The Stinal Countdown: New Fear Street #03: Scream, Jennifer, Scream!

It's time for another trip into NEW Shadyside. Even more interestingly, we're almost finished with this series. Yep, New Fear Street really is that quick of a book series. And this time we have a book about cheating students, a possible snitch, and potential murder. Could this all lead to a good book, or will I be screaming in anger? Let's find out with Scream, Jennifer, Scream!

This cover is fine. I like the face of Jennifer screaming, which means the book cover at least doesn't lie. I like the shattering glass given off this more horrific look and feel. What I don't like is the teens up front. It makes this cover feel less like a really cool horror book cover and more here's the cast of a failed Fear Street series pilot, which is surprising that never happened. I mean we got the movies but still. Overall, fine, but not amazing.

Club-Read: The Karen Tax: Baby-Sitters Little Sister #06: Karen's Little Sister

One thing I will say that bugs me about BSC is due to the structure of the series we really just move on from certain events and it takes a long time for that event to really matter in the grand scheme. Like, you'd almost forget at this point that the Thomas-Brewer family adopted a two year old Vietnamese girl. So leave it to the Karen books to be the series that actually talks about this. Which I guess if there's any benefit to the Karen books existing it's that we can at least build on some of that continuity for the Thomas-Brewers that the main series drops the ball on. So let's finally get a book focused around the arrival of Emily Michelle and how that affects Karen. Time for Karen to get jealous over a toddler. I expect nothing less. Let's talk about Karen's Little Sister. 

Interestingly, this is one of the Little Sister books that didn't get a graphic novel adaptation. The likeliest reason is that the mainline graphic novels have yet to make it to Kristy's Mother's Day Surprise at this point, so I could see the reasoning being that they wanted to avoid some confusion as to why the Little Sister books introduced Emily Michelle while she's yet to arrive in the mainline graphic novels. Feels like something they could easily circle back around to after she debuts in the mainline, so not really a big deal to be honest. Both covers are decent. The reprint is fine and sells the concept easily. Karen is jealous and frustrated that Kristy has been giving Emily Michelle more attention than her. The art's cute and does what it needs to do. But the original is the best here. It's the shirts. It's such a goofy little addition that makes this such a fun piece. And of course Karen's has to stand out. Kristy and Emily Michelle get the yellow with red text while she goes red with yellow text. It's very cute. Also there's a little bird on the ground, so that makes this a 10/10 piece. Doesn't quite sell Karen's conflict, more the resolution, but it's a solid work.

NNtG: Bone Chillers #11: Toilet Terror

It's time for another trip into Bone Chillers. Really down to the last few I can find online and, like I've said, some of the prices online for some of these books makes my eyes twitch. But we still have a couple left and one of them is about a monster in a toilet. Look, given some of the downright maddening monsters we have gotten from these books, a toilet monster feels a bit middle of the road. But can I be proven wrong? Or will this be a book I should have added to the much underused The Depths section? Best jiggle the handle because it's time to talk about Toilet Terror. 

A solid Tim Jacobus cover as usual, but also a little forgettable in the grand scheme. Don't get me wrong, some things in the cover do work. The POV being super warped, the garish checkerboard floor which, I'd imagine a red and blue bathroom floor would be super ugly. I like the strewn about magazines. Then there's the monster in the green muck complete with tentacles because that seems concerning when you're about to squat down. It's all good visuals, but feels super safe, super "This is a cover that Tim made without too much fun involved. Just pump out a cover with a toilet monster and accept the paycheck" feel to the whole thing.

Club-Read: The Baby-Sitters Club #29: Mallory and the Mystery Diary

So like I said in the last BSC blog, I've definitely noticed a pattern when it comes to the majority of the twenties. A book that expands the universe, followed by a filler book. Given we're coming off a big book where Stacey's parents get divorced and she returns to Stoneybrook, this definitely feels like we're entering a massive comedown book. And given it's a Mallory book, that fills me with less optimism. I like Mallory, but she's in a position similar to Dawn in that the quality of her books can be shaky at best. It also doesn't help that this book's premise feels very much in line with The Ghost at Dawn's House, which wasn't a very interesting book. Hope to be wrong on these concerns though. Let's talk about Mallory and the Mystery Diary.

Covers are decent, but neither exactly excite me that much. Both have Mallory on a bed looking through the diary. Though the latter adds Jessi instead of Buddy Barrett. Of the two, I prefer the one with Jessi as their dynamic is always really good, so I like the idea of them tackling the diary together. But neither exactly hit me with this energy of "I have to read this one RIGHT NOW". 

Horrific Hindsight: R.L. Stine and Point

Without Point there would be no Fear Street. Without Point there would be no Goosebumps. 

That might be hyperbole, but everything starts with first steps. And for not just for R.L. Stine but the entire 90s horror wave in general, it might have been a different landscape if things hadn't fallen into place like they did. Point was a book line by Scholastic in the 80s that was focused on a teen market. It also capitalized on the growing popularity of horror and thrillers within said teen market. Which given this was the era of Freddy, Jason and so many other slasher icons, it's not hard to see why it would be a market that would be worth milking. It technically started in 1979 with Arthur Roth's book Avalanche, but by 1985, the series was up and rolling. And in 1986, Robert Lawrence Stine, an author from Ohio who was trying to make his name in the literary world, though namely by doing work for licensed properties like Indiana Jones, G.I. Joe and Masters of the Universe, would be on board. Stine was a longtime horror fan, having grown up in the age of the pre-comics code horror comics, B-horror and works like The Twilight Zone. The latter ol' Jovial Bob loved to crib for Goosebumps.

NNtG: Graveyard School #17: Jack and the Beanstalker

We don't get many beanstalk-related horror stories with these kids horror books. But leave it to Graveyard School of all series to provide one for us. I still haven't found the Graveyard School book I really loved, so maybe this is its chance to leave a giant impression on me. Or will it Fee-Fi-Fo-Fumble the bag? Let's find out with Jack and the Beanstalker.

Sadly this is one of those covers that I can't find a nice clean rip of, so enjoy this saturated low quality rip. But it does the job that it has to. We got us a beanstalk, that's for certain. And it's growing out of Graveyard School. I like the touch of the school supplies falling to the ground. We only see the legs of our protagonist Jackson, but with sneakers like that you'd think this was a Jacobus work. It's not, but it's still decent stuff.

NNtG: Spinetinglers #10: The Dead Kid Did It

It's time to open up another Spinetinglers. We've had an interesting batch of books so far. A few I like, a few I didn't. This time we're dealing with a dead kid. Not just that but a dead kid who's a bit of a prankster. Did this predict Dead Bart? Probably not, but I can't say I'm not intrigued. Let's find out why The Dead Kid Did It. 

Oh gee, I have absolutely no idea who could have illustrated this cover. That's sarcasm, just as a head up. This might be the most Tim Jacobus cover ever. The checkerboard ceiling, the massive warped angle, the design of the kid in general. If his feet weren't obscured I'm certain he's have Chuck Taylor's on. The cover also weirdly feels like an alternate of the cover for The Haunted School. Books and papers spilling out of a locker with a creepy being inside. Weirdly also feels like a flip with the lockers being green and the ceiling having red, where it's vice versa for Haunted School. This book predates Haunted School by at least over a year, so maybe Tim just went back to the well for the Goosebumps cover? Wouldn't surprise me. Either way, it's a great cover.