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Fear Street Cheerleaders #4
The New Evil
Gone forever…
Corky and the Shadyside cheerleaders are sure that the evil spirit is destroyed. The terror is over.
Then Hannah is mysteriously thrown through the car window. And Naomi is nearly burned to death. One horrifying accident after another. And now Corky can no longer keep her greatest fear to herself—the evil is back!
But where is it?
Corky, Kimmy, and Debra aren’t waiting to find out. They have a plan to draw the evil out. Draw it out and destroy it for good. Unless, of course, the evil destroys them first…
Corky and the Shadyside cheerleaders are sure that the evil spirit is destroyed. The terror is over.
Then Hannah is mysteriously thrown through the car window. And Naomi is nearly burned to death. One horrifying accident after another. And now Corky can no longer keep her greatest fear to herself—the evil is back!
But where is it?
Corky, Kimmy, and Debra aren’t waiting to find out. They have a plan to draw the evil out. Draw it out and destroy it for good. Unless, of course, the evil destroys them first…
199 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 1994
61 people are currently reading
1819 people want to read
About the author
R.L. Stine
1,680 books18.7k followersRobert Lawrence Stine known as R. L. Stine and Jovial Bob Stine, is an American novelist and writer, well known for targeting younger audiences. Stine, who is often called the Stephen King of children's literature, is the author of dozens of popular horror fiction novellas, including the books in the Goosebumps, Rotten School, Mostly Ghostly, The Nightmare Room and Fear Street series.
R. L. Stine began his writing career when he was nine years old, and today he has achieved the position of the bestselling children's author in history. In the early 1990s, Stine was catapulted to fame when he wrote the unprecedented, bestselling Goosebumps® series, which sold more than 250 million copies and became a worldwide multimedia phenomenon. His other major series, Fear Street, has over 80 million copies sold.
Stine has received numerous awards of recognition, including several Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards and Disney Adventures Kids' Choice Awards, and he has been selected by kids as one of their favorite authors in the NEA's Read Across America program. He lives in New York, NY.
http://us.macmillan.com/itsthefirstda...
R. L. Stine began his writing career when he was nine years old, and today he has achieved the position of the bestselling children's author in history. In the early 1990s, Stine was catapulted to fame when he wrote the unprecedented, bestselling Goosebumps® series, which sold more than 250 million copies and became a worldwide multimedia phenomenon. His other major series, Fear Street, has over 80 million copies sold.
Stine has received numerous awards of recognition, including several Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards and Disney Adventures Kids' Choice Awards, and he has been selected by kids as one of their favorite authors in the NEA's Read Across America program. He lives in New York, NY.
http://us.macmillan.com/itsthefirstda...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 101 reviews
October 2, 2022
Bless. There's a point in this book when you want to shake Corky, Debra, and Kimmy. And I just shook my head. But honestly though, most of the book works. I do love that when I think of Christmas these days, my first thought goes to crazed killers though. Reading R.L. Stine as a teen will do that to you. This is the fourth book in the Fear Street Cheerleaders series. Just a continuation of the prior installments with Corky and her friends trying to put to rest the evil all over again. The main reason why I gave this 4 stars though is that at one point it felt like Corky didn't even care that [redacted] died. It just happened and she was like but now the evil is gone. And I went...um so is [redacted] maybe stop kissing [redacted] and being all now it's Christmas Eve. One of the main reasons why I didn't really gel with the Fear Street movie that came out last year was that I thought the adaption really just ignored the fact that teens kind of suck and do stupid stuff. Also they didn't even have any absentee parents just randomly missing for days on end while their kids were trying to outrun murderers.
"The New Evil" follows Corky and Kimmy as they leave cheerleading one snowy night with their friend and fellow cheerleader Hannah. But after their car is in an accident, Hannah is thrown through the windshield. This is enough for the girls to worry that somehow the evil has escaped all over again though Corky drowned it last time. Debra seems obsessed with calling up something that will protect them this time, and Corky just wants to focus on her sort of boyfriend Alex. With the accidents piling up, followed by some deaths, Corky knows she is going to have to try to defeat the evil one more time.
Corky is kind of....not smart in this one at all. She seems really worked up most of the book, but wants to ignore what is going on and focus on Alex, who is not all that. I think a few times I went if I have to read about his dimple one more time. I just felt like this Corky was more diminished than the girl we got to know through 3 books to this point. Kimmy and Debra feel weirdly absent in this one too. We focus too much on the new cheerleaders and Alex and his best friend Jay. I get why Stine does that later in the book, but it does slow things down a bit.
The writing is typical Stine. You are going to get some weird/gross deaths and he doesn't care who dies. So if you have a favorite going into this one...well, I wish you well that they make it out alive.
The flow was fine though things dragged for a bit here and there. And then the book just moves a lot faster.
The setting of Shadyside or as I call it, that town no one should live if if they were smart stays feeling ominous. We do get some shout outs to prior characters like Deena and Jade though.
The ending as I said above was weird. I don't know if Stine was going for some macabre humor or what.
I read this for "Grave or Graveyard" square. I am going to list out the fact that the book sets up the first two books in the series with the evil escaping from Sarah Fear's grave and then someone is mentioned dying in a watery "grave." I think that is enough to count for the square. I was going to do a Wild Card, but was glad to see I didn't have to by the time I got to the end of this one.
"The New Evil" follows Corky and Kimmy as they leave cheerleading one snowy night with their friend and fellow cheerleader Hannah. But after their car is in an accident, Hannah is thrown through the windshield. This is enough for the girls to worry that somehow the evil has escaped all over again though Corky drowned it last time. Debra seems obsessed with calling up something that will protect them this time, and Corky just wants to focus on her sort of boyfriend Alex. With the accidents piling up, followed by some deaths, Corky knows she is going to have to try to defeat the evil one more time.
Corky is kind of....not smart in this one at all. She seems really worked up most of the book, but wants to ignore what is going on and focus on Alex, who is not all that. I think a few times I went if I have to read about his dimple one more time. I just felt like this Corky was more diminished than the girl we got to know through 3 books to this point. Kimmy and Debra feel weirdly absent in this one too. We focus too much on the new cheerleaders and Alex and his best friend Jay. I get why Stine does that later in the book, but it does slow things down a bit.
The writing is typical Stine. You are going to get some weird/gross deaths and he doesn't care who dies. So if you have a favorite going into this one...well, I wish you well that they make it out alive.
The flow was fine though things dragged for a bit here and there. And then the book just moves a lot faster.
The setting of Shadyside or as I call it, that town no one should live if if they were smart stays feeling ominous. We do get some shout outs to prior characters like Deena and Jade though.
The ending as I said above was weird. I don't know if Stine was going for some macabre humor or what.
I read this for "Grave or Graveyard" square. I am going to list out the fact that the book sets up the first two books in the series with the evil escaping from Sarah Fear's grave and then someone is mentioned dying in a watery "grave." I think that is enough to count for the square. I was going to do a Wild Card, but was glad to see I didn't have to by the time I got to the end of this one.
December 30, 2017
I like to read seasonal things in season but surely there are better ways for me to be spending my time. The R.L. Stine 9000 (or whoever wrote this book) certainly set themselves up for a challenge when they decided to write a story that was 1) a teen romance about cheerleaders, 2) a horror novel, 3) a 4th sequel, and 4) a Christmas story, and I'm afraid Santa Stine didn't deliver the goods. Sure, the cover is cute, but the scene it's based on in the story is short and dumb. There are other neat set pieces that are kinda spooky when you think about them but everyone's reaction is "NOOOO" and there is a lot of repetition and the reaction to people's deaths (I was surprised when people actually died!) is "Poor ___. Poor, poor ___." like they've got colds instead of being dead. And don't get me started on the cheerleader chants. Anyway I'm not going to waste my time reading any more Stine 9000 books- until the summer, that is, when I can read that one about the evil Lifeguard.
April 3, 2021
2.5/5
You thought this was the end to R.L. Stine's Cheerleaders (Fear Street) series? Well, you thought wrong. The evil is back! I'm actually getting tired and frustrated of reading this series. I think this would've been more interesting as a tv show.
The past repeats itself in this book. What happened to Jennifer in the first book happens to Hannah in this one. Corky, Kimmy, and Debra made some bad choices in this installment and unleased the evil again. What happens next? I guess, you'll have to read to find out.
You thought this was the end to R.L. Stine's Cheerleaders (Fear Street) series? Well, you thought wrong. The evil is back! I'm actually getting tired and frustrated of reading this series. I think this would've been more interesting as a tv show.
The past repeats itself in this book. What happened to Jennifer in the first book happens to Hannah in this one. Corky, Kimmy, and Debra made some bad choices in this installment and unleased the evil again. What happens next? I guess, you'll have to read to find out.
August 19, 2023
I love the fear street movies so I’m trying to work my way through the books it’s loosely based on
December 10, 2017
“I don’t think this is what they mean by a white Christmas!”
September 26, 2024
Not bad, but you're best off sticking to the original Cheerleaders trilogy.
April 20, 2020
There are spoilers ahead for The First Evil, The Second Evil, and The Third Evil. Corky and her friends thought they had defeated the ancient evil that crept from Sarah Fear’s grave, but after a series of accidents, they can’t be sure. Hannah is thrown through a car window, and Naomi nearly burns to death in a cheerleading practice gone horribly wrong. Debra thinks she may have a solution that will stop the spirit forever, but it’s possible the cheerleaders are meddling in forces they can’t control. Trigger warnings: death, drowning, car accidents, severe injury, some gore, fires, blood, threats.
Despite not being part of the original trilogy, this is probably my favorite so far in the Cheerleaders series. For one thing, it’s the scariest (with possibly the exception of Bobbi’s death in book one), and the stakes are higher than they’ve ever been. The title is a bit misleading, since this isn’t a new evil at all but the same one Corky and the Shadyside cheerleaders have been fighting from the beginning. It does seem capable of a couple new twists though, and I’m interested to know how its power managed to grow between books. (A question that is never answered, but maybe that’s asking these books to be deeper than they’re meant to be.)
The character relationships are also better than they’ve ever been. Unlike past books, where each character pretty much struggles on her own, we have Corky, Kimmy, and Debra working together this time to defeat the evil. The side characters are a notch about previous ones as well, and Corky’s relationships with her basketball player boyfriend, Alex, and his class clown best friend, Jay, provide some more depth to the story. I always connect better with a book where the characters feel more like real people, and for the first time, it isn’t just Corky who’s three dimensional. The ending is scary in a mob-mentality, Stephen King kind of way, and I’m looking forward to the final installment.
I review regularly at brightbeautifulthings.tumblr.com.
Despite not being part of the original trilogy, this is probably my favorite so far in the Cheerleaders series. For one thing, it’s the scariest (with possibly the exception of Bobbi’s death in book one), and the stakes are higher than they’ve ever been. The title is a bit misleading, since this isn’t a new evil at all but the same one Corky and the Shadyside cheerleaders have been fighting from the beginning. It does seem capable of a couple new twists though, and I’m interested to know how its power managed to grow between books. (A question that is never answered, but maybe that’s asking these books to be deeper than they’re meant to be.)
The character relationships are also better than they’ve ever been. Unlike past books, where each character pretty much struggles on her own, we have Corky, Kimmy, and Debra working together this time to defeat the evil. The side characters are a notch about previous ones as well, and Corky’s relationships with her basketball player boyfriend, Alex, and his class clown best friend, Jay, provide some more depth to the story. I always connect better with a book where the characters feel more like real people, and for the first time, it isn’t just Corky who’s three dimensional. The ending is scary in a mob-mentality, Stephen King kind of way, and I’m looking forward to the final installment.
I review regularly at brightbeautifulthings.tumblr.com.
February 26, 2024
Everyone always says that The Cheerleaders books are an exercise in the law of diminishing returns, but I really enjoyed this one! Corky wears Doc Martens! Lots of gnarly accidents! And Deena and Jade from Fear Street's The Wrong Number make an appearance too!
True to the other Cheerleaders books, a significant death occurs which, jeez. It's not easy being a Shadyside High cheerleader, especially with those awful cheers they do!
Only one death in this one, but plenty of action regardless (including a very dramatic ending). Blood gushing from a screwdriver accident! People accidentally catching on fire! Not being able to STOP doing backflips?? Hahahaha!! Now THAT is terrifying 🤣😱
True to the other Cheerleaders books, a significant death occurs which, jeez. It's not easy being a Shadyside High cheerleader, especially with those awful cheers they do!
Only one death in this one, but plenty of action regardless (including a very dramatic ending). Blood gushing from a screwdriver accident! People accidentally catching on fire! Not being able to STOP doing backflips?? Hahahaha!! Now THAT is terrifying 🤣😱
June 24, 2021
As creepy and interesting as they come!
January 4, 2024
Not a lot of Santa imagery like the cover teases, but still some really memorable moments.
The opposing team's cheerleader who can't stop doing backflips, escapes the people holding her down, and continues to jerk her body into endless gymnastics, even when strapped down to a gurney?
The confetti cannons shooting out tar at the audience?
Fire batons setting cheerleaders ablaze mid-routine?
Forced drowning by water jug?
More enjoyable than I thought it would be, even if the ending was a little convoluted and messy.
The opposing team's cheerleader who can't stop doing backflips, escapes the people holding her down, and continues to jerk her body into endless gymnastics, even when strapped down to a gurney?
The confetti cannons shooting out tar at the audience?
Fire batons setting cheerleaders ablaze mid-routine?
Forced drowning by water jug?
More enjoyable than I thought it would be, even if the ending was a little convoluted and messy.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 11, 2021
This is the fourth instalment in the “Evil” books, and it is just as good as the first three.
At the end of The Third Evil Corky and her cheerleaders finally defeat the “Evil” and it feels like a great trilogy has come to an end. Which it has…. but …. here comes a fourth book in which the “Evil” returns and the accidents start all again. Although titled “The New Evil”, the “Evil” in the book is the same as in the previous three. No real changes.
Corky and her friends Kimmy and Debra, come up with a plan to destroy the “Evil” once and for all. To do this, they take drastic action which results in a lot of school friends put in peril.
This is a great addition to the “Evil” series which finally closes the story.
Next up is The Evil Lives! A few years later and a new bunch of cheerleaders take on the “Evil”.
At the end of The Third Evil Corky and her cheerleaders finally defeat the “Evil” and it feels like a great trilogy has come to an end. Which it has…. but …. here comes a fourth book in which the “Evil” returns and the accidents start all again. Although titled “The New Evil”, the “Evil” in the book is the same as in the previous three. No real changes.
Corky and her friends Kimmy and Debra, come up with a plan to destroy the “Evil” once and for all. To do this, they take drastic action which results in a lot of school friends put in peril.
This is a great addition to the “Evil” series which finally closes the story.
Next up is The Evil Lives! A few years later and a new bunch of cheerleaders take on the “Evil”.
December 22, 2021
I distinctly remember reading The New Evil first as a kid. I saw Santa Clause about to murder a cheerleader at the library and thought “I NEED THIS.” I then went back and read the whole trilogy because, clearly, I loved it. Re-reading 25 years later and… let’s just say that this title does not live up to the glory of my fifth-grade memories. The New Evil is about as unnecessary as sequels come. It delivered a few memorable scenes and some truly weird moments but ultimately failed to elevate the story in any way. The Evil Spirit is the same as it ever was, hellbent on murder and petty high school drama. And it loves to dance in the middle of the night for some reason. I wish it had been given a name. Names have power. Corky, Kimmy, and Debra are back as our core cast. Unfortunately, the plot relies heavily on them having horrible ideas and making some really dumb decisions. It felt like a disservice to what they all went through in the first three books. There were way too many supporting characters in this book to keep track of. I stopped caring enough to keep track of them after a while. Compounding that was the way that the book wasted a ton of time in the first half without really going anywhere. It made for a far better second half, but it still relied heavily on some pretty terrible decision-making. Come to think of it, the whole Cheerleaders subseries has been a steady decline since The First Evil, so I’m glad to be done with this saga for a while. I’m officially all cheered out.
Score: 2
For my snark-filled, spoiler-laced, deep-dive review; check out my blog:
Blog Review I Instagram I Twitter
Score: 2
For my snark-filled, spoiler-laced, deep-dive review; check out my blog:
Blog Review I Instagram I Twitter
February 2, 2014
Rating: 3.5/5
The New Evil is the last Cheerleaders book featuring Corky and her friends. The girls are once more afraid that the Evil is back when strange accidents start happening at their school. But this time everyone looks like a suspect. This is the final battle between Corky and the Evil, and there are going to be a lot of casualties.
I really enjoyed this book. Once again accidents started happening and I thought it'd be a repeat of the previous three books, but in this one it's so hard to figure out who the Evil lives in. The revelation of the truth was a big twist that I truly enjoyed. The New Evil was just as creepy as the three previous books, and I think had the more freak accidents and deaths.
What I did not enjoy was the romance part. Corky is such a superficial character. It doesn't bother me when she runs for her life and tries to fight the Evil but when it comes to her love life...well, I just want to slap some sense into her. I don't know why Stine feels the need to have a love story in the Cheerleaders series. I think the books would be even better without it.
All in all, this was a quick, creepy read. I have the next one ready to go. And I can't wait to read about a new set of characters facing the Evil. Maybe they will have better luck than Corky and her friends.
The New Evil is the last Cheerleaders book featuring Corky and her friends. The girls are once more afraid that the Evil is back when strange accidents start happening at their school. But this time everyone looks like a suspect. This is the final battle between Corky and the Evil, and there are going to be a lot of casualties.
I really enjoyed this book. Once again accidents started happening and I thought it'd be a repeat of the previous three books, but in this one it's so hard to figure out who the Evil lives in. The revelation of the truth was a big twist that I truly enjoyed. The New Evil was just as creepy as the three previous books, and I think had the more freak accidents and deaths.
What I did not enjoy was the romance part. Corky is such a superficial character. It doesn't bother me when she runs for her life and tries to fight the Evil but when it comes to her love life...well, I just want to slap some sense into her. I don't know why Stine feels the need to have a love story in the Cheerleaders series. I think the books would be even better without it.
All in all, this was a quick, creepy read. I have the next one ready to go. And I can't wait to read about a new set of characters facing the Evil. Maybe they will have better luck than Corky and her friends.
January 26, 2020
When RL Stine goes over the top batshit, the books are always the most fun to experience. It also helps that we've been with some of these characters for 4 books at this point, so he doesn't really need to do much of the character introductions anymore.
May 3, 2020
R.L Stine's Fear Street series is always so bad that it is good but this one... was just plain terrible. It was my first read of his cheerleader series so I was a bit confused until R.L Stine literally summed all of the other books into one paragraph which I was thankful for but also aggravated by because he could have hinted at what occurred instead of just telling me the entire sypnosis of his other two books of the series. The dialogue was cringy and terrible. Instead of being concerned for their friend, they start freaking out over some "evil" that is returning. This book is one of the worst fear streets I have ever read.
December 9, 2020
Another really fun blast from the past. A bit lazy editing with this one though - Corky was rendered Gorky several times. Which name is worse is a bit of a toss up though.
I cared less for the Alex side plot, but overall, this was pretty fast paced and fun. A slightly new take on ”the evil” at least. A but inconsistent in how you get tid of it, but the ending was very chilling.
After four books I feel like Corky needs some serious therapy, lol.
Not to mention that cheerleaders keep getting maimed or dying at this school, so like, why do girls still sign up for this team?
Fun series, but four is enough so it is good this is the end.
Will miss these amazing covers though.
I cared less for the Alex side plot, but overall, this was pretty fast paced and fun. A slightly new take on ”the evil” at least. A but inconsistent in how you get tid of it, but the ending was very chilling.
After four books I feel like Corky needs some serious therapy, lol.
Not to mention that cheerleaders keep getting maimed or dying at this school, so like, why do girls still sign up for this team?
Fun series, but four is enough so it is good this is the end.
Will miss these amazing covers though.
June 13, 2021
4.25 stars. This was a fun follow-up to the trilogy and the stakes were higher. This book did feel a bit drawn out at parts, but I loved how it was hard to tell if Corky was losing her mind or if the evil was back. Review to come.
November 25, 2017
I liked this book for all the wrong reasons.
December 22, 2023
2.5 ⭐️
December 23, 2024
The ending felt a bit lacking compared to other Fear Street stories, especially in the Evil Cheerleaders series.
Only one teenager axed in this one.
Only one teenager axed in this one.
December 25, 2017
Kimmy: Put on your seatbelt.
Hannah: No need.
This is what they call foreshadowing, my friends.
I haven’t read the first three Cheerleaders books, but it was pretty easy to pick up on. The Evil is like IT.... a thing that needs a body to inhabit (I realize that’s slightly different than IT, but whatever). In the last book, Corky, our protagonist (does that make anyone else think of Cokey Mason?!), was the one inhabited by the Evil. The only way to get rid of it, apparently, is to drown yourself or the person affected by it. So Corky has to drown herself in order to get back to normal.
The quote I just mentioned happens in the first chapter. Naturally, Hannah goes flying through the windshield and cutting her head, forcing the remaining cheerleaders, Corky, Naomi, Kimmy, and Debra, to find a replacement. But because Corky has lived through the Evil three times, she immediately assumes Hannah’s accident is, well, no accident. Her friends agree: The Evil is back.
Corky has an on/off boyfriend in her life: Alex. He’s been kinda shady lately though. I actually thought he’d be the one to contain the Evil, since he is there when all the accidents happen, but that wasn’t the case. Just wait.
Corky has Alex take her down to the river to make sure it’s frozen and therefore the Evil hasn’t escaped (what do they do in the summertime?). But Corky notices a hole in the ice used for ice fishing. She sees a steam coming out of it, confirming her worst fears: the Evil IS back!!
And too soon they seem to be proven right. To replace Hannah, it is between Rochelle, Ivy, and Lauren. The girls decide on Rochelle, but as they do Ivy comes to the door and they worry she has overheard their decision. Next thing they know they are in the bleachers watching a screwdriver fall from a worker’s hands onto Rochelle’s neck. She, too, survives, but she obviously can’t be a cheerleader now. Ivy was second choice so she makes the team with Lauren as the alternate. The girls notice Ivy being a little too pleased with what happened to Rochelle and they think perhaps she has the Evil in her!
They are not dissuaded from this when at the next game Naomi is to do her fire baton routine and Ivy lights the batons. Naomi’s arm catches on fire and she has to go to the hospital, now requiring Lauren, Ivy’s friend, to fill in for her.
The girls decide they have to kill Ivy. Well, they have to drown her to get the Evil out and hope she lives. So they host a pre-Christmas skating party. They have a spell book they use to call forth the Evil. But it works a little too well! The girls find that the Evil wasn’t unleashed before, but they have now unleashed it!!! The black steam fog covers the whole skating rink.
Next chapter this seems to be forgotten as the whole team and the cheerleaders are in New Foster for a game. It seems the incidents have slowed down. They decide to try the confetti canons again, but when Corky pulls the string black tar shoots out on everyone. She realizes the Evil has followed them to the game. Then a spectacular cheerleader, Lena, is forced to do backflips over and over and she can’t stop. They have to strap her down on the gurney to get her to the hospital. Then the Tigers’ coach is killed.
The next night Corky, Debra, and Kimmy notice that everyone has gone to the lake without them. So they sneak off to see what’s going in. That’s when they realize... the Evil escaped and took over everyone except them!!! The girls scatter as they are spotted and chased. Corky loses track of Debra and Kimmy. When she is chased back to the lake, she sees Kimmy’s body floating underneath the ice. She screams, not caring who will hear her. She evades the Evil again and hides in a tree trunk. When all is quiet she heads back to the lodge.
There she sees everyone boarding the bus for the game like nothing has happened. But Corky knows they are still evil. When the driver runs back inside, Corky takes over the bus. She drives all of them off the cliff and into the lake, praying they will survive. Corky jumps out before the bus goes off the cliff. Pretty badass if you ask me! She then stumbles back to the lodge muttering like crazy, where she hallucinates everyone dead and coming after her in the gym.
The next morning Corky wakes up in the hospital to be greeted by Debra. She’s convinced everyone is still evil. She pushes past Debra and goes to Alex’s room. But it turns out he is all right and they were all saved by the local ice fisherman. Corky realizes she only hallucinated them being dead. Merry Christmas, they tell each other!
Unanswered questions: Naomi’s contacts always fall out of her eyes. Can that even happen? It’s never happened to me.
Hannah: No need.
This is what they call foreshadowing, my friends.
I haven’t read the first three Cheerleaders books, but it was pretty easy to pick up on. The Evil is like IT.... a thing that needs a body to inhabit (I realize that’s slightly different than IT, but whatever). In the last book, Corky, our protagonist (does that make anyone else think of Cokey Mason?!), was the one inhabited by the Evil. The only way to get rid of it, apparently, is to drown yourself or the person affected by it. So Corky has to drown herself in order to get back to normal.
The quote I just mentioned happens in the first chapter. Naturally, Hannah goes flying through the windshield and cutting her head, forcing the remaining cheerleaders, Corky, Naomi, Kimmy, and Debra, to find a replacement. But because Corky has lived through the Evil three times, she immediately assumes Hannah’s accident is, well, no accident. Her friends agree: The Evil is back.
Corky has an on/off boyfriend in her life: Alex. He’s been kinda shady lately though. I actually thought he’d be the one to contain the Evil, since he is there when all the accidents happen, but that wasn’t the case. Just wait.
Corky has Alex take her down to the river to make sure it’s frozen and therefore the Evil hasn’t escaped (what do they do in the summertime?). But Corky notices a hole in the ice used for ice fishing. She sees a steam coming out of it, confirming her worst fears: the Evil IS back!!
And too soon they seem to be proven right. To replace Hannah, it is between Rochelle, Ivy, and Lauren. The girls decide on Rochelle, but as they do Ivy comes to the door and they worry she has overheard their decision. Next thing they know they are in the bleachers watching a screwdriver fall from a worker’s hands onto Rochelle’s neck. She, too, survives, but she obviously can’t be a cheerleader now. Ivy was second choice so she makes the team with Lauren as the alternate. The girls notice Ivy being a little too pleased with what happened to Rochelle and they think perhaps she has the Evil in her!
They are not dissuaded from this when at the next game Naomi is to do her fire baton routine and Ivy lights the batons. Naomi’s arm catches on fire and she has to go to the hospital, now requiring Lauren, Ivy’s friend, to fill in for her.
The girls decide they have to kill Ivy. Well, they have to drown her to get the Evil out and hope she lives. So they host a pre-Christmas skating party. They have a spell book they use to call forth the Evil. But it works a little too well! The girls find that the Evil wasn’t unleashed before, but they have now unleashed it!!! The black steam fog covers the whole skating rink.
Next chapter this seems to be forgotten as the whole team and the cheerleaders are in New Foster for a game. It seems the incidents have slowed down. They decide to try the confetti canons again, but when Corky pulls the string black tar shoots out on everyone. She realizes the Evil has followed them to the game. Then a spectacular cheerleader, Lena, is forced to do backflips over and over and she can’t stop. They have to strap her down on the gurney to get her to the hospital. Then the Tigers’ coach is killed.
The next night Corky, Debra, and Kimmy notice that everyone has gone to the lake without them. So they sneak off to see what’s going in. That’s when they realize... the Evil escaped and took over everyone except them!!! The girls scatter as they are spotted and chased. Corky loses track of Debra and Kimmy. When she is chased back to the lake, she sees Kimmy’s body floating underneath the ice. She screams, not caring who will hear her. She evades the Evil again and hides in a tree trunk. When all is quiet she heads back to the lodge.
There she sees everyone boarding the bus for the game like nothing has happened. But Corky knows they are still evil. When the driver runs back inside, Corky takes over the bus. She drives all of them off the cliff and into the lake, praying they will survive. Corky jumps out before the bus goes off the cliff. Pretty badass if you ask me! She then stumbles back to the lodge muttering like crazy, where she hallucinates everyone dead and coming after her in the gym.
The next morning Corky wakes up in the hospital to be greeted by Debra. She’s convinced everyone is still evil. She pushes past Debra and goes to Alex’s room. But it turns out he is all right and they were all saved by the local ice fisherman. Corky realizes she only hallucinated them being dead. Merry Christmas, they tell each other!
Unanswered questions: Naomi’s contacts always fall out of her eyes. Can that even happen? It’s never happened to me.
February 7, 2019
This was at least better than the previous one. There were a lot of things that didn’t make sense when it came to the evil being contained to the river and how it would or wouldn’t be able to get out. I found it funny that . The last part was actually really good though. I only wish the rest of the story had been as interesting as the scene . It felt like I was kind of bored 90% of the time that I was reading and then there was an exciting twenty pages before the book was suddenly over with.
Also, as a side note, I know that each book in this series deals with an evil that possesses a person, but I was low-key getting Silent Night vibes from the cover. I was just a little sad that the cover was so misleading because I would have been all about a story where there’s a psychotic Santa going around killing people.
Also, as a side note, I know that each book in this series deals with an evil that possesses a person, but I was low-key getting Silent Night vibes from the cover. I was just a little sad that the cover was so misleading because I would have been all about a story where there’s a psychotic Santa going around killing people.
December 29, 2022
First things first:
1) It did not take me five days to read this. More like two with the holiday and oh yeah...falling on the snow-covered ice on my tailbone and needing a whole day of rest on painkillers. Merry Christmas to me!
2) I know it's kind of weird to begin with the end of the original quadrilogy/middle of the series but it is holiday appropriate with an actual scene involving a Santa in the book.
That out of the way...
The Fear Street Cheerleaders...a franchise in itself. It likes the literary equivalent of the Scream franchise. This entry would be the Scream 4 where you thought it was over but it wasn't.
To sum up, an evil spirit that was buried with Sarah Fear took over the body of a cheerleader who died in a bus crash on top of her grave. It went through killing people by taking over various members of the Shadyside cheerleading squad.
Corky Corcoran had to drown herself to get rid of it (think like Final Destination 2) and it is now underneath the frozen waters. One girl who knew the whole story (Ronnie) now goes to a different school but Kimmy Bass and Debra Kern are the only others who know all about it.
Cheerleader Hannah Miles is riding in the car with Corky and Kimmy after practice and the brakes in Kimmy's car freeze up. Hannah goes through the windshield because she wasn't wearing her seatbelt but she survives although she can't cheer.
They hold tryouts for her replacement. Ivy Blake wants to be on the squad with her bestie Lauren Wilson but Rochelle Drexler gets the coveted spot until...a screwdriver falls from the bleachers and stabs her in the neck. She survives but of course can't cheer so Ivy gets on the squad.
Lauren isn't happy and tries to be all snooty to Corky by saying she's been seeing her boyfriend Alex. Alex is a basketball player and a super smart guy but he's known to flirt with the girls. He helps a lot of them study but lately he's kinda been blowing Corky off with lame excuses...interesting.
Ivy talks to the cheerleading coach to have Lauren be an alternate so she comes to practices to learn the routines in case one of the other cheerleaders...can't cheer. Wouldn't you know...another horrible accident happens when Naomi has a mishap with a fire baton.
Kimmy and Debra believe that the evil spirit is either in Ivy or Lauren since the accidents put them on the squad. Corky wants to put this all behind her but when she spots some ice fishing holes in the lake...the theory doesn't seem that wild.
Debra is into all of the occult and spells to try and protect them but they have to be sure Ivy or Lauren just aren't you know...telekinetic or something. They plan to cast a spell to draw the evil out to them so they can get rid of it but instead...they bring it back.
They wanted to drown the girl they thought was possessed by the evil and now, since it happened at a party on the lake they were holding as a ruse, there are now another cheerleader and the whole freaking basketball team on the list of horrific hosts to this ancient spirit.
And this time, the cheerleaders might be one and done...forever.
So at first everything that happens is terrifying but no one actually dies and then we get some pretty chilling deaths. It seemed everything was finished with the cheerleaders at this point so we got a death we never thought we would get (kind of like Scream so...)
This led up to a lot of tension and thrills but the ending could have been handled so much better if this was supposed to be the actual finale. I still stand by my five star rating because it would still be 4.5 rounded up but that ending...
Looking at it being older, it's just not cool. If you know...you know.
1) It did not take me five days to read this. More like two with the holiday and oh yeah...falling on the snow-covered ice on my tailbone and needing a whole day of rest on painkillers. Merry Christmas to me!
2) I know it's kind of weird to begin with the end of the original quadrilogy/middle of the series but it is holiday appropriate with an actual scene involving a Santa in the book.
That out of the way...
The Fear Street Cheerleaders...a franchise in itself. It likes the literary equivalent of the Scream franchise. This entry would be the Scream 4 where you thought it was over but it wasn't.
To sum up, an evil spirit that was buried with Sarah Fear took over the body of a cheerleader who died in a bus crash on top of her grave. It went through killing people by taking over various members of the Shadyside cheerleading squad.
Corky Corcoran had to drown herself to get rid of it (think like Final Destination 2) and it is now underneath the frozen waters. One girl who knew the whole story (Ronnie) now goes to a different school but Kimmy Bass and Debra Kern are the only others who know all about it.
Cheerleader Hannah Miles is riding in the car with Corky and Kimmy after practice and the brakes in Kimmy's car freeze up. Hannah goes through the windshield because she wasn't wearing her seatbelt but she survives although she can't cheer.
They hold tryouts for her replacement. Ivy Blake wants to be on the squad with her bestie Lauren Wilson but Rochelle Drexler gets the coveted spot until...a screwdriver falls from the bleachers and stabs her in the neck. She survives but of course can't cheer so Ivy gets on the squad.
Lauren isn't happy and tries to be all snooty to Corky by saying she's been seeing her boyfriend Alex. Alex is a basketball player and a super smart guy but he's known to flirt with the girls. He helps a lot of them study but lately he's kinda been blowing Corky off with lame excuses...interesting.
Ivy talks to the cheerleading coach to have Lauren be an alternate so she comes to practices to learn the routines in case one of the other cheerleaders...can't cheer. Wouldn't you know...another horrible accident happens when Naomi has a mishap with a fire baton.
Kimmy and Debra believe that the evil spirit is either in Ivy or Lauren since the accidents put them on the squad. Corky wants to put this all behind her but when she spots some ice fishing holes in the lake...the theory doesn't seem that wild.
Debra is into all of the occult and spells to try and protect them but they have to be sure Ivy or Lauren just aren't you know...telekinetic or something. They plan to cast a spell to draw the evil out to them so they can get rid of it but instead...they bring it back.
They wanted to drown the girl they thought was possessed by the evil and now, since it happened at a party on the lake they were holding as a ruse, there are now another cheerleader and the whole freaking basketball team on the list of horrific hosts to this ancient spirit.
And this time, the cheerleaders might be one and done...forever.
So at first everything that happens is terrifying but no one actually dies and then we get some pretty chilling deaths. It seemed everything was finished with the cheerleaders at this point so we got a death we never thought we would get (kind of like Scream so...)
This led up to a lot of tension and thrills but the ending could have been handled so much better if this was supposed to be the actual finale. I still stand by my five star rating because it would still be 4.5 rounded up but that ending...
Looking at it being older, it's just not cool. If you know...you know.
August 27, 2018
The New Fear is the fourth book in the Cheerleaders series. Corky and the rest of the Shadyside Cheerleaders thought they had defeated the Evil Spirit in the lake at Shadyside. Gone forever and can live without fear. Wrong. Ronnie moved away and so did the cheerleading coach giving us an uninspired coach that didn't know any of the squad's previous struggles...also leaving room for cheerleading tryouts. Except that's when the accidents start again. The girls no the truth, the evil is back! The finale of this one is epic! Great spooky visuals and fast-paced action! However, the build up is nonexistent and boring. It didn't feel like it fit with the previous trilogy.
May 21, 2017
While still neglecting to tie up some of the loose threads from the Second and third books, The New Evil succeeds in providing us with a sense of closure over the Cheerleaders subseries. Strangely, Stine didn't end it with one of his signature twist endings, but I don't mind that.
December 13, 2012
Killer cheerleaders? A main character named Corky?
It might have been three stars if they hadn't lied to me about killer Santa there. I was hoping he'd be a big part of the story.
It might have been three stars if they hadn't lied to me about killer Santa there. I was hoping he'd be a big part of the story.
April 3, 2019
5 ⭐
Sad that Corky had to go through the evil again. RIP Kimmy and the coach. Also the Raven as well. Glad everyone besides Kimmy is okay. Hope the Evil doesn't come back.
Sad that Corky had to go through the evil again. RIP Kimmy and the coach. Also the Raven as well. Glad everyone besides Kimmy is okay. Hope the Evil doesn't come back.
November 3, 2019
Meh. Once you’ve read one of the Cheerleaders books you’ve read them all, nothing special.
March 4, 2019
Reviewed on Lili Lost in a Book
Yay! We’re back with the Shadyside Cheerleaders! I love the Cheerleaders trilogy, so I was very much looking forward to reading this, and it was great! I love that it even has little recap of what previously happened to the girls because guess what, the evil is back!
That’s a good one, you guys... It’s like you forgot you’re in a Fear Street novel. Lol.
I really liked this book and the return of the Evil.
I also like that the climax took place out of town. I actually enjoy these little outings outside Fear Street and even Shadyside. Don’t get me wrong, I love the creepiness of Fear Street! But a little change of scenery every once in a while is nice, too.
And we get another main character death in this one which hasn’t happened wince Bobby in The First Evil ! I was so surprised! The death was just awful! R.L. Stine is very good at describing deaths and sprawling bodies. However, it’s a shame that the death happened off screen.
I have to say, Corky is probably one of my top favorite protagonists in any of the Fear Street books—I love her! She takes initiative and gets things done!
I also love that she isn’t petty and appreciates when another girl is good at cheerleading... unlike some of her teammates. And I also really liked Alex and Corky together—they were very cute!
Overall, I really enjoyed this book! Here I thought we were done with the Ancient Evil, but nope! And there’s a sequel to this book, so I’m interested to see what that one will bring. Anyway, I highly recommend the Fear Street Cheerleaders series!
Time for some Easter Eggs! Janie from The New Boy and Gary Brandt from The Overnight were mentioned!
The Fear Street connection: Corky still lives on Fear Street, even after everything that’s happened. Lol.
Yay! We’re back with the Shadyside Cheerleaders! I love the Cheerleaders trilogy, so I was very much looking forward to reading this, and it was great! I love that it even has little recap of what previously happened to the girls because guess what, the evil is back!
Corky: “The worst has already happened. Nothing else is going to happen to us. Right?”
“Right,” Debra and Naomi replied in unison.
That’s a good one, you guys... It’s like you forgot you’re in a Fear Street novel. Lol.
I really liked this book and the return of the Evil.
I also like that the climax took place out of town. I actually enjoy these little outings outside Fear Street and even Shadyside. Don’t get me wrong, I love the creepiness of Fear Street! But a little change of scenery every once in a while is nice, too.
And we get another main character death in this one which hasn’t happened wince Bobby in The First Evil ! I was so surprised! The death was just awful! R.L. Stine is very good at describing deaths and sprawling bodies. However, it’s a shame that the death happened off screen.
I have to say, Corky is probably one of my top favorite protagonists in any of the Fear Street books—I love her! She takes initiative and gets things done!
I also love that she isn’t petty and appreciates when another girl is good at cheerleading... unlike some of her teammates. And I also really liked Alex and Corky together—they were very cute!
Overall, I really enjoyed this book! Here I thought we were done with the Ancient Evil, but nope! And there’s a sequel to this book, so I’m interested to see what that one will bring. Anyway, I highly recommend the Fear Street Cheerleaders series!
Time for some Easter Eggs! Janie from The New Boy and Gary Brandt from The Overnight were mentioned!
The Fear Street connection: Corky still lives on Fear Street, even after everything that’s happened. Lol.
September 15, 2023
Voor R.L. Stine normen heeft het even geduurd vooraleer hij met een nieuw deel in de Fear Street Cheerleaders reeks kwam. Hij schreef de oorspronkelijke trilogie volledig in 1992 en eigenlijk is het wel logisch dat het twee jaar duurde vooraleer hij met iets nieuw afkwam: de verhaallijn rond Corky was namelijk echt wel afgerond. Ik had dan ook ergens verwacht dat New Evil een reboot ging zijn (zeker met zo’n titel), maar nee: het is gewoon hetzelfde kwaad en dezelfde personages.
Dat zorgt ervoor dat er wel weer een lekkere flow in het boek zit omdat Stine weinig tijd moet spenderen aan het uitleggen wie juist wie is. We kennen Corky ondertussen goed genoeg, we weten wat er met haar zus is gebeurd en we kennen de andere personages ook goed genoeg. New Evil is wel beduidend het dikste boek in de reeks tot nu toe en Stine gebruikt die extra pagina’s dan ook vooral om nieuwe personages te introduceren. Een beetje vers bloed dus, maar ik ben niet zo wild van heel de relatie tussen Corky en Alex. Er zijn zoveel red flags tussen die twee dat je er een circustent mee kunt vullen en het doet eigenlijk een beetje afbreuk aan de opbouw van Corky in de vorige drie delen. Verder is dit in ieder geval wel terug volledig Stine. Hier en daar redelijk bloederig (er is in deze reeks geen enkele dood zo memorabel als die van Bobbi in het eerste deel, maar de manier waarop die basketbalcoach aan zijn einde komt… Dat komt toch wel wat in de buurt) en de korte hoofdstukken eindigen altijd met een cliffhanger waardoor je toch makkelijk weer een pagina omslaat. Dat is dan ook wel het voordeel aan deze reeks, het zijn perfecte tussendoortjes wanneer je zin hebt in gewoon eens één a twee dagen hersenloos lezen.
Vandaar dat ik de reeks sowieso nog ga afwerken door het vijfde deel te lezen. Dat is een deel dat ik nooit gelezen heb, dus geen idee wat ik moet verwachten. Ik vermoed gewoon meer van hetzelfde, maar er zit opnieuw best wel wat tijd tussen de verschillende delen. Hopelijk kan Stine fris uit de hoek komen, maar het is wel duidelijk dat vooral het eerste boek (en in mindere mate ook het tweede boek) de beste delen zijn in de Fear Street Cheerleaders reeks.
Dat zorgt ervoor dat er wel weer een lekkere flow in het boek zit omdat Stine weinig tijd moet spenderen aan het uitleggen wie juist wie is. We kennen Corky ondertussen goed genoeg, we weten wat er met haar zus is gebeurd en we kennen de andere personages ook goed genoeg. New Evil is wel beduidend het dikste boek in de reeks tot nu toe en Stine gebruikt die extra pagina’s dan ook vooral om nieuwe personages te introduceren. Een beetje vers bloed dus, maar ik ben niet zo wild van heel de relatie tussen Corky en Alex. Er zijn zoveel red flags tussen die twee dat je er een circustent mee kunt vullen en het doet eigenlijk een beetje afbreuk aan de opbouw van Corky in de vorige drie delen. Verder is dit in ieder geval wel terug volledig Stine. Hier en daar redelijk bloederig (er is in deze reeks geen enkele dood zo memorabel als die van Bobbi in het eerste deel, maar de manier waarop die basketbalcoach aan zijn einde komt… Dat komt toch wel wat in de buurt) en de korte hoofdstukken eindigen altijd met een cliffhanger waardoor je toch makkelijk weer een pagina omslaat. Dat is dan ook wel het voordeel aan deze reeks, het zijn perfecte tussendoortjes wanneer je zin hebt in gewoon eens één a twee dagen hersenloos lezen.
Vandaar dat ik de reeks sowieso nog ga afwerken door het vijfde deel te lezen. Dat is een deel dat ik nooit gelezen heb, dus geen idee wat ik moet verwachten. Ik vermoed gewoon meer van hetzelfde, maar er zit opnieuw best wel wat tijd tussen de verschillende delen. Hopelijk kan Stine fris uit de hoek komen, maar het is wel duidelijk dat vooral het eerste boek (en in mindere mate ook het tweede boek) de beste delen zijn in de Fear Street Cheerleaders reeks.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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