumps" series and I *loved* being creeped out by them (Say Cheese and Die - a classic!!)