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Fear Street The Beginning: The New Girl; The Surprise Party; The Overnight; Missing by R.L. Stine
griminycricket's review
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
bibo_noir's review against another edition
Pure Nostalgia trip. First 4 Fear Street Novels in a new paperback. Remind me of childhood. Definitely YA but can get quite dark in some places.
pbraue13's review against another edition
3.0
I had never read a "Fear Street" book and I had never had any interest in doing so until the recent movie trilogy release on Netflix. This book compiles the first four books in the series into one handsome little volume, which is not that thick given most of R. L. Stine's books are short and cut right to the point as he was churning these books out almost on a weekly basis all through the 1990s. Seeing as this more a review of four novels rather than one I will break them down as follows:
-"The New Girl": Cory is an aspiring gymnast and a bit of a class clown who notices a new girl at his school who is pale and haunting. He grows obsessed with her while also being completely oblivious to the advances of his close friend, Lisa, who, though he claims is funny, provides a lot of sarcastic snark that often comes off as mean rather than funny. He becomes so (dangerously) obsessed with this girl he even goes to her home on the infamous Fear Street where he told several times by the girls supposed brother and mother that she died years ago... I will not spoil anything here, but I will say this book was a nice intro the world of "Fear Street" and the neighborhood of Shadyside. The characters, while making questionable decisions, were fairly realistic in their attitudes and speech. I related to Cory and his internal anxiety and curiosity around this strange new girl who he has a crush on...a very obsessive crush. I never went to anyone's home in the middle of the night, but I understand the over-analysis of your speech and the jokes he and his friends made were very real to me, a person whose teen and pre-teen years were spent on the tail end of the 90s and the beginning of the 2000s. It has a fun twist ending that I didn't entirely guess, which is good for an R. L. Stine novel. This one gets a 4.5/5
-"The Surprise Party": When Meg Dalton's old friend Ellen is coming back to Shadyside to visit after moving away due to the apparent suicide of her ex-boyfriend, Brian, she thinks it would be a nice home-coming to throw a surprise party for her. After the tragedy Meg's whole friend group changed, as expected, eventually splitting up and this is a chance for Meg to get some familiarity back. That is until she and her friends begin to receive threatening notes and phone calls. There are bizarre acts of violence and slowly Meg's life begins to deteriorate, to the point where she begins to question who her real friends are. She eventually has to return to the Fear Street woods where this all began to discover the truth. This book was not my favorite as the main character Meg is rather whiney and makes so many rude and harsh judgments and calls that I could not back her as the books protagonist, and that was before she was a paranoid mess. I will also say that the title is rather dishonest as the journey to the titular "surprise party" is long and overly drawn out (which is astonishing considering the novels short length) and takes forever for it to happen. This had a fun twist, but I wish it was built up more with characters I actually liked (aside from the ones who carried over from the first novel - Stine's way of giving the "Fear Street" novels a lived-in, multiverse feel of a Stephen King novel). This one gets a 3.5/5 stars for me.
- "The Overnight": Della O'Connor doesn't see any problem with going to Fear Island with her friends in the Outdoors Club when their advisor can't attend. Wouldn't it be more fun without any adults around? The answer to this question quickly becomes a resounding no when Della is attacked in the woods by a stranger who wishes to sexually assault her (presumably) driving her to commit a violent act. Now, in a "I Know What You Did Last Summer"-style pact, Della and her friends vow to never speak of what occurred ever again. But, we all know it won't end that easily, especially since someone saw what Della did and has started to send her and her friend's threatening notes. Forcing them all to venture back to Fear Island to collect the evidence they left behind. This was my favorite of the four, so much tension and danger, I really felt thrilled while reading it and almost forgot I was reading something by R.L. Stine. It was fun and scary and I was thrown into twists and turns with wild abandon. This gets 5/5 stars.
-"Missing": What would you do if your parents didn't come home, didn't call, left no note? At first, Mark and Cara Burroughs aren't terribly alarmed. Their parents have stayed out late before. But then other things start to go wrong. Mark's girlfriend Gena breaks up with him and suddenly disappears. The police don't seem at all interested in finding Mark and Cara’s parents. And their mysterious cousin who boards with them seems to be spying on their every move. When murder strikes, Mark and Cara learn their terror is only beginning. Someone wants them to disappear too! But why? The answer lies deep in the Fear Street Woods. But will they live long enough to find it?
This was my least favorite of the bunch, great premise, but lackluster execution with the explanation haphazardly thrown into the last few pages. 2/5 stars for me.
Overall, I give this collection a 3.5/5 stars, not awful, but not completely extraordinary either.
-"The New Girl": Cory is an aspiring gymnast and a bit of a class clown who notices a new girl at his school who is pale and haunting. He grows obsessed with her while also being completely oblivious to the advances of his close friend, Lisa, who, though he claims is funny, provides a lot of sarcastic snark that often comes off as mean rather than funny. He becomes so (dangerously) obsessed with this girl he even goes to her home on the infamous Fear Street where he told several times by the girls supposed brother and mother that she died years ago... I will not spoil anything here, but I will say this book was a nice intro the world of "Fear Street" and the neighborhood of Shadyside. The characters, while making questionable decisions, were fairly realistic in their attitudes and speech. I related to Cory and his internal anxiety and curiosity around this strange new girl who he has a crush on...a very obsessive crush. I never went to anyone's home in the middle of the night, but I understand the over-analysis of your speech and the jokes he and his friends made were very real to me, a person whose teen and pre-teen years were spent on the tail end of the 90s and the beginning of the 2000s. It has a fun twist ending that I didn't entirely guess, which is good for an R. L. Stine novel. This one gets a 4.5/5
-"The Surprise Party": When Meg Dalton's old friend Ellen is coming back to Shadyside to visit after moving away due to the apparent suicide of her ex-boyfriend, Brian, she thinks it would be a nice home-coming to throw a surprise party for her. After the tragedy Meg's whole friend group changed, as expected, eventually splitting up and this is a chance for Meg to get some familiarity back. That is until she and her friends begin to receive threatening notes and phone calls. There are bizarre acts of violence and slowly Meg's life begins to deteriorate, to the point where she begins to question who her real friends are. She eventually has to return to the Fear Street woods where this all began to discover the truth. This book was not my favorite as the main character Meg is rather whiney and makes so many rude and harsh judgments and calls that I could not back her as the books protagonist, and that was before she was a paranoid mess. I will also say that the title is rather dishonest as the journey to the titular "surprise party" is long and overly drawn out (which is astonishing considering the novels short length) and takes forever for it to happen. This had a fun twist, but I wish it was built up more with characters I actually liked (aside from the ones who carried over from the first novel - Stine's way of giving the "Fear Street" novels a lived-in, multiverse feel of a Stephen King novel). This one gets a 3.5/5 stars for me.
- "The Overnight": Della O'Connor doesn't see any problem with going to Fear Island with her friends in the Outdoors Club when their advisor can't attend. Wouldn't it be more fun without any adults around? The answer to this question quickly becomes a resounding no when Della is attacked in the woods by a stranger who wishes to sexually assault her (presumably) driving her to commit a violent act. Now, in a "I Know What You Did Last Summer"-style pact, Della and her friends vow to never speak of what occurred ever again. But, we all know it won't end that easily, especially since someone saw what Della did and has started to send her and her friend's threatening notes. Forcing them all to venture back to Fear Island to collect the evidence they left behind. This was my favorite of the four, so much tension and danger, I really felt thrilled while reading it and almost forgot I was reading something by R.L. Stine. It was fun and scary and I was thrown into twists and turns with wild abandon. This gets 5/5 stars.
-"Missing": What would you do if your parents didn't come home, didn't call, left no note? At first, Mark and Cara Burroughs aren't terribly alarmed. Their parents have stayed out late before. But then other things start to go wrong. Mark's girlfriend Gena breaks up with him and suddenly disappears. The police don't seem at all interested in finding Mark and Cara’s parents. And their mysterious cousin who boards with them seems to be spying on their every move. When murder strikes, Mark and Cara learn their terror is only beginning. Someone wants them to disappear too! But why? The answer lies deep in the Fear Street Woods. But will they live long enough to find it?
This was my least favorite of the bunch, great premise, but lackluster execution with the explanation haphazardly thrown into the last few pages. 2/5 stars for me.
Overall, I give this collection a 3.5/5 stars, not awful, but not completely extraordinary either.
joshuachan11's review
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
tense
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? It's complicated
4.0
Some of the story's were quite good, others a bit almost repetitive in consept and outcome of the story, but for the good storys it was enjoyable overall 4 out of 5 stars
libraryoflolabelle's review
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
2.5
bibliorey's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars
I absolutely love the first story. The eerieness of Anna and the mystery behind her was just *chef’s kiss*. So does the third one. But not so with the second and fourth. There’s just something plain about those two that put me off a bit but nevertheless fun read!
I absolutely love the first story. The eerieness of Anna and the mystery behind her was just *chef’s kiss*. So does the third one. But not so with the second and fourth. There’s just something plain about those two that put me off a bit but nevertheless fun read!
breadsalot's review
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.75
mothsstars's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
mikeflame's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0