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kaymarieplz's review against another edition
5.0
*semi spoiler * seriously who doesn't love a crazy stalker book?! obviously it sucks that the crazy one is a woman, again, but I loved it anyway . the ending was kinda lol worthy. they just were like oh that's weird I had a crazy stalker! let's go back to life kbye
minimoose21's review against another edition
1.0
A very unlikable main character who really doesn’t suffer any consequences for his cheating. Been going through old teen horror books from the 80 through the 2000s and this is the low point for me so far. I’ve loved revisiting other R.L. Stine so maybe this one just did not hit right.
voldypancakes's review against another edition
4.0
The author couldn't have done anything better but it still didn't hit the same
bibliotequeish's review against another edition
This was my sisters book, I was way too young to be reading this.
Further to this ... Goosebumps freaked me out. So why I thought it would be fine to read these "adult" books is beyond me, but still every time my sister would borrow an R.L. Stine, Or V.C. Andrews I would try and read it... sometimes I wouldn't get through the whole thing on account of being terrified.
Further to this ... Goosebumps freaked me out. So why I thought it would be fine to read these "adult" books is beyond me, but still every time my sister would borrow an R.L. Stine, Or V.C. Andrews I would try and read it... sometimes I wouldn't get through the whole thing on account of being terrified.
wombat_88's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
bookishwyvern07's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
pulp_fiction_books's review against another edition
3.0
The penultimate couple of chapters are phenomenal, some of the best panic/decent into madness I've ever read... However the final chapter is the worst ending to a book I've ever read.
stagasaurus's review against another edition
3.0
This one took me by surprise. I wasn't expecting to like it but I kind of had fun.
Reminds me of: This is so close to Fatal Attraction it's almost like Stine took the entire plot and just shoehorned it into a Point Horror novel. Surely not, right? I'm sure he came up with the whole idea on his own.
"It was probably just a practical joke" moment:
"You probably just imagined it" moment: Again, not used, I kind of liked that it didn't follow the normal tropes.
Innocent victims?: It is interesting reading this straight after The Boyfriend how much more sympathetic Stine writes his male unfaithful character than his female counterpart in that other book. Poor Fluffernutter was totally innocent, apart from the salmon mousse incident.
How blindingly obvious?: It wasn't really supposed to be a mystery, but having read any Point Horror ever before it was super obvious that the huge brother wasn't going to be a brother.
Plot holes / Unfinished plot lines: 1. "She's just crazy" isn't really enough of an explanation. It's lazy and insulting. 2. Why would you hold a surprise birthday party at a house your surprisee wasn't supposed to be going to? This made no sense, but I still really enjoyed the scene where he dumped the "dead" body in front of them all as they shouted surprise. 3. How did she have time to unwrap the ski pole to try to stab him with it? And ski poles aren't that sharp in my experience. She might have given him a nasty bruise on the sternum but that's about it.
Inappropriate happy ending: Fucking hell! Seriously? It was ridiculous. I would have given this book four stars if it hadn't been for the last couple of lines, " 'This was one surprise party that was a surprise - for everyone.' They were still smiling as she walked him out to his car to say goodnight." REALLY!!??!! REALLY??!! Forget the cheating, forget all about that. If my husband, who I love and adore, thought he had killed someone by accident and instead of calling 999 for an ambulance took the body somewhere to dispose of, I would not be laughing about it. I would be getting a divorce.
Overall though, it did keep up a good level of suspense and threat. I kind of enjoyed it.
Reminds me of: This is so close to Fatal Attraction it's almost like Stine took the entire plot and just shoehorned it into a Point Horror novel. Surely not, right? I'm sure he came up with the whole idea on his own.
"It was probably just a practical joke" moment:
Spoiler
I can't remember this happening."You probably just imagined it" moment: Again, not used, I kind of liked that it didn't follow the normal tropes.
Innocent victims?: It is interesting reading this straight after The Boyfriend how much more sympathetic Stine writes his male unfaithful character than his female counterpart in that other book. Poor Fluffernutter was totally innocent, apart from the salmon mousse incident.
How blindingly obvious?: It wasn't really supposed to be a mystery, but having read any Point Horror ever before it was super obvious that the huge brother wasn't going to be a brother.
Plot holes / Unfinished plot lines: 1. "She's just crazy" isn't really enough of an explanation. It's lazy and insulting. 2. Why would you hold a surprise birthday party at a house your surprisee wasn't supposed to be going to? This made no sense, but I still really enjoyed the scene where he dumped the "dead" body in front of them all as they shouted surprise. 3. How did she have time to unwrap the ski pole to try to stab him with it? And ski poles aren't that sharp in my experience. She might have given him a nasty bruise on the sternum but that's about it.
Inappropriate happy ending: Fucking hell! Seriously? It was ridiculous. I would have given this book four stars if it hadn't been for the last couple of lines, " 'This was one surprise party that was a surprise - for everyone.' They were still smiling as she walked him out to his car to say goodnight." REALLY!!??!! REALLY??!! Forget the cheating, forget all about that. If my husband, who I love and adore, thought he had killed someone by accident and instead of calling 999 for an ambulance took the body somewhere to dispose of, I would not be laughing about it. I would be getting a divorce.
Overall though, it did keep up a good level of suspense and threat. I kind of enjoyed it.
liamunderwood's review against another edition
4.0
The Girlfriend marks the first Point Horror book so far to feature a male protagonist (not including a couple of the short stories in Thirteen Tales of Horror). It's a refreshing change. This is also a vast improvement over the majority of R.L. Stine's other Point Horror offerings.
R.L. Stine seems to relish writing unlikeable protagonists, with perhaps the most audacious example being Joanna Collier in The Boyfriend. See also a handful of his Goosebumps books, with You Can't Scare Me being the most recent example that I've read. Here in The Girlfriend, our protagonist Scotty Singleton is a typical high school jock quarterback (who sports a mullet because of course he does) who is dating cheerleader and Homecoming Queen Lora DeMarco. Whilst Lora is away on a week long vacation visiting Europe with her parents, Scotty happens across red-headed Shannon Smith and ends up taking her out on a date. Scotty attempts to justify his behaviour, but he knows what he's doing is wrong. Still, he does it anyway.
So R.L. Stine presents us with a protagonist who makes a few pretty dumb decisions and then has to deal with the consequences. Typically, I would be of the opinion that he made his bed and now must lie in it. In the case of The Girlfriend, those consequences are Shannon thinking Scotty is now her baby and woe betide anyone who stands in her way. What's remarkable about this book, for me, is that despite Scotty being a total jerk, I still couldn't help but feel for him as Shannon's infatuations escalate rapidly and dangerously.
R.L. Stine's Point Horror efforts are almost always well paced (providing we overlook Beach Party which was a drag) and this was no exception. I raced through this book, and much to my astonishment found myself enjoying it immensely. Until the ending.
The climax begins to head in a genuinely shocking and interesting direction before Stine wimps out and throws a very rushed and shockingly stupid ending on the page. It wasn't so bad that it tainted the rest of my experience reading this, not like, say, The Boyfriend, but it does leave a bitter taste as the book concludes. Despite this, I must admit The Girlfriend is actually my favourite Point Horror I've read so far.
4/5
Point Horror Ranked
1) The Girlfriend - 4/5
2) Trick or Treat - 3.5/5
3) Teacher's Pet - 3.5/5
4) The Baby-Sitter II - 3.5/5
5) The Cheerleader - 3.5/5
6) April Fools - 3.5/5
7) My Secret Admirer - 3.5/5
8) The Lifeguard - 3.5/5
9) Thirteen Tales of Horror - 3/5
10) The Accident - 3/5
11) Funhouse - 3/5
12) The Boyfriend - 2/5
13) Mother's Helper - 2/5
14) The Baby-Sitter - 1.5/5
15) Beach Party - 1/5
R.L. Stine seems to relish writing unlikeable protagonists, with perhaps the most audacious example being Joanna Collier in The Boyfriend. See also a handful of his Goosebumps books, with You Can't Scare Me being the most recent example that I've read. Here in The Girlfriend, our protagonist Scotty Singleton is a typical high school jock quarterback (who sports a mullet because of course he does) who is dating cheerleader and Homecoming Queen Lora DeMarco. Whilst Lora is away on a week long vacation visiting Europe with her parents, Scotty happens across red-headed Shannon Smith and ends up taking her out on a date. Scotty attempts to justify his behaviour, but he knows what he's doing is wrong. Still, he does it anyway.
So R.L. Stine presents us with a protagonist who makes a few pretty dumb decisions and then has to deal with the consequences. Typically, I would be of the opinion that he made his bed and now must lie in it. In the case of The Girlfriend, those consequences are Shannon thinking Scotty is now her baby and woe betide anyone who stands in her way. What's remarkable about this book, for me, is that despite Scotty being a total jerk, I still couldn't help but feel for him as Shannon's infatuations escalate rapidly and dangerously.
R.L. Stine's Point Horror efforts are almost always well paced (providing we overlook Beach Party which was a drag) and this was no exception. I raced through this book, and much to my astonishment found myself enjoying it immensely. Until the ending.
The climax begins to head in a genuinely shocking and interesting direction before Stine wimps out and throws a very rushed and shockingly stupid ending on the page. It wasn't so bad that it tainted the rest of my experience reading this, not like, say, The Boyfriend, but it does leave a bitter taste as the book concludes. Despite this, I must admit The Girlfriend is actually my favourite Point Horror I've read so far.
4/5
Point Horror Ranked
1) The Girlfriend - 4/5
2) Trick or Treat - 3.5/5
3) Teacher's Pet - 3.5/5
4) The Baby-Sitter II - 3.5/5
5) The Cheerleader - 3.5/5
6) April Fools - 3.5/5
7) My Secret Admirer - 3.5/5
8) The Lifeguard - 3.5/5
9) Thirteen Tales of Horror - 3/5
10) The Accident - 3/5
11) Funhouse - 3/5
12) The Boyfriend - 2/5
13) Mother's Helper - 2/5
14) The Baby-Sitter - 1.5/5
15) Beach Party - 1/5