Reviews

Stay Out of the Basement by R.L. Stine

briesespieces's review

4.0

i laughed more than i got creeped out this was so fun. if my dad had told me to stay out of the basement when i was a kid i’m damn sure going to disobey my unhealthy amount of curiosity and stay out of the basement. especially if he’s a mad scientist.

best spoilery but non-spoilery lines without context:

“i’m trying to build a plant that’s part animal” is where i’d have gotten off the crazy train

“give me the axe!!”

“margaret, im your father”

“EAT IT!!”

my two favorite parts of this were where their dad tried to feed them some gross green stuff for lunch in the most insistent, evil, and maniacal way ever. id have thrown that shit in his face and ran the hell out of that house

queenofodas's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

n0s4a2's review

adventurous lighthearted fast-paced

3.75

add_a_little_spook's review

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror

thereadingbunny's review

5.0

This book and TV show episode is a ✨ Core Memory ✨ for me and I love it!

mcj_writer96's review

4.0

It felt a bit odd having it be told in third-person, when this genre is usually written in first-person. Probably not as memorable to me because I have such fond memories of the TV episode adaptation.

Still read it, however, because it's considered a classic Goosebumps for a reason.

posies23's review

3.0

Since I'm going back to teaching 6th grade, I thought I'd read some GOOSEBUMPS.

This is the second book in the series, and it's got a TWILIGHT ZONE feel -- Dad, a scientist who recently lost his job, is acting strange, and won't let the kids down into the basement. Of course, the kids set out to discover what's going on. There are mysterious happenings, and the adults just don't seem to understand. There are a couple of creepy moments, and a clever, ambiguous twist at the end.

I can really see how a late elementary/early middle school student would enjoy this -- it's creepy but not TOO creepy, and it certainly plays to pre-teen fears. With that said, I'm a 42-year-old male, so I found it pretty tame. I will probably keep reading the series, though, since I can plow through one in about an hour, and they are a nice diversion.

misssweetsally's review

adventurous mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

word_wandering's review

mysterious tense fast-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? Yes

3.0

vincentedward16's review

dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25