A very good Fear Street book, with all that that implies.
The enduring franchise relaunches with yet another No.1.
Fear Street was never quite the brand Goosebumps was; grittier and bloodier than the latter’s Twilight Zone–esque stories. This offering hopes to leverage that grit, and it leans heavily on terror tropes of old, particularly evoking Stephen King. Of course, this is what Stine (Mary McScary, 2017, etc.) has always been best at: tossing current trends, personal fears, and literary legacies into a blender and delighting in the result. Readers will delight too. Ruth-Ann and Rebecca Fear are two affluent sisters in the 1920s, squabbling for love and control of their futures. In the present, Harmony and Marissa Fear are fighting similar psychological warfare with mixed results. Witchcraft rears its head, and the Fear family curse spans time itself and locks these two pairs of white siblings in a peculiar, terrifying dance. The excitement is in the execution, and Stine hasn’t lost his ability to pull strings and make readers squirm, flipping pages as fast as possible in anticipation for the next bloodcurdling sight. The book’s ending is a bit muddled: The resolution is creatively exciting but doesn’t make much sense when considered for internal logic. But then, Stine’s work has never been about substantive thought. Stine is about mood, tingles, and blood. This title has got plenty of that.
A very good Fear Street book, with all that that implies. (Horror. 12-16)Pub Date: July 24, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-269425-6
Page Count: 352
Publisher: HarperTeen
Review Posted Online: April 2, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2018
A trilogy opener both rich and strange, if heavy at the front end.
Riggs spins a gothic tale of strangely gifted children and the monsters that pursue them from a set of eerie, old trick photographs.
The brutal murder of his grandfather and a glimpse of a man with a mouth full of tentacles prompts months of nightmares and psychotherapy for 15-year-old Jacob, followed by a visit to a remote Welsh island where, his grandfather had always claimed, there lived children who could fly, lift boulders and display like weird abilities. The stories turn out to be true—but Jacob discovers that he has unwittingly exposed the sheltered “peculiar spirits” (of which he turns out to be one) and their werefalcon protector to a murderous hollowgast and its shape-changing servant wight. The interspersed photographs—gathered at flea markets and from collectors—nearly all seem to have been created in the late 19th or early 20th centuries and generally feature stone-faced figures, mostly children, in inscrutable costumes and situations. They are seen floating in the air, posing with a disreputable-looking Santa, covered in bees, dressed in rags and kneeling on a bomb, among other surreal images. Though Jacob’s overdeveloped back story gives the tale a slow start, the pictures add an eldritch element from the early going, and along with creepy bad guys, the author tucks in suspenseful chases and splashes of gore as he goes. He also whirls a major storm, flying bullets and a time loop into a wild climax that leaves Jacob poised for the sequel.
A trilogy opener both rich and strange, if heavy at the front end. (Horror/fantasy. 12-14)Pub Date: June 7, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-59474-476-1
Page Count: 234
Publisher: Quirk Books
Review Posted Online: March 30, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An eerie thriller reminiscent of summer horror movies that will keep readers on edge.
Two teens with a dark secret return to their old summer camp.
Childhood friends Esme and Kayla can’t wait to return to Camp Pine Lake as counselors-in-training, ready to try everything they couldn’t do when they were younger: find cute boys, stay up late, and sneak out after hours. Even Andy, their straight-laced supervisor, can’t dampen their excitement, especially after they meet the crushworthy Olly and Jake. An intuitive 17-year-old, Esme is ready to jump in and teach her cute little campers. But when a threatening message appears, Esme and Kayla realize the secret they’ve kept hidden for nearly a decade is no longer safe. Paranoia and fear soon cause Esme and Kayla to revisit their ominous secret and realize that nobody in the camp can be trusted. The slow buildup of suspense and the use of classic horror elements contrast with lighthearted camp activities, bonding with new friends, and budding romance. Similarly, Esme’s first-person point of view allows for increased tension and action as well as offering insight into her emotional and mental well-being. Discussions of adulthood, trauma, and recovery are subtle and realistic, but acts of sexism and machismo aren’t fully analyzed. While the strong buildup of action comes late, it leads to a shockingly satisfying finale. Major characters are White.
An eerie thriller reminiscent of summer horror movies that will keep readers on edge. (Thriller. 12-16)Pub Date: March 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-12497-0
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: Dec. 9, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2021
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