It's time for the newest (at least of this posting) edition to SlappyWorld. And so far I've felt that 2021's offerings have been mixed at best. Middling monster blood and B-grade zombies. But with this being the last of the year, maybe we're in for a surprise, or a book that's just beastly. Considering our history with R.L. Stine, he's not known to stick the landing. But let's see for ourselves with Judy and the Beast.
Dorman's SlappyWorld offerings continue to impress and this one is no exception. The Beast design is really well done. Mostly how wild its furry mane is, giving off a scary sight. It's sharp fangs, claws, weird purple nose and yellow eyes also add the much needed layer of beastliness needed. I also like how the snow is designed, the blues for the wintery night, and the shining light billowing from the corner of the screen. It's yet another top notch work from Brandon Dorman.
Judy Glassman lives with her fifteen year old brother Ira (whose passion is making monster puppets, which given some of the interests GB characters get is far from the weirdest) and their father Noah. After the divorce, their mother moved to England while they ended up in Sulphur Falls, Wyoming, which is just below Black Rock, a giant mountain where there's snow year-round. Every year around this time, Mr. Glassman has to go up Black Rock to do work for an eccentric couple named Baker and Hilda Grendel. So every Spring (not Winter as the back blurb suggests), Mr. Glassman and Ira head to the Grendel mansion while Judy is stuck at home with their housekeeper Mrs. Hardwell.
But Judy's curiosity is finally getting to her and this year she insists on going with them, despite their claims that it would be a bad idea. Besides, she's not fond of Mrs. Hardwell, who shows up and is just as creepy and cold as Judy claims. And, of course, when her dad mentions that there's rumors of a beast roaming the mountain, that's enough for Judy to hide in the back of the wagon and see just what the hubbub is. We also get the standard character quirk and in Judy's case, it's whistling.
They arrive and Judy surprises her dad and Ira, who aren't pleased that Judy followed them, but they can't go back now, so T.S. Hilda Grendel leads the family into the gigantic mansion, which looks like every scary haunted mansion in most of these books. Mr. Glassman tries to tell Judy about Baker Grendel, but we just move on for the moment. Judy gives her bags to the butler, Harvard, and then ends up getting lost in the hallways of the mansion. She suddenly smells food coming from one of the rooms, and more concerningly, monstrous growling noises.
The door opens and out walks a gigantic man with wiry gray hair and a long white beard, and sure enough, it appears as if he was definitely the one eating something in that room. This is Baker Grendel. He mentions that he'd invite her to his dining room, but he eats alone. After that, Ira finds Judy. She relays the sounds and Ira just laughs, saying that Judy will soon find out. Ira and Mr. Glassman start work on repairs as we get more info on the mansion. There are animal horns on the walls as Baker's grandfather was a hunter. He also mentions that the mansion needs serious repairs every spring. In fact, Baker is fine with Judy being here, so long as she follows his two rules. Number one: Don't interrupt his meals. And two: If she's to go in the woods, don't go on her own and don't stray from the path as there's some dangerous wildlife there.
That night, Judy wakes up and sees something going on outside. She rushes out and sees a petrified rabbit, as well as what's petrifying it. A giant monster on all fours with black fur. Our "and the Beast". The beast chases the rabbit and Judy hears a squeal, meaning the rabbit wasn't fast enough. And then she hears the beast coming back for her, because she started nervously whistling. She manages to get back into the mansion, but she can't calm down when she hears someone else enter. It's Baker. He thinks that Judy was spying on him, since he conveniently goes out at night for walks and is, you know, totally not a giant beast. Like, I'm still early in the book and that seems like a good guess.
Judy goes to tell her dad, but runs into Ira who says that she fell for Mr. Glassman's story about a beast. It was just something he made up to scare Judy into staying home as Ira is also very annoyed that her butting in quelled their quality time. At breakfast, a giant beast shows up, but it's actually the Grendel family dog, Aurora. A Neapolitan Mastiff, so he's a massive dog. So now Judy starts to think that maybe that's what she saw. And maybe the beastly noises were Baker feeding Aurora. So her paranoia is gone, though given her father isn't one to tell tall tales, why did he really tell her about a beast?
After breakfast, Judy makes salad with Harvard. We learn that Harvard was the butler for Baker's father and has been working in the mansion for so long, he knows no other way of life. Judy asks what Baker's job is, but Harvard gets more secretive about it. In the midst of cutting the cheese (like, actually. I don't mean he just randomly farted), Harvard accidentally stabs his hand with the knife. But he barely reacts, and even stranger, his hand doesn't bleed. Oh, so he's a robot then. Judy asks her dad and Ira, but they too act strange about it.
Judy then heads into the forest, where she soon finds a cabin. It seems deserted. When she investigates further, she sees giant footprints on the ground, only they look more like animal prints. Other than that, it seems kind of normal. Some half-eaten food, and someone's shirt and baseball cap on a cot. She heads back to the mansion and decides to paint a picture of the cabin. That night she again hears howling noises. And when she goes to investigate, she sees Aurora is in the house, so it couldn't be her howling. And sure enough, in comes Baker from his walk. So Judy is once again convinced that maybe the beast is Baker.
Now more concerned, Judy goes to ask her dad what's going on, only to find him on the roof repairing it. During a snowstorm I might add. Judy tries to get his attention, but he's too busy. So, the dumber thing to do is for her to climb the ladder and yell to him, which causes him to fall off the roof and break his ankle and suffer a concussion. Reader beware, you're in for CTE. Judy is guilt-ridden for everything, but still wants to know what's going on. And why it seems that Ira and her father are defending Baker, when she seems to think it's obvious that he's some sort of monster. But when Ira won't believe her, she heads to her room, only to find the painting she drew now has a red X over it. I guess this beast is also an art critic.
Convinced that someone is trying to shut her up, she heads to Baker's room, but gets stopped by Harvard who tells her not to interrupt Baker while he's working. Suddenly there's a monstrous howl coming from Baker's room. He bursts out looking red in the face. As in there are red splotches on his face. Judy manages to spot something in a wastebasket in his room. A paintbrush with red paint. She tells Ira, who still doesn't believe her because we're really just in the whole "running around in circles until we get to the reveal" part of the book.
So Judy's not just convinced that Baker is a beast, but things here just seem strange in general, especially the whole "Harvard not bleeding" thing. But Ira still thinks she's going crazy. The next day, she heads up to her room to find a strange teenage boy in a black shirt and baseball cap, just like the ones in the cabin. She wants answers, but he just says that he's nobody and that she never saw him. So if he's our beast, he's not doing a very good job in being inconspicuous. He shoves Judy out of the way and runs off. When she tries to catch up, she hears more growls, but it's just Baker on the ground playing with Aurora. At least, I HOPE it's playing. Judy asks about the young man, but Baker claims that it's just the electrician.
Judy's tired of all of these lies, so now her goal is to find the young man, who she is now convinced must be the beast. She tries to get answers from Hilda, but she is also not saying anything. And her dad's still messed up from the fall so he can't help. So she goes to her room to get her phone to use for proof, only to find the phone's been smashed to bits. So now she's even more sure someone's out to shut her up. She tells her dad about everything, but he just keeps muttering that he'll take care of it. She spots Baker outside again and follows him. She loses sight of Baker, but does find the beast. And since Baker's conveniently missing, Judy's now 100% sure that it's Baker. But that's the least of her issues as the beast then starts to chase after her.
She hides for a moment and thinks she's grabbed by the ankle, but it's just a twig. The beast, however, is tangled up in some nearby vines. Judy thinks she's in the clear, but oh no, she starts to whistle again, which gets the attention of the beast. She runs for the cabin and makes it inside, finding another teenage boy inside. He's in a panic, telling Judy that she can't be in here, and that her whistling hurts his ears. She tries to get answers, specifically if he knows of the other teen in the black shirt. He just says that Judy isn't supposed to see him.
Judy runs home to try and find Ira and her dad, but their belongings have vanished and Harvard tells her that the two left. Baker sent them away. When he leaves, Judy tries to leave her room to find Hilda, but her door's now locked. Harvard soon returns, saying that Baker will see her now. She wants to know why Harvard is working for him, but Harvard just says that he's known of Baker's secret for thirty years. She makes a run for it, but the two boys find her and drag her into Baker's office. And inside the room, she can hear Ira and her dad in another room. She opens the door and lets them out. But Mr. Glassman panics and tries to put Ira back into the room, just as Ira starts to transform. Yep. Ira's our beast.
Baker shows up, angered that the beast is loose. Suddenly, Mr. Glassman and the teen boys begin to whistle. It puts Ira in a panic and subdues him long enough for Mr. Glassman to take him back to the cabin. Baker then tells Judy what's going on. You see, Baker Grendel is a scientist. The only scientist who knows how to treat the "beast disease" (I mean, that's slightly less dumber than "Puppet Cells"). That's why Mr. Glassman takes Ira up to the mansion every spring. To get his yearly treatment. The same case with the two other boys. Judy then wonders if she can go home with her dad, but Baker mentions that it's not that simple. Since Ira has the beast disease and Judy is on the verge of turning thirteen, she likely has it too. And wouldn't you know it, Judy starts to sprout fur on her arms.
Back to the twist. So, the "they're monsters all along" twist is one dead horse that Stine's beaten to a pulp at this point, but this one is a bit more interesting and reminds me of another book. My Hairiest Adventure. Only instead of a scientist turning dogs into kids, it's trying to suppress a kid's beast disease. Which, now that I think of it, this is another puberty allegory, especially as it becomes established that the disease affects a victim when they become teenagers. I guess the goosebumps world is just one where puberty means you're spending a few years as a dog. Not the worst fate, really.
In the end, Judy and the Beast feels like so many other books like it, but doesn't fully suffer from what could easily be diagnosed as "Goosebumps Monotony Syndrome". It just lacks that oomph to make it stand out. It feels a bit of a slog as the pacing for the mystery slows down hard midway, and your mileage will vary with what could still be regarded as the same old twist, but it's still in the high middles when it comes to Goosebumps as a whole. 2021's offerings for SlappyWorld haven't been incredible, but I guess this is still a better way to end the year than with zombies or Monster Blood. So, a win... I guess. And given the next SlappyWorld book features Slappy again, maybe 2022 will be more interesting at least.
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