A review by afinalgirl
Monster Blood by R.L. Stine

slow-paced

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

4.0

we’re back for another round of goosebumps! we did two books this week, monster blood & monster blood II, but i’ll make these reviews separate posts!

monster blood was way more of a drag than the other books we’ve read so far. it was slow, not as eerie, and the best part about it was aunt katherine. i borrowed the audiobook from hoopla, so i was so entertained by the voices, and i had such a soft spot for the amazonian woman! her accent was fantastic, even though i’m not sure what it was meant to be.

evan has to go and stay with his deaf aunt for a few days while his manchild of a father starts his new job in atlanta. mum has to go too, presumably to take care of said manchild ಥ‿ಥ evan is targeted by bully twins (that specifically don’t wear socks), makes a bestie in local girl andy (whose outfits are always explained in great detail)(ngl kinda wanna see if i can pull together some of these loud and lairy fits lol), and buys a can of monster blood at the local toy shop. what is the monster blood though? and why does it keep growing?

this book took a long time to get anywhere, and even when it was going it sort of… wasn’t really exciting at all? there was monster blood and the kids were freaking out. it amped up in the last chapter, which was cool, and i did love the ending! 🔮