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3.38 AVERAGE
3.38 AVERAGE
I really like reading the Goosebumps books. I remember when I read the various titles of this series to my children. It was part of our nightly ritual which we all looked forward to. Re-reading any of these books brings back fond memories.
Not bad, not good. Definitely expected more, even from Stine.
3.5 but rounding up to 4 stars because this would have definitely freaked me out reading this as a kid! Full review to come
dark
tense
fast-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Read this when I was 8 and literally couldn't sleep for 2 nights afterwards, so deliciously .
I mentioned in another review that I like the Goosebumps ghost stories, and I maintain that. However, this ghost isn't one of the best.
That isn't to say that I didn't enjoy 'Piano Lessons Can Be Murder'--it's fab. It's not even to say that the ghost is bad. But the two elements at play in this story: a haunted piano and a creepy music school, even when sort of tied together at the end, feel disconnected in a way that weakens the impact of the story overall.
And that's a shame. Because individually, I really enjoyed both the piano plot line and the school plot line; they were riddled with some of the creepiest moments arguably in the entire franchise (the ghost reveal, the instructor's strange, unsettling obsession with Jerry's hands). I just wish they'd each had their own, more fleshed-out (pun intended) books. Heck, one could have even been the prequel for the other. But as it stands, color me disappointed.
That being said: the 'the boy who cries wolf' moral works pretty effectively here, and I have to admit that protagonist Jerry needed a good comeuppance.
That isn't to say that I didn't enjoy 'Piano Lessons Can Be Murder'--it's fab. It's not even to say that the ghost is bad. But the two elements at play in this story: a haunted piano and a creepy music school, even when sort of tied together at the end, feel disconnected in a way that weakens the impact of the story overall.
And that's a shame. Because individually, I really enjoyed both the piano plot line and the school plot line; they were riddled with some of the creepiest moments arguably in the entire franchise (the ghost reveal, the instructor's strange, unsettling obsession with Jerry's hands). I just wish they'd each had their own, more fleshed-out (pun intended) books. Heck, one could have even been the prequel for the other. But as it stands, color me disappointed.
That being said: the 'the boy who cries wolf' moral works pretty effectively here, and I have to admit that protagonist Jerry needed a good comeuppance.