NNtG: Ghosts of Fear Street #26: Go To Your Tomb—Right Now!

It's time to cover some more Ghosts of Fear Street. Been a while. But given we're so very close to the end of the series (if you're going chronologically maybe not, but blog-wise there's maybe like four more after this for me to talk about) maybe that's part of why I've hesitated so long to finish up these books. That and I didn't have access to certain books, like the one we're covering today. It's honestly the book I'm a bit intrigued by and at the same time sounds the least interesting in terms of a book itself. But usually that's a sign I'll be intrigued by book's end. I already fear the worst. It's time to Go To Your Tomb—Right Now!

Another reason I just keep neglecting this one is honestly the cover's kind of bland. It's definitely a tomb, so the book's not lying to you. I do like the little touch of the welcome mat, the visage of Luana on the door and the ominous red lighting of the tomb itself, inviting the reader in. It's a good art piece, but given we've gotten better horror and even better comedy from other Ghosts covers, it becomes forgettable in the grand scheme.

NNtG: Spinetinglers #04: Where Have All the Parents Gone?

It's time to return to the wonderfully all over the place world of Spinetinglers. And we have aliens in this one. Alien books have skewed mostly positive for the blog, so that at least has me intrigued. And then I hear that this is a book that utterly shits the bed with its ending. And I love me some trainwreck books. Well, the ones that don't utterly piss me off I guess. Let's get spaced out and wonder Where Have All the Parents Gone?

I really like this cover. Granted, not really scary unless you have a fear of the more South Park-looking alien designs, which I really don't. But if you want a cover that mixes the familiar with the freaky, you have a good mix here with the normal looking mother body and the alien head attached. It does a good job in selling the book's overall gimmick of being about aliens taking the place of the parents. So it does do what it needs to to be at the very least intriguing. 

Thoughts on How to Train Your Dummy

So before we get off the bat, sorry for like a month of inactivity. Nothing's wrong, just decided to take a break. We should be back on track very soon. But in the midst of that break, we got the news of a new Goosebumps House of Shivers book. The first of 2027's pair. And to say my expectations were low as soon as I read the book's title, I felt the need to talk about it, like I have the last couple upcoming HOS books. But I felt that it would be better to wait it out until we got the cover art to finally see just what we're dealing with here and hoo boy, I have some thoughts. 

Club-Read: The Baby-Sitters Club #31: Dawn's Wicked Stepsister

In our last book, we got us a massive status quo shift when Mr. Spier and Mrs. Schafer got married. Dawn and Mary Anne experience the highs of finally becoming stepsisters. Who could have guessed there'd also be buyer's remorse in the process? I mean, given the last book also went hard on the "aren't siblings just a pain in the butt" I guess anyone could have guessed that this would be the conflict for the next book. Let's see what goes down now that these two live under the same roof. Let's talk about Dawn's Wicked Stepsister.

Both covers are fine. Both sell the situation quite well. Dawn and Mary Anne at odds with one another as clearly there's unpacking needed to be done. Not just unpacking boxes, but clearly unpacking the issues between the two girls. Biggest difference being the third party on the cover. The reprint gives us Tigger while the original goes with a dumbfounded Jeff. Of the two, I'll go with the original, but both do a fine enough job. Though I guess the contrast of happy Dawn and Mary Anne last cover to both annoyed with each other at least does work in the reprint's favor, but not enough for me I guess.

The Stoney So Far... The Baby-Sitters Club #21-30

We're now thirty books deep into the Baby-Sitters Club. Not only that, but we're also in the midst of specials and spinoffs. We have entered into full franchise mode. We also exit the twenties by also exiting the 1980s. The franchise has made it into its fourth year of life and given it was really intended to be just ten books, it's a bit surprising that this series still has a lot of gas in the tank. But given we haven't even scratched the surface 30 books in, I guess that's a testament to how much you can get with a book series about baby-sitting. And the twenties were perhaps the best example of what I mean as I find these ten book were the ones that went deep into worldbuilding. We still got our share of filler books of varying quality, but if you were invested from day one in Stoneybrook and the girls, then this batch really rewarded that brand loyalty. The twenties gave us a great deal of tonal whiplash. From new family members to dying family members, marriages, divorces, relationship concerns, elections, big mysteries and so much more. Not to mention a trip to camp and a lodge for the winter. Let's look back at what made the twenties so interesting.

Club-Read: The Baby-Sitters Club #30: Mary Anne and the Great Romance

Is it just me or is it weird that we're just suddenly getting to a marriage story between Mrs. Schafer and Mr. Spier? I mean, we've set it up since the fourth book, but it also feels like it took a MASSIVE backseat in the series. So much so that we've had more stuff with Mrs. Schafer and Trip than we did Mr. Spier. Like this all feels very "Oh right, that plot point". Like at the very least Mimi's death and Stacey's parents divorcing had a lot more buildup than this. But yes indeed, we're finally being able to take another massive pin out of the pinboard as Mary Anne and Dawn are about to become sisters-in-law. It's also technically the first BSC book to be released in the 1990s. So that's a neat piece of trivia. How does the wedding go down? Let's walk down the aisle with Mary Anne and the Great Romance.

Both covers are solid. The winner is easily the original though. I like that Mary Anne and Dawn aren't even really the focus of the cover here, but rather Mrs. Schafer throwing the bouquet. It's definitely more of the big exciting wedding cover that we didn't get with Kristy's Big Day so props on that. The reprint is fine but not as energetic as the other. It's just Mary Anne and Dawn looking at the wedding cake and that's really it. It does a good job in selling that this is about their parents getting married, but other than that, it's lacking that energy that the original had. Both are good regardless.

Club-Read: The Baby-Sitters Club Super Special #03: Baby-sitters' Winter Vacation

It's time for another trip into the Super Specials. What, already? Yes. Because now there's two a year as opposed to one. And like the previous two Super Specials, these are multi-narrated vacation stories. Only this time it's in winter. Is this a good book or would we much prefer having fun in the sun? Let's find out with Baby-Sitters' Winter Vacation.

Our two covers are pretty good. Of the two I prefer the original. It's more dynamic and fun in my eyes as the club is engaged in this big snowball battle. Their poses make the moment a lot more energetic in my eyes. The reprint is fine, but doesn't land for me as much when it comes to the concept of a big snowball fight. I think the posing feeling more stiff doesn't quite land for me as I think the illustrator was no doubt hoping. The reprints have been winning me over lately, but when it comes to the super specials, they haven't quite hit that sweet spot. And given this is likely the last reprint for the super specials I'll be covering given the progress I've been making, it's unfortunate to not go out on a bang.