Reviews

Beach Party by R.L. Stine

holl3640's review

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dark mysterious medium-paced

3.0

modernzorker's review against another edition

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2.0

Not much to say about this one. Strictly a middle-of-the-road story without too much character development that ends with far too many questions left unanswered.

Karen's invited her old friend Ann-Marie out to California for a month-long vacation. What's even sweeter than a four-week holiday on the boardwalk is that the pair will be staying in Karen's dad's apartment...while daddy's out of town with his new honey. Two teenage girls with the place all to themselves during a California summer -- what could go wrong?

Well, the pair could be harassed by a local gang, for one thing. Or Karen's ex-boyfriend Mike could turn up unexpectedly. Or Karen could find herself falling for fresh-faced, easy-going Jerry, which would be just fine if only he wasn't already dating Renee. Or she and her new-found friends could be stalked by someone who wants to make sure Karen and Jerry don't get together. Someone who isn't above painting warning messages on the wall of their apartment. Someone for whom even murder isn't out of the question. This being a YA Horror title, we're just going to go ahead and circle 'All of the Above' and watch the fireworks.

Well, we would if there were any fireworks. My biggest problem is that Stine never explains, nor is it easy to understand, how the killer pulled off their exploits. I've no problem with having weird stuff going on for red herring purposes, to throw readers off the scent, or make them question everything, but by the end of the story one should be able to go back and look at every occurrence and connect the dots. You can't do this with "Beach Party", which is a major no-no where thrillers are concerned, even ones aimed at teenagers. Stine's capable of doing this based on many of his other stories, he just doesn't do so here.

There are also several dangling plot threads that just don't go anywhere, as though Stine wrote the scene then forgot he'd written it a couple of chapters later.

But the most unforgiving sin, in my mind, is that Karen exists solely to be that character in a horror story who does everything except what common sense dictates she should. I know teenage hormones are a huge thing, but seriously, after the first person dies, Karen should have enough sense to say, "You know what? I don't need this in my life right now," and bug out. I know, I know, I'm asking an awful lot of a young adult thriller from 1990, and I'm not exactly the teenage girl audience this book was written for, but again, Stine can and does write more realistic characters in many of his other books, so I have to assume this one was cranked out quickly and under a deadline.

Give this one a pass. Two stars because I finished it and there is one incredibly awesome/awful thing involving a bed full of jellyfish that made me shiver involuntarily, but outside of that, there's plenty of better YA thriller material on the market to pick from. Send your regrets that you're unable to attend this party and pick something better.

pantehnreads's review against another edition

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3.0

As always I love that these are short and easy reads. I am currently home sick and finished this book in a little over an hour. I will give it to R.L Stine that he tried to do something different with our big baddie...BUT his depiction of mental illness is worrisome. I get it, he is a horror writer, and being overdramatic with how he writes characters and stories is his whole thing. The thing that makes him one of the most popular YA horror writers ever. Despite all this, the main issue I find with him as a writer is the villainization of mentally ill people. I also take issue with his unlikeable protagonists as Karen has little to no likeability. She is selfish, self-absorbed, self-involved, impulsive, and a shitty friend to Ann Marie. Plus there did not need to be a bland heterosexual love triangle at the center of the story. The book was just fine, not the worst Point Horror story but definitely far from the best.

tartbarbie's review against another edition

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4.0

Karen has the perfect summer vacation planned for her friend Ann Marie who she hasn’t seen in a year starting with a beach apartment. Everything isn’t going as planned when the girls find themselves confronted by a gang of boys on the beach. Thankfully two boys come to their rescue, and the girls end up heading to a pizza place with them. Karen finds herself falling for Jerry while she knows she shouldn’t because he has a girlfriend but she doesn’t stop either. As Karen finds herself spending more time with her friend strange things start happening warning her away from Jerry. When a body turns up she starts to question everything. Will she be next?

Karen is one of those girls who dump’s her friends when she has a guy. It’s not intentional on her part she does it unconsciously which is forgivable. The part that frustrated me is she went after Jerry even though he has a girlfriend which I thought was trashy. However I did like Vince because he reminds me a lot of the misunderstood bad boy.

I decided to pull out a stack of books from when I was a teenager and re-read some of my favorites Beach Party is one of a few of R.L. Stines books I enjoyed. After reading it twenty years later I can see why I enjoyed it. Beach Party is a fast paced captivating story mixing romance with suspense and stuff of nightmares. I remember as a kid enjoying Beach Party but it doesn’t compare to modern day young adult books but it was worth reading. I can say honestly in the future I would read it again purely for the nostalgia that comes with reading a book from my childhood. A perfect read for a lazy afternoon it’s short but entertaining.

evalolitah's review against another edition

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dark mysterious 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? Yes

3.0

floorflawless's review against another edition

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fast-paced

2.0

jess_reads_books's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

3.5

bookishwyvern07's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

jj315's review against another edition

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3.0

This was a fun, quick read for some Point Horror nostalgia. I saw the twist coming a mile away, but I still enjoyed the book overall. 

authorbaileyday's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

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