The Stinal Countdown: The Nightmare Room #08: Shadow Girl

Superhero time again. R.L. Stine and superhero stories have always been lacking. Cool concepts but never the real ability to stick the landing. Though Night Howler did a fine enough job. But that was just Goosebumps, the kiddie pool. This is Nightmare Room, the grittier, darker, more "but my mom says I'm cool" book series from R.L. Stine. Surely this will be a trend bucker, right? Eh, heard good things so maybe we lucked out. Let's find out what's going on with Shadow Girl.

This cover is awesome. Scary? Not by a long shot. But in terms of visual appeal this one knocks it out of the park. The visual of the titular Shadow Girl herself is really cool. The dark blue hood, her pupil-less eyes for that masked look. How she's fading out like a ghost. All set to the darkened skies over a small neighborhood. Her design reminds me a lot of Raven from the Teen Titans. Not sure if that was meant by design, but there's definitely a whiff of it. But when that is also a great design, can you really complain? 

We start the book with a superhero-like prologue about our titular Shadow Girl. How behind her mask she's frightened but still manages to fight criminals and thugs and what have you. How has a twelve year old girl become a small town Batgirl? We go to our actual story as our protagonist, Selena Miles, is about to visit her cousin Jada. She hasn't seen Jada since they were six, but Jada was a hellion. Cutting off one of Selena's pigtails, or constantly calling her Moo Cow because she was bigger than her. And of course, never really getting in trouble for it. I'd call her a hellion on a Tara Webster level, but Tara never existed. It's six years later and Selena is skinny. Jada is still skinny too, being described by Stine as "A broom with blond hair". STAYINYOURLANEBOBFORFUCKSAKE

So, why is Selena going to Jada's for a month? It's not well defined. Selena's mom works nights for the phone company, slams doors like a maniac and says that it's important that the two separate for a while. Like, the twist seems super obvious already, but this also comes off as Selena's mom having done something that requires Selena to be separated from her. Selena's mom leaves her with a letter and cries before Selena's bus arrives. Then she just bails, like full on runs off. Of course, we don't get any answer as to what that was about. So off Selena goes to Chicago live with her Aunt Janet, who is a librarian, and Uncle Will, who works for the Cubs in some undefined capacity.

Upon arriving, Selena meets with Jada, who who is busy on the phone, so she instead talks to a boy in the room named Stan. Jada then calls Selena Moo-Cow again, but says it wasn't a weight thing. No, it's because Selena fell down the stairs (TOTALLY not pushed by Jada) and cried in a strange, moo-like cry. So yeah, Jada still sucks. But this is interrupted when one of Jada's friends, Cindy, shows up with blood pouring down her face like her name was Jon Moxley. That's my one per blog. So, this kid got robbed by three men at an ATM. They stole her wallet and shoved her to the pavement before running off. Everyone's concerned. That is until a bit later when Selena begins to notice that the blood on Cindy's clothes look and smell more like red paint. But enough about that gaslighting for now, we have some more gaslighting from Selena's aunt and uncle who are really trying to keep her from calling her mom for some reason.

Jada and Selena don't get along too well, mostly Jada just being sarcastic and Selena not fully grasping what that is. Jada then shows off her comic book collection. A whole bunch of superheroes like Silver Kat, Marla Mutant, Fox Woman, Super... Model. Okay, three out of four ain't bad I guess. Still better than Blue Strawberry. Jada says that she loves superhero comics, but is embarrassed since this is 2001 and A GIRL LIKING SUPERHEROES? HATH THY PLANET GONE MAD?? Oh wait, it's 2023 and there are still idiots who act like that. Eh, at least it's less of the stigma anymore. But more importantly, Jada keeps asking Selena how cool it would be if there really were superheroes. Not like Jada's a superhero or anything, how preposterous? But-like what if there really were superheroes? Wouldn't that make for a neat book?

Later that night, Selena wakes up and sees Jada's bed is empty. After trying to get an answer as to what's going on, Jada ignores Selena and tells her that it's Spirit Day at school on account of the basketball team and the colors are TOTALLY green and gold. Anyway they're red and blue and the colors Selena wears are actually the opposing team. And Jada denies it. Later that night, things get worse for Selena when she reads the note her mom gave her saying that this is goodbye forever. Again, no answer as to why exactly, only she'll soon know the truth and things won't be the same. Jada shows up and Selena finally attacks her for everything. Aunt Janet breaks it up, Selena explains what went on, to which Aunt Janet goes "Oh that Jada and her sense of humor". This book better turn around because it's feeling WAY TOO GOOSEBUMPS. And not the good Goosebumps. 

Selena tries to call her mom, but no answer. She calls her friend Beth who tells her not to call again or both of them would be in danger. She asks Aunt Janet about the note to which Janet goes "Oh that mom of yours and her mood swings". I'd really like to get to the, you know, SHADOW GIRL stuff already, Bob. Goosebumps' Greatest Hits is waning on me. She keeps trying to call others, but the number is no longer in service. Next she calls the phone company to ask for her mom, but her mom never worked for the phone company. So more confusion stacked on top of even more confusion. That night she sees Jada getting dressed, then passes out. She overhears her aunt and uncle mentioning some guy in a costume causing crimes and leaving a calling card with a weasel on it. More stuff with Jada tricking her into getting the wrong chapters to a book read because at this point Selena's an easy mark. So Selena asks if Jada hates her, and Jada says that "Yeah, you'll find out why soon." I mean it's still no direct answer but hey it's AN answer.

The next night, she sneaks behind Jada and sees her enter through a bookshelf to a hidden room. But still too early to get an answer. Only instead we get the Irony-o-clock news on the radio mentioning a burglar in a blue costume sneaking into houses in the middle of the night, so now that raises further questions for Selena. Later that day, she has Stan come with her as they find that behind the bookcase is a costume. Almost similar to the one of the costumed burglar. Of course, Selena is doubting that her cousin could really be a burglar. Dude, all the crap she pulled so far, how could you NOT come to that conclusion? They then hear Jada returning home, so Stan distracts her and that solves itself for the moment. Until that night of course when Jada is gone again. Selena gets a call from Jada saying that she's been caught by some people, but Selena has to wear the costume behind the bookshelf and show up. That'll get rid of them.

So, fool Selena once, shame on Jada. Fool her twice, shame on Selena. So even Selena has started to realize that this could all be another prank. Also, why save someone who literally told you they hate you and that you'll find out soon. What if this was the soon? But she still puts the costume on, which fits like a glove, and heads to where Jada is. Only she finds Jada in a red costume, calling herself Red Raven, Selena's arch enemy. The Shadow Girl costume was Selena's the entire time, complete with a picture of Selena in the pendant for added verification. Selena's confused, this isn't a comic book, to which Jada mentions that there are many universes. A multiple universe thing. A multi-verse if you will. Infinite Earths. Hope there's no crisis. 

Jada hates Selena because she wanted to be Shadow Girl, but was unable to. All that pranking? To toughen her up before she destroys her. Aunt Janet shows up and reveals that she too was a superhero, the Gray Avenger. And this is the night, the night of Shadows as predicted in the book of fate. Of course, Selena has no goddamn clue what's going on, but Aunt Janet mentions that this book determines the future. Jada and Janet come from an alternate universe and are superheroes and that is to be Selena's fate as well, told by the book. That's also why her mom had to cut and run, and why she can't contact anyone else, as the book says that no one can interfere with this. It is time for her to show courage. It was why they faked the whole thing with Cindy being hurt. But so far, no courage whatsoever has come out of Selena. Janet then kind of leaves, saying that the book decrees that Jada and Selena are meant to be enemies forever. Jada says that it was the book who chose who would be Red Raven and who would be Shadow Girl, and that the book also says that Red Raven will be killed by Shadow Girl. Sounds more like the book of spoilers.

Selena runs off in a panic and suddenly starts flying. She then talks with Stan, but gets invited to a party. Not much there. But she sees a boy being beat up by three thugs. At first she tries to fight them, but runs into a trash can. The three then brandish baseball bats, but she manages to dispatch the bats and beat them. But she doesn't feel a rush of justice, just a need to puke, which she does, because this is still "edgy Stine". She practices the abilities the next night, but still can't get them to work properly, even at one point jumping off the deck of a steeple and almost falling to her death. All she knows is the power is in the pendant on her cape. The next night, she encounters Jada, then saves a pair of girls from almost being run over. Selena still doesn't want this life, but Jada says "too bad, it's your fate", then the two finally start to fight since we're heading to the wrap-up. The cousins fight in the air as if some DBZ fight was underway. Selena then realizes that hell, this is fate, so she takes the red pendant from Jada's cape and rips it off and throws it to the ground. Shadow Girl kills the Red Raven.

We then cut to the following Friday as Shadow Girl finally encounters the Blue Weasel, the burglar from earlier. He tries to choke her with her own cape, but Shadow Girl escapes and ties him up in a twister of air. She then unmasks the Blue Weasel and it was Stan all along. See, the book keeps mentioning Stan getting a hold of new expensive stuff. A new computer, a new CD player, other things that would be weird to get given his family is poor. We then learn that this is Jada as Shadow Girl, not Selena. That was always a part of the fate book, I believe. That Selena had to remove the costume of her own free will? Either way, she returns home to her mom and finds her mom's superhero costume because obvious ending is obvious. 

I'm gonna be honest, might be a me thing, but I didn't like this one that much. Not that it was that bad mind you, but this really feels like a case of too much build and very little payoff. But that does at least feel intended. This isn't what Selena wanted, clearly. That despite "fate", she doesn't want to be a superhero. And aside from a moment of liking it, she never gets to that point of wanting it. The book tells a story about what fate is, yet feels very rushed in building to that concept. And why exactly does everything have to follow this book of fate? Is it impossible to change the course of events? I guess so, but it still feels like the resolution to this whole issue, this whole thing built on the fate that Selena was burdened with the entire book, feels so pointlessly convoluted. "I don't want to be Shadow Girl." "Sorry, it's fated." "Well, I refuse to be Shadow Girl." "Fair enough." That might work for some, didn't for me.

It doesn't help that this book drags in Stine fashion and could have truncated a lot of the mystery to give us more actual Shadow Girl stuff. The slog with the phone stuff in particular and this constant merry-go-round of Selena being treated like crap or gaslighted on a constant basis until we finally pull the book from the bookshelf and get to the fireworks factory. So while the book's idea is neat, its pacing and a real feel of an on-the-fly Stine writing this one were the key factors in kneecapping it for me.  And yes, another awesome cover that led to a disappointing book for me. And I'll say that again, for me. Got a bad feeling this is another Earth Geeks Must Go situation in the long run. 

I like Selena as a protagonist since she's easy to feel bad for. She's a kid being dragged into something beyond her control, told nothing about why things are happening the way they are, and left feeling confused and afraid. Jada works as the bully character and at least her bad actions make sense in the long run, but nah, even for tests, some of the crap she does to Selena doesn't feel warranted. Stan exists, but him being the Blue Weasel burglar at least keeps him from being a Superfluous Clay. And the other characters are fine. I wish we got any answer as to why all this is happening, what dimension Jada and her mother came from, why sticking to the rules of the book of fate matter so much and just a better explanation as to why Selena gets treated like this. I mean, at least it works out in the end. 

So, while the last book felt the most Goosebumps to me in the right way, this one felt like Goosebumps to me in the opposite direction. A lot of Stine padding and a real missed opportunity to really make something special out of this story. Again, I like the twist that the fated hero doesn't want to be the hero, but I wish the build didn't feel so sluggish and the actual superhero stuff didn't feel so truncated and poorly built upon. If this one worked for you, cool, that's the magic of opinions. Me, this one was the first Nightmare Room in a while that let me down. A really neat concept book with female superheroes, which could do something cool with that premise and does very little of. The cool cover curse still haunts me. Next is a camp book. Stine doesn't usually let me down on camp books. Shadow Girl gets a B-.