NNtG: Screammates #01: Haunted Cleats

So we're closing in on finishing up the Screammates books, which isn't hard considering there's only four of them. This is also the first book chronologically, but given how I run this blog, it's not that surprising to see it as the penultimate instead. Again, woe be to those who try to read these in book release order. It's time to take a trip to the soccer field this time with a story about haunted footwear. I mean, we kind of get that in one of the Tales to Give You Goosebumps stories, Monster on the Ice, so it'll be interesting to see how it was handled here. It's time to take it to the field and see what's the deal with the Haunted Cleats. 

This cover is fine. Great shocked kid reaction and it sells that the cleats are clearly haunted what with their glowing green aura and all. And a nice lightning bolt for added horror. I just wish there was more to this cover than a black void. Like, I guess putting the cover on a soccer field would distract from the green glowing shoes, but I don't know. It's at least something. That issue aside, cover is fine.

Shane McGuinness is forward for his fifth grade soccer team the Rowdies. And the team is in the middle of a shootout between their rivals the Cosmos. And it's up to Shane to score the pivotal winning goal. All while his friends Ricky Simon, Steven Chong, and Erica Mitchell hype him up. Shane mentions that he and Erica look almost like twins despite not being related... that they know of at least. Even their coach, Coach Andretti, tries to hype Shane up and gives him advice that Shane barely remembers. Regardless, Shane's the man! Except his kick gets caught by the Cosmos goalie Judy something (literally Shane doesn't know her last name which I mean, fifth grade kid from a different school, that checks out). Judy then spikes the ball back at Shane, meaning that the Rowdies lost the game. Way to go everyone, you gave the kid the yips.

Shane is bummed about this, despite everyone not giving him guff for it, surprisingly. They can still play in the championship tournament so they're not out yet, but Shane continues to feel like he'll drag his team down. As everyone leaves for Pizza, Shane stays at the field, still failing in landing a kick. Angrily, he yells out that he'll do anything to become a great soccer player, which causes a convenient lightning strike to hit a nearby trashcan. After the flames die down, Shane spots a pair of cleats in the trashcan. He also thinks he hears someone nearby, but nobody shows up just yet. He puts the new cleats on and after Erica returns, he goes to practice. Erica throws the ball in the air and Shane manages to jump seemingly five feet in the air and perfectly land a goal.

Later, Shane practices some more, this time juggling a soccer ball in the air. His sister Eileen shows up, telling him dinner's ready and calling him... Ball head. That is the most "how about Ghost Mutt" level name I've ever heard. Shane can't control himself, unable to stop juggling the ball until he suddenly kicks it at Eileen, only for her to dodge in time. So even with haunted cleats he's not THAT perfect a shot. After being punished for it, he goes to bed later and tries to take the cleats off, but they're stuck in place. Like they're cleats that are, I don't know, haunted maybe? At practice the next day, the cleats glow again and cause Shane to trip over a tough kid named Bobby Danforth into a mud puddle that also splashes the coach in the process. 

So now faced with possibly being kicked off the championship game and nobody believing his amazing claim of "it wasn't me it was the cleats", Shane heads home and calls Erica, trying to tell her about the cleats, when suddenly he's pulled backwards as the cleats make him run outside beyond his control, faster and faster until he's about to be pulled in front of an oncoming train. Well that escalated. Thankfully for Shane this book isn't THAT short and the cleats stop in time. I guess they're the kind of cleats that love to screw with people? His parents get the call about the fight at practice and now they think something's wrong with Shane, and not on a "the cleats made me do it" level either. That night, Shane manages to grab a knife and cut the laces off, allowing him to finally get them off his feet. Well that was a quick book, I mean the train stuff was excit-oh wait, there's still more book left.

Shane tosses the cleats in a foot locker and reads a book about his favorite soccer player, Corky Boyle, who was a legend in the sport. When Shane checks a photo, he sees that Corky is wearing the same cleats that have been haunting him. He then has a nightmare about the cleats coming to life and wrapping their laces tightly over his legs. When he wakes up, he sees that the cleats are still in the footlocker and weren't trying to kill him... yet. He heads to the first elimination game against the Wings and end up being down by 1 goal. Shane realizes that maybe he was hasty about taking the cleats off. I mean sure, they almost turned you into train paste, but you could win with them! Luckily for Shane, the cleats teleport to the locker room and he puts them on. Also luckily for Shane, it  helps get the Rowdies in the lead. Unluckily for Shane, the cleats cause him to trip one of the Wings players, a kid named Hunt, which means that A. Shane is now threatened with being kicked out, and B. These haunted cleats don't have too many unique ideas other than tripping kids. But they won 2-1 and are going to face the Cosmos in the finals. Yay? 

After again being threatened with a suspension, Shane grab's Steven's skateboard and rides on it, but given the shoes he's wearing, it causes him to drive into oncoming traffic. I mean, it's kind of a step down from TRAIN, but it's something. Before he's killed again, suddenly Corky Boyle shows up and saves him. Also, if the name didn't tip you off, his overly Irish accent confirms that theory. He sees the haunted cleats on Shane's feet and tells him about how he discovered the cleats. He got them in the mail in Ireland during the big game in Dublin that he won. But they cursed him for months after. Corky tells Shane that the cleats only show up if you need them, prove you can win without them and they'll leave, otherwise you're doomed forever. I love how these haunted shoes can somehow be cool if you get good at soccer. 

The game with the Cosmos is again down to a shootout, and it's down to Shane once more. Shane manages to get the cleats off again and almost goes to put them on, but opts instead to shoot the goal barefoot, which the coach is like "weird flex but okay". And sure enough, Shane lands the winning goal, giving the Rowdies the championship. He managed to beat the cleats and throws them into the nearby lake. 

As everyone heads out to get pizza to celebrate their win, Shane spots Judy, the Cosmos goalie, head to the lake and grab the haunted cleats. So, I guess it's her problem now? Whatever, book's done. 

Another decent Screammates book that ultimately just feels there. Though I do think this one tries a bit better with horror elements than Aliens in the End Zone did. I mean Shane nearly gets run over twice. It also is a decent moral book, about how sometimes the easy way out isn't necessarily the best way out. And while the book doesn't get much time to go through with it, the concept of treating the cleats' power like an addiction is handled decently enough. And I think that's ultimately the moral that these books go for, how you shouldn't cheat to win. I also like how the cleats do feel a bit like the Haunted Mask without feeling too much like a ripoff. How we don't have Shane turn into a monster, just have him be the victim of the whim of the cleats.

My only prevailing issue is we really don't get much of an answer as to why the cleats exist or even have these powers. We know that Corky got them, but not much explanation as to what's up with them. I get it, we don't need deep explanations, and a 92 page book didn't have the time for them, but I just wonder what the deal is with these cleats? Why do they both help and hinder the wearer? It's not like a Grool thing where it feeds on luck or anything, they still work. They're like a cursed weapon in an RPG. Powerful but often coming at a price to the player in some form, be it HP or otherwise. Shane is a decent protagonist. You get his plight and do feel bad when things happen to him, and can even understand his need for the cleats. So when he overcomes that, you do feel a bit proud of him. Everyone else is superfluous Clay, even Erica, who really doesn't matter that much in the stock best friend sense. A shame, but again, given the runtime I see why. 

So overall, this one is fine. Definitely the most straightforward Screammates of the ones I've read, meaning it doesn't come off as memorable as it could have. It's still a light recommend and is far from the worst thing I've read, that's for sure. But will it be one I remember? Not as much. Which speaks to most of Screammates to be honest. It's the "Oh yeah, that existed" of GB-likes. Haunted Cleats gets a B-.