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3.32 AVERAGE
3.32 AVERAGE
wombat_88's review
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? 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? Complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? 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
ximradletshuggx's review against another edition
5.0
Book: The Girlfriend
Written By: R.L. Stine
Genre: YA Horror (but the spine of my copy says thriller)
Rating: 5/5 stars
Recommendation:
I would recommend buying this book instead of borrowing it.
Would you read another book by this author?:
Stine is a staple from my childhood, so of course!
Who might enjoy this book?:
Someone looking for a quick read during the spooky months. Fans of movies like Swimfan, You Get Me and The Roommate
Overview:
Fast paced and intriguing, I didn’t want to put it down. This is a story you’ve probably seen in movies a million times. Boy makes mistake of giving girl attention (or cheating with her), while he has a girlfriend. He tries to keep it secret but then- the girl goes crazy. But Stine makes me generally interested in what is happening. I can feel my heart beating faster wondering what Shannon is going to do do Scottie when she doesn’t give him the attention she wants.
The book starts off with Scottie and his girlfriend Lora at a party thrown by her parents to celebrate their acceptance to Princeton. Scottie is sad that Lora is going away to Paris for a week with her family and will miss his football game as well as the Homecoming dance. Lora jokingly tells him ”I think it would be really funny if you got a date to the dance.”
The irony strikes when Scottie meets Shannon after his football game. Being the friendly guy that he is, he offers her a lift home because she got a flat tire on her bike. He finds his mind wondering at how attractive he finds her, so he decides to take her out to dinner to spend more time with her.
As the story progresses and Scottie tries to cut ties with Shannon, she becomes very upset and starts to threaten him. Scared his girlfriend will find out, Scottie tries to handle the situation himself instead of going to the cops.
Without spoiling anything I am amazed with the description of panic that Scottie goes through near the end of the book. I felt fearful as if I was Scottie. Such amazing writing and descriptions for a YA novel.
Issues while reading:
- While my copy was produced in 2004, I am reminded that this book was written in the 90s when Stine describes things such as clothing. The only person I can picture in a velvet green dress is a toddler around Christmas time.
- Scotty is a pig who got himself into this mess.
Written By: R.L. Stine
Genre: YA Horror (but the spine of my copy says thriller)
Rating: 5/5 stars
Recommendation:
I would recommend buying this book instead of borrowing it.
Would you read another book by this author?:
Stine is a staple from my childhood, so of course!
Who might enjoy this book?:
Someone looking for a quick read during the spooky months. Fans of movies like Swimfan, You Get Me and The Roommate
Overview:
Fast paced and intriguing, I didn’t want to put it down. This is a story you’ve probably seen in movies a million times. Boy makes mistake of giving girl attention (or cheating with her), while he has a girlfriend. He tries to keep it secret but then- the girl goes crazy. But Stine makes me generally interested in what is happening. I can feel my heart beating faster wondering what Shannon is going to do do Scottie when she doesn’t give him the attention she wants.
The book starts off with Scottie and his girlfriend Lora at a party thrown by her parents to celebrate their acceptance to Princeton. Scottie is sad that Lora is going away to Paris for a week with her family and will miss his football game as well as the Homecoming dance. Lora jokingly tells him ”I think it would be really funny if you got a date to the dance.”
The irony strikes when Scottie meets Shannon after his football game. Being the friendly guy that he is, he offers her a lift home because she got a flat tire on her bike. He finds his mind wondering at how attractive he finds her, so he decides to take her out to dinner to spend more time with her.
As the story progresses and Scottie tries to cut ties with Shannon, she becomes very upset and starts to threaten him. Scared his girlfriend will find out, Scottie tries to handle the situation himself instead of going to the cops.
Without spoiling anything I am amazed with the description of panic that Scottie goes through near the end of the book. I felt fearful as if I was Scottie. Such amazing writing and descriptions for a YA novel.
Issues while reading:
- While my copy was produced in 2004, I am reminded that this book was written in the 90s when Stine describes things such as clothing. The only person I can picture in a velvet green dress is a toddler around Christmas time.
- Scotty is a pig who got himself into this mess.