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books_and_bawoos's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Not the greatest. It took way too long to get to the "scary" part and then it was over. Not one of Stine's best unfortunately.
jennoux's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
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
2.0
kirstycarson1's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-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? Yes
3.0
borderlineilliterate's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
electrobyte's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
3.5
thegrimhobbyist's review against another edition
3.0
This was a bit harder for me to rate. I so wanted to give it a 1 or 2 star, but I took a step back and thought of this more in the shoes of a middle schooler who would read this, as opposed to me as an adult. So, I settled for a 3, and this is why:
This is not spooky, this is more of a story to teach a lesson with something mildly spooky for the last two chapters (last 10% of the book). So, I was disappointed, even if the lesson is a good one to learn. Hell, a lot of adults still need to learn this lesson. What's the lesson? Don't let jealousy and envy of someone else blind you into obsession, instead focus that energy on bettering yourself.
The main kid, who is admittedly quite the scaredy cat to the point of fearing his own shadow, is jealous over a girl who seems obnoxiously brave in his eyes. Yes there are points where she and others laugh at his screaming at things, so I get the frustration, but most of the time it's just him witnessing this girl's brave acts and getting so jealous that she's so brave that he wants to scare her. And he drags his poor friends into helping him. Yet, every single attempt backfires on them in some way. That's it, that's the story.
I predicted that I would be more irritated with the brave girl, based on the synopsis making her out to be obnoxious, but I was more irritated with the scared boy's obsession.
This is not spooky, this is more of a story to teach a lesson with something mildly spooky for the last two chapters (last 10% of the book). So, I was disappointed, even if the lesson is a good one to learn. Hell, a lot of adults still need to learn this lesson. What's the lesson? Don't let jealousy and envy of someone else blind you into obsession, instead focus that energy on bettering yourself.
The main kid, who is admittedly quite the scaredy cat to the point of fearing his own shadow, is jealous over a girl who seems obnoxiously brave in his eyes. Yes there are points where she and others laugh at his screaming at things, so I get the frustration, but most of the time it's just him witnessing this girl's brave acts and getting so jealous that she's so brave that he wants to scare her. And he drags his poor friends into helping him. Yet, every single attempt backfires on them in some way. That's it, that's the story.
I predicted that I would be more irritated with the brave girl, based on the synopsis making her out to be obnoxious, but I was more irritated with the scared boy's obsession.