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A review by manwithanagenda
Party Summer by R.L. Stine
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.25
Fear Street # 12
Cari Taylor and her friends Jan, Craig, and Eric Bishop are thrilled to be invited to help out at an exclusive island resort off of Cape Cod for the whole summer. Readers will want something bad to happen to these characters after the first six or so chants of "PARTY SUMMER!" The summer will not go as they planned. On the way to the island Jan's Aunt Rose (and reason they got jobs at the Inn) falls ill and sends them on alone. Next, they arrive to find the island almost deserted. There are raised voices behind locked doors. There are secrets in the walls. There are no cute boys. Can Cari and her friends survive their stay?
'Party Summer' is a milestone for the 'Fear Street' franchise. It's the first Super Chiller, which was a spin-off series that promises to be almost a full-length novel! Readers will be astounded that Stine's premise can extend to 200 pages. The Super Chillers were also the first of many (MANY) spin-off mini-series which will make my reread of the whole franchise in publication order such a treat.
If my snark up there wasn't enough of a hint, I was pretty disappointed in 'Party Summer'. The opening chapter finds us witnessing Jan summoning a dark spirit in her attic, the summer locale is the Howling Wolf Inn on Piney Island off of Cape Cod, and the owner of that inn is Simon Fear III. All we know so far about the Fear family are rumors of a curse surrounding them and the ruins of their ancestral home in Shadyside. Friggin' birds don't live in the Fear Street Woods because of them, something big has gotta happen if we meet a Fear in the pages of a Fear Street novel - especially for the first time.
Spoiler: It doesn't.
I won't give away too many details here, but we do not get what the Super Chiller promises us. Instead we get the Stine-patented villain with a mental illness. They're capable of anything. The extra pages amount to a lot of extra time running around screaming, packing their suitcases, screaming, making snacks, and screaming some more. I mean, the goofiness of the villain's reveal should count for more, but I'm too upset that there is no reason for the absurd name for the Inn and no reason at all that Simon Fear III (and other Fear relations) are present.
Fear Street in Publication Order
Next #13: 'Lights Out', Fear Street #12
Previous #11: 'The Fire Game', Fear Street #11
Cari Taylor and her friends Jan, Craig, and Eric Bishop are thrilled to be invited to help out at an exclusive island resort off of Cape Cod for the whole summer. Readers will want something bad to happen to these characters after the first six or so chants of "PARTY SUMMER!" The summer will not go as they planned. On the way to the island Jan's Aunt Rose (and reason they got jobs at the Inn) falls ill and sends them on alone. Next, they arrive to find the island almost deserted. There are raised voices behind locked doors. There are secrets in the walls. There are no cute boys. Can Cari and her friends survive their stay?
'Party Summer' is a milestone for the 'Fear Street' franchise. It's the first Super Chiller, which was a spin-off series that promises to be almost a full-length novel! Readers will be astounded that Stine's premise can extend to 200 pages. The Super Chillers were also the first of many (MANY) spin-off mini-series which will make my reread of the whole franchise in publication order such a treat.
If my snark up there wasn't enough of a hint, I was pretty disappointed in 'Party Summer'. The opening chapter finds us witnessing Jan summoning a dark spirit in her attic, the summer locale is the Howling Wolf Inn on Piney Island off of Cape Cod, and the owner of that inn is Simon Fear III. All we know so far about the Fear family are rumors of a curse surrounding them and the ruins of their ancestral home in Shadyside. Friggin' birds don't live in the Fear Street Woods because of them, something big has gotta happen if we meet a Fear in the pages of a Fear Street novel - especially for the first time.
Spoiler: It doesn't.
I won't give away too many details here, but we do not get what the Super Chiller promises us. Instead we get the Stine-patented villain with a mental illness. They're capable of anything. The extra pages amount to a lot of extra time running around screaming, packing their suitcases, screaming, making snacks, and screaming some more. I mean, the goofiness of the villain's reveal should count for more, but I'm too upset that there is no reason for the absurd name for the Inn and no reason at all that Simon Fear III (and other Fear relations) are present.
Fear Street in Publication Order
Next #13: 'Lights Out', Fear Street #12
Previous #11: 'The Fire Game', Fear Street #11