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A review by ceruleanjen
A Midsummer Night's Scream by R.L. Stine
1.0
When I first saw this book, I was hours away from meeting R.L. Stine, whose books and writing I fell in love with when I was in fourth grade. I almost considered buying it because it looked interesting, and I pretty much love most of Stine's work. Now I'm very glad that I didn't. It makes me sad, though, because the author is a really sweet guy and I've never read anything that disappointed me as much. Even Dangerous Girls and Red Rain, which I didn't care a whole lot for, didn't disappoint me like this.
I appreciated that the characters were more modern. However, I didn't like or could connect with a single one of them. Some even annoyed me, including the main character. I just didn't care enough about this characters and whether they lived or died.
The premise itself was interesting in the beginning but ended up being way too predictable. Especially the Puck thing. It was a little amusing that Claire couldn't remember his role in the story despite having read the play a year before. I haven't read it in years yet I still remember his role.
I was also shocked by the slut shaming in this book. If you're reading this, R.L. Stine, please, please, please don't do this again. It was the most disappointing at all. A single comment would have been fine, but it seemed that several were made and I honestly couldn't tell if this was supposed to be a character trait, the author's opinion, or just an attempt to make things more modern--and that's the problem.
This was a quick read, as most of his books are, but I just couldn't get into it at all. I finished it, but would definitely never buy or re-read.
I appreciated that the characters were more modern. However, I didn't like or could connect with a single one of them. Some even annoyed me, including the main character. I just didn't care enough about this characters and whether they lived or died.
The premise itself was interesting in the beginning but ended up being way too predictable. Especially the Puck thing. It was a little amusing that Claire couldn't remember his role in the story despite having read the play a year before. I haven't read it in years yet I still remember his role.
I was also shocked by the slut shaming in this book. If you're reading this, R.L. Stine, please, please, please don't do this again. It was the most disappointing at all. A single comment would have been fine, but it seemed that several were made and I honestly couldn't tell if this was supposed to be a character trait, the author's opinion, or just an attempt to make things more modern--and that's the problem.
This was a quick read, as most of his books are, but I just couldn't get into it at all. I finished it, but would definitely never buy or re-read.