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A review by hollowspine
Welcome to the Wicked Wax Museum by R.L. Stine
3.0
This really hearkens back to the grade and middle school days. Once I discovered Goosebumps books in 4th grade, there was no going back. I think the first one I read was Welcome to Dead House about a young girl who moves to a new town and discovers that pretty much everyone in the town is a zombie. Welcome to Dead House was the first Goosebumps book, published back in 1992, but one doesn’t need to read them in order. I skipped the ones with hamsters or gnomes on their covers, only going for the books that had creepy covers. Aliens, pets and lawn ornaments didn’t really do it for me, though I’m sure they all turned out to be pretty creepy.
Now, with the Goosebumps movie out I thought I’d revisit some of the books, so close to my weird childhood self. I tried to read some that were unfamiliar to me, though most of these covers I’ve seen at some point or another. Welcome to the Wicked Wax Museum is a typical Goosebumps set up, three kids get lost in a creepy museum and have to find a way out before they get turned into wax displays, have their faces stolen or get caught in one of the many traps. I died many times. In fact, I think in the attempts I only actually made it out with my life once. I was turned into a wax figure, I was “de-boned,” I got steamed. Even when I did survive it was only to face being told off by my parents. Adults never believe anything!
There is a certain corniness that one comes to expect from the Goosebumps series. The Wicked Wax Museum delivered again and again. Despite the often terribly corny lines it was hard to put down. I had to see what bizarre turn the story could take next. Would I be attacked by some sort of living birthday candle? Would Mr. Dunning (their teacher) turn out to be in on the whole thing? Was it all just a hoax after all, some sort of Grand Opening prank on the kids?
Light reading, a funny and entertaining half-hour perusal. Great for kids who don’t think they like reading, since it grabs readers attention, has tons of gross humor and is pretty entertaining. It’s no Caldecott winning literature, but hey, it’s a doorway into reading for some of us.
Now, with the Goosebumps movie out I thought I’d revisit some of the books, so close to my weird childhood self. I tried to read some that were unfamiliar to me, though most of these covers I’ve seen at some point or another. Welcome to the Wicked Wax Museum is a typical Goosebumps set up, three kids get lost in a creepy museum and have to find a way out before they get turned into wax displays, have their faces stolen or get caught in one of the many traps. I died many times. In fact, I think in the attempts I only actually made it out with my life once. I was turned into a wax figure, I was “de-boned,” I got steamed. Even when I did survive it was only to face being told off by my parents. Adults never believe anything!
There is a certain corniness that one comes to expect from the Goosebumps series. The Wicked Wax Museum delivered again and again. Despite the often terribly corny lines it was hard to put down. I had to see what bizarre turn the story could take next. Would I be attacked by some sort of living birthday candle? Would Mr. Dunning (their teacher) turn out to be in on the whole thing? Was it all just a hoax after all, some sort of Grand Opening prank on the kids?
Light reading, a funny and entertaining half-hour perusal. Great for kids who don’t think they like reading, since it grabs readers attention, has tons of gross humor and is pretty entertaining. It’s no Caldecott winning literature, but hey, it’s a doorway into reading for some of us.