goosebumps

Book Review: ‘Es wächst und wächst und wächst…’ by R. L. Stine

21st Nov 2024Leave a comment

R. L. Stine’s ‘Es wächst und wächst und wächst…’ is my penultimate read for my 2024 reading challenge.

I decided to pick up another after reading a few Goosebumps books in German to help me learn the language. I needed something easier after struggling with ‘Der kleine Prinz’ earlier in the year.

The book follows Evan, a boy whose parents left him with his old aunt as they leave town searching for a new house. Evan, who is very reluctant to do this, brings along his best pal, an old dog named Trigger. He soon meets a young girl of the same age named Andy, who shows him a dusty old toyshop with an irascible owner. The pair discover a strange tin with the word ‘Monsterblood’ (‘Monsterblut’) on the label. But, upon purchasing this treat, Evan learns it does not stop growing.

The story is classic Stine – fun, with likeable characters and easy-to-hate bullies. The book has plenty of peril, but you always know the heroes will get out of it (although, as a kid, I didn’t know this!). As my friend promised me upon gifting me ‘Der kleine Prinz’, I found the German in this book much more accessible. Some bits were tricky and required a dictionary, but I got through it. It’s getting more accessible – I’ll move on to the Fear Street novels in German soon.

‘Es wächst und wächst und wächst…’ is a great horror book for kids and is an excellent book to help adults learn a new language.

Book Review: ‘Der Fluch der Kuscheltiere’ by R. L. Stine

31st Aug 2023Leave a comment

R. L. Stine’s ‘Der Fluch der Kuscheltiere’ is book thirty-one of the year.

I’ve lost track of the number I’m at for German book reads now, but that’s good. When asked, ‘How many books in German have you read?’ I can now answer: ‘Several.’

As usual, I had a blast with Stine’s kid-focused horror. This book follows Greg and his friend Liv as they go trick-or-treating on Halloween. My favourite time of year! Greg leads Liv into the dreaded Shadyside to one-up his nemesis in the candy collection. There, they find a house with a strange young boy and an even stranger older woman, who turns out to be a witch. They walk away with an enchanted bag that copies whatever you put inside tenfold. Dreams of money and candy float around the kids’ heads, but chaos isn’t far away.

Like most of Stine’s work, the horror is tame because of its target audience. Yet, one section in this book gave me the creeps: the cockroach section! It was pretty terrifying. I can only imagine how much that would freak little kids out—well, got to give them a genuine scare now and then, right? Great stuff.

On to the following children’s book in German!

Book Review: ‘Die Rache der unheimlichen Puppe’ by R. L. Stine

19th Jul 2023Leave a comment

R. L. Stine’s ‘Die Rache der unheimlichen Puppe’ is book twenty-six of the year.

I also read this on my honeymoon, along with a yet-to-be-finished King novel. If I want to keep progressing with my German language skills, I shouldn’t stop for a holiday!

The story follows Jessica and her friend. The pair aim to host children’s birthday parties for some much-needed cash. Meanwhile, Jessica’s younger twin sisters and their creepy ventriloquist dummy are causing havoc. And when a second dummy enters the picture, there’s no telling what will happen.

As with the previous Stine books, the threat is mild because the story is for children. Yet, there are some genuine scares, and the ending is quite a brilliant cliffhanger. Stine knows horror through and through, making him the master at aiming it at kids. It’s neither terrifying nor boring; a fine line to tread.

I’ll be reading another ‘Gänsehaut’ in German post haste!

Book Review: “Willkommen im Haus der Toten” by R. L. Stine

14th May 2023Leave a comment

R. L. Stine’s “Willkommen im Haus der Toten” is my next read of the year.

I had so much fun with “Das unheimliche Labor” that I read another “Goosebumps” book. And, much like that other “Gänsehaut” book, I had a blast. It’s great to remember how you felt reading this stuff as a kid.

“Willkommen im Haus der Toten” opens with a family moving to a new house called Dark Falls. Ooh, spooky! But things start to feel off for the children, a girl and her younger brother. Their dog runs off and disappears. Other strange children appear in the household at creepy moments. And what of those new friends they’ve made?

Fun and childish, this “Goosebumps” book is what I expected. Like the previous one, some bits were beyond my current German skills. But I always had a general feeling about what was happening, even if I struggled with the odd paragraph.

I’m off to start another “Gänsehaut” book!

Book Review: “Das unheimliche Labor” by R. L. Stine

23rd Apr 2023Leave a comment

It seems fitting that my 13th—my lucky number—read of the year is also my first German book ever.

I debated reviewing it because it’s a children’s book. But then I thought, “Why the hell not?” I’m proud to have finished a text in German, and I had a good time doing so.

My German isn’t great—it’s a complex language!—so adult books are off the table, at least for now. Yet, having loved “Goosebumps” as a kid, I reasoned that reading “Gänsehaut” in German would be a good starting point.

Which brings me to R. L. Stine’s “Das unheimliche Labor”! The story follows two kids who are the children of a mad scientist. Their father—who specialises in experiments on plants—has recently lost his job. The reasons for this are mysterious. The unemployed doctor has now set up a lab in his basement at home, which the children cannot enter. But, of course, the kids can’t help their curiosity.

Some of the German was beyond my capabilities—quite a bit. But I got the general gist of where the story was going and who each character was. It was great practice, and I will dive straight into another German “Goosebumps” book.

As an adult, I love horror, even horror made for kids (I adore the “Goosebumps” movies!). “Das unheimliche Labor” is no different; I had a blast with it. The twists are clear, and the threat isn’t too serious. Of course, nobody will die as they do in Stephen King’s novels. But it’s pure, innocent, goofy fun.

And that’s what all reading should be: fun.