I read that we’re halfway through the year and got excited.
But that’s false. It’s day 174 with 191 days remaining. That’s… that’s close, I’ll give it that. But close only counts in horseshoes, hand-grenades, and area spells.
What a bummer to start the day on because next year is going to be VERY exciting for me. This year is more just the drag. The slog. The tortuous calm before the storm and I’m fuckin’ STOKED to get on with it.
Anyway. The Babysitter.
RL Stine, I have always said, is pretty awful at writing sequels. He had a bad habit of resetting any character growth and the stories feel like either retreads like with the Silent Night series or WILD jumps like with the 99 Fear Street series (which we’ll get to - don’t worry).
This is a weird mix of the two.
Honestly, you’d expect that this girl would stop interacting with children either because murderers always seem to be close to them or because, you know, she grows up.
Serious question: in the fourth entry with the same protagonist, why is she not just an adult out in a sane world doing sane things at this point?
Anyway, the kid nextdoor is a ghost and you might think I just spoiled the story, but you’d be wrong; it’s pretty obvious from the word “go.”
And with this “twist” telegraphed so starkly and so early, you’re left with only the story and writing to validate the book’s worth and I think the sad truth is that the greatest worth of this book is that it’s short.
I didn’t have a good time.
“But you’re an adult!” You might yell in a fit of nostalgic defense.
True enough. My 12yo also tried to read it - PRIME Stine age, I would argue - and didn’t even finish it because they were so bored.
It’s just not all that great.
#books #bookrecommendation #booktok #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #booksky #readersofpixelfed #read #readinglog #thebabysitter
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