Friday, October 27, 2017

Halloween Night and Halloween Night II by RL Stine





Reviewed by Christy H.

            There is a podcast called Teen Creeps where two comedians read and discuss “young adult pulp fiction” (lots of thrillers and horror) from their youth – the 1980s and 1990s. It is hilarious and nostalgic and quickly becoming one of my favorite podcasts.

            I read the Halloween Night series specifically for this podcast, although I remember reading the first one many, many years ago. In Halloween Night, Brenda is struggling with the recent addition of her cousin Halley to her household. Halley’s parents are going through a bitter divorce and Brenda’s parents graciously offer to let her stay with them while it blows over. Relegated to a guest room while Halley gets her room, Brenda is seething. To make matters worse, Halley is a flirt. Especially with Brenda’s boyfriend. So Brenda and her friends hatch a plan to kill Halley. Well, in their creative writing assignment anyway. But Brenda keeps getting pushed to the breaking point until she finally snaps. She decides to kill Halley for real.

            This was a really fun read for October. It made me want to get together with my friends and carve pumpkins (which I did!) and throw a Halloween party (Eh. Too lazy). One thing I vividly remember from my RL Stine lovin’ years is the description of clothing. I don’t know why but I always loved that, and reading it now made me want to buy more tights. The book does get a little repetitious with the formula of Something Scary Happens, Brenda Blames Halley, Halley Denies It, Nobody Believes Brenda. With the second book essentially being a rehash of the first, expect lots more of that. And there are plenty of fake out cliffhangers as well which I’m sure can be irritating to some. I really enjoyed reading these though. It was fun to shut off my brain and worries and just be a kid again trying to get spooked.

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