Scariest. Book. Ever. by R.L. Stine
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Holding true to the overall feel of the franchise, this first book in the Goosebumps House of Shivers series is the perfect way to dip your toe into Spooky Season.
I was so excited when I heard the news that Stine was releasing another branch in the Goosebumps tree. This entire franchise holds a special place in my heart and based on this cover alone, I was stoked to check this one out.
This cover gives me total original series vibes!
In this story, we follow twins, Betty and Billy, whose parents need to travel to Europe for two weeks for work. They can’t take the kids with them, so end up dumping them off at the home of their mysterious Uncle, who they don’t even know.
This is total Goosebumps adult logic. They barely slowed the car down, just booted them right out the door.
The kids are left to meet their Uncle on their own. Frankly, they’re freaked out. Not only is this man practically a stranger, but his house is creepy as heck, set on the edge of a very ominous seeming forest.
You can imagine what happens from there. It did have a similar formula to earlier works, but I’m fine with that. It was exciting, fast-paced, included some fun adventure, a bit of mystery and spooky creatures as well.
One of the elements of this that stood out to me was that it had a good antagonist. It gave the story some gripping tension and some believably scary moments for this Children’s age group too.
I would absolutely recommend checking this one out if you are a Goosebumps fan, or if you have a Young Reader in your life who you would like to introduce to the franchise. I think this is a great place to start.
In other good news, the second book in this series, Goblin Monday is set to release in March 2024. I’m already looking forward to it and you should too!
Thank you so much to the publisher, Scholastic, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I read this in an evening and had a fabulous time with it!
