Author: R.L Stine
Series: Fear Street Relaunch #3
Edition: Digital Review Copy, 272 pages
Publication Details: September 29th 2015 by St. Martin’s Griffin
Genre(s): Horror; YA
Disclosure? Yep! I received a free copy in exchange for an HONEST review.
Generations of children and teens have grown up on R.L. Stine’s bestselling and hugely popular horror series, Fear Street and Goosebumps. Now, the Fear Street series is back with a chilling new installment, packed with pure nightmare fodder that will scare Stine’s avid fan base of teen readers and adults.
New student Lizzy Palmer is the talk of Shadyside High. Michael and his girlfriend Pepper befriend her, but the closer they get to her, the stranger she seems… and the more attractive she is to Michael. He invites her to join him on a snowmobile race that ends in a tragic accident. Soon, Michael’s friends start being murdered, and Pepper becomes convinced that Lizzy is behind the killings. But to her total shock, she and Michael are drawn into a tragic story of an unthinkable betrayal committed over 60 years ago. Frightening and tense in the way that only this master of horror can deliver, The Lost Girl is another terrifying Fear Street novel by the king of juvenile horror.
Review
Most people around my age will know the name R.L Stine, and either avoided his books like the plague, or loved them. He’s most famous for the Goosebumps books (and TV Series) and various Point Horror titles, all aimed at scaring or creeping out the teen and pre-teen market.
I was a huge fan of Point Horror, in fact, they are the first books I can remember going out to buy with my pocket money.
I remember being so excited whenever a new book came out, and I would go to W.H Smith on a Saturday morning to buy them. The first time I brought one of them home, my mom took one look at it and said that she didn’t think I should be reading them because they were too grown up, but I just laughed and told her that it clearly says Children’s books on the back. It’s funny the little moments you remember like that. But that’s why I’ll always be fond of the Point Horror books- the nostalgia!
The Fear Street books were a series that passed me by, however. I think I had progressed to adult horror by the time they became popular (Point Horrors were clearly a gateway drug for me), but I imagine that they were more of the same. Either way, I was thrilled to see that they were relaunching the series last year, with none other than R.L Stine back in the teen scares business.
The Lost Girl, is the third relaunched Fear Street novel, and whereas I was looking forward to reading it, I was worried that I wouldn’t enjoy it, and it would ruin my fond memories of Stine’s writing.
The Lost Girl is set in two different time zones. We start in the 1950’s where the protagonist is attacked and almost raped, but thankfully for her, she has some witchy powers and is able to force him off.
Terrible things happen to this girl and her family…like, really, really terrible things involving some honey and oats..(seriously), and I was hooked straight way.
Fast forward to the present day and we meet Michael, a high-school senior who has an already tempestuous relationship with his firey girlfriend when a new girl who seems to be perpetually lost starts to make life even more difficult for him.
One of the main things that I thought could go wrong with this series was if it hadn’t have moved with the times as far as the scares, the gore, and the violence are concerned. But thankfully, The Lost Girl felt thoroughly modern in that respect. The violence packed a punch, and the gore…well there was one scene that even had me squirming slightly. Loved it.
The only down-side to this book – and it was quite a major one- was just how predictable the plot was. I pretty much knew where it was going the whole way through, and there were very little surprises. I also wanted it to be longer. I felt like the last part of the book was rushed through.
Overall though, I’m so glad this series has been relaunched, giving a whole new generation the same gloriously gory scares that I remember.
R.L Stine still has the knack of hooking you in and severely creeping you out. Even if it’s nothing new, I enjoyed the ride, and my fond memories of his earlier books are well and truly intact. Hurrah!