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3.23 AVERAGE
3.23 AVERAGE
I wasn't really excited about this particular book since Monster Blood I wasn't all that good, but I must admit I actually liked this one quite a lot. I still think Evan can be really dumb sometimes and he falls for the most stupid things but he's alright. I do prefer Andy to him though, even though she's quite crazy.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Much better than the first one. Evan has moved to Atlanta, GA with his parents and is not the most popular kid in school, and on top of also being the new kid, he's an easy target. He decided to tell them about the Monster Blood and naturally they didn't believe him.
The fiasco with the said blood has been giving Evan nightmares. His dog growing outrageously large as well as his father. The way the teachers are too daft to decipher which are the bullies and which are the victims reminds me of how I know that the teacher's and American education in this country (for the most part) is truly effed up. Much like in real life when teacher's punish the victims of bullies because they don't wanna deal it with it, so they take the easy way out. They are not interested in justice. His one thankful moment is when his friend Andy comes to Atlanta to live with her aunt while her parents go off somewhere. She brought the monster blood with her and decides to feed it to the hamster you see on the cover. Which naturally wreaks havoc. Another cliffhanger ending. Not exactly tantamount but not entirely predictable either. 4 out of 5 stars. Much better than the first one.
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Reading it for the second time (2/3/2020 - 2/4/2020. Past midnight by 4 minutes. Ugh!), I'm going to give it another star. 5 out of 5 stars. I'm not sure why I originally gave this one 3 stars or why I only upgraded it to four stars after reading Monster Blood III. *shrugs*
As a side note, I think Mr. Murphy should have been forced into some sort of performance evaluation. At multiple points towards the beginning of this story, he was quick to jump down Evan's shirt about allegedly being a bully (as mentioned in my original review ^ up there), and then his worst act as a teacher was when he witnessed a bully named Conan forcing Evan into the basketball hoop and didn’t do a darn thing about it. I suppose you could say he got his karma based on what happens later in this book, but I question if it's enough. I'd still insist on the performance eval if I were in a position where I could do so. That's just inexcusable.
The fiasco with the said blood has been giving Evan nightmares. His dog growing outrageously large as well as his father. The way the teachers are too daft to decipher which are the bullies and which are the victims reminds me of how I know that the teacher's and American education in this country (for the most part) is truly effed up. Much like in real life when teacher's punish the victims of bullies because they don't wanna deal it with it, so they take the easy way out. They are not interested in justice. His one thankful moment is when his friend Andy comes to Atlanta to live with her aunt while her parents go off somewhere. She brought the monster blood with her and decides to feed it to the hamster you see on the cover. Which naturally wreaks havoc. Another cliffhanger ending. Not exactly tantamount but not entirely predictable either. 4 out of 5 stars. Much better than the first one.
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Reading it for the second time (2/3/2020 - 2/4/2020. Past midnight by 4 minutes. Ugh!), I'm going to give it another star. 5 out of 5 stars. I'm not sure why I originally gave this one 3 stars or why I only upgraded it to four stars after reading Monster Blood III. *shrugs*
As a side note, I think Mr. Murphy should have been forced into some sort of performance evaluation. At multiple points towards the beginning of this story, he was quick to jump down Evan's shirt about allegedly being a bully (as mentioned in my original review ^ up there), and then his worst act as a teacher was when he witnessed a bully named Conan forcing Evan into the basketball hoop and didn’t do a darn thing about it. I suppose you could say he got his karma based on what happens later in this book, but I question if it's enough. I'd still insist on the performance eval if I were in a position where I could do so. That's just inexcusable.
Goosebumps. This is the series that kept me reading through my childhood. More than any other series, Goosebumps kept me interested in reading, and R.L. Stein is a wonderful children's writer. I applaud his efforts, and can't express enough my gratitude for the series.
adventurous
funny
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I was hoping to absolutely love this one… but I really didn’t. I think that if Evan or Andy had taken the Monster Blood and they became giants and stayed that way, that would’ve created a completely different conflict. But the ending to this book was kinda ehh. Not a big fan of the repetitiveness… Also Andy’s kind of a horrible friend lmao!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Fatphobia
Really didn’t enjoy this one. I felt the story was a bit of a stretch from the first one. The characters annoyed me. Such a shame as I really enjoyed Monster Blood. I’m dreading picking up Monster Blood III which I also have to read.
Honestly, it was fine. The opening was a little dull, I found it hard to really care too much about a pet hamster. It did liven up once the Monster Blood was (re)introduced. The ending felt a little too convenient and anticlimactic.
Hilarious and creepy. My kids loved it. Perfect October read!
adventurous
fast-paced
3.25 (Edited later: I didn't initially realize all the continuity errors and brushed aside some things that actually did bother me. I still enjoyed it but the first Monster Blood was definitely better, imo)
Cuddles!! The hamster.
I'm enjoying Monster Blood.
Cuddles!! The hamster.
I'm enjoying Monster Blood.
Monster Blood II is the first Goosebumps sequel, and I suppose the concept of ever-expanding ooze was just too tempting for R.L. Stine to leave alone. This sequel sees the return of our protagonist, Evan, along with his friend/sort-of love interest Andy - it was made pretty clear in Monster Blood that these two had feelings for each other (to the extent that 12 year olds can) but here this idea is largely ignored. Unfortunately this book also features the return of frustrating dream sequences, with the first two chapters both containing two separate dreams. It's a baffling way to begin a book.
There is slightly more plot to Monster Blood II, and no longer do we have page upon page of our two characters just transferring the Monster Blood from one container to another, larger container. And yet it also seems to take a long time for the plot to really kick in. There's an idea floated early into the book of feeding the Monster Blood to a hamster, and if you've seen the cover then you know this is inevitable, but Stine really drags his feet in actually getting us there.
There was revealed to be a magical element in Monster Blood which is never remarked upon here. Instead we lead to maybe one of the worst resolutions I've read so far in a Goosebumps book - even more groan inducing than Welcome to Camp Nightmare. I never have the highest of hopes for these books, but my nostalgia blinded me to the depths that these sink when it comes to consistency and coherency.
On the plus side, I did like the inclusion of Conan Barber (or Conan the Barbarian, as everyone wittingly calls him since he's the school bully). There is a narrative thread involving him which remains disappointingly unresolved by the conclusion of the book. I was also pleased that Stine seems to have calmed down a bit when it comes to relentlessly attacking dogs in his books. But honestly, Monster Blood II really doesn't have much going for it, and following Monster Blood this offers very little new beside inconsistency.
2/5
Goosebumps Ranked
1) One Day At Horrorland - 4/5
2) Stay Out of the Basement - 4/5
3) Welcome to Dead House - 3.5/5
4) Piano Lessons Can Be Murder - 3.5/5
5) Night of the Living Dummy - 3.5/5
6) The Girl Who Cried Monster - 3.5/5
7) The Werewolf of Fever Swamp - 3.5/5
8) The Haunted Mask - 3/5
9) The Ghost Next Door - 3/5
10) Monster Blood - 3/5
11) Say Cheese and Die! - 3/5
12) Why I'm Afraid of Bees - 2.5/5
13) Be Careful What You Wish For... - 2.5/5
14) The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb - 2.5/5
15) Monster Blood II - 2/5
16) Let's Get Invisible! - 2/5
17) Welcome to Camp Nightmare - 2/5
18) You Can't Scare Me - 1/5
There is slightly more plot to Monster Blood II, and no longer do we have page upon page of our two characters just transferring the Monster Blood from one container to another, larger container. And yet it also seems to take a long time for the plot to really kick in. There's an idea floated early into the book of feeding the Monster Blood to a hamster, and if you've seen the cover then you know this is inevitable, but Stine really drags his feet in actually getting us there.
There was revealed to be a magical element in Monster Blood which is never remarked upon here. Instead we lead to maybe one of the worst resolutions I've read so far in a Goosebumps book - even more groan inducing than Welcome to Camp Nightmare. I never have the highest of hopes for these books, but my nostalgia blinded me to the depths that these sink when it comes to consistency and coherency.
On the plus side, I did like the inclusion of Conan Barber (or Conan the Barbarian, as everyone wittingly calls him since he's the school bully). There is a narrative thread involving him which remains disappointingly unresolved by the conclusion of the book. I was also pleased that Stine seems to have calmed down a bit when it comes to relentlessly attacking dogs in his books. But honestly, Monster Blood II really doesn't have much going for it, and following Monster Blood this offers very little new beside inconsistency.
2/5
Goosebumps Ranked
1) One Day At Horrorland - 4/5
2) Stay Out of the Basement - 4/5
3) Welcome to Dead House - 3.5/5
4) Piano Lessons Can Be Murder - 3.5/5
5) Night of the Living Dummy - 3.5/5
6) The Girl Who Cried Monster - 3.5/5
7) The Werewolf of Fever Swamp - 3.5/5
8) The Haunted Mask - 3/5
9) The Ghost Next Door - 3/5
10) Monster Blood - 3/5
11) Say Cheese and Die! - 3/5
12) Why I'm Afraid of Bees - 2.5/5
13) Be Careful What You Wish For... - 2.5/5
14) The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb - 2.5/5
15) Monster Blood II - 2/5
16) Let's Get Invisible! - 2/5
17) Welcome to Camp Nightmare - 2/5
18) You Can't Scare Me - 1/5