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Goosebumps #43
The Beast from the East
EVERY BEAST FOR HIMSELF!
Ginger Wald and her identical twin brothers, Nat and Pat, are lost in the woods. No problem. After all, Ginger did go to that stupid nature camp.
Still, there's something odd about this part of the woods. The grass is yellow. The bushes are purple. And the trees are like skyscrapers.
Then Ginger and her brothers meet the beasts. They're big blue furry creatures. And they want to play a game. But in this game, the winners get to live. The losers get eaten. . . .
Ginger Wald and her identical twin brothers, Nat and Pat, are lost in the woods. No problem. After all, Ginger did go to that stupid nature camp.
Still, there's something odd about this part of the woods. The grass is yellow. The bushes are purple. And the trees are like skyscrapers.
Then Ginger and her brothers meet the beasts. They're big blue furry creatures. And they want to play a game. But in this game, the winners get to live. The losers get eaten. . . .
118 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published May 1, 1996
96 people are currently reading
3912 people want to read
About the author
R.L. Stine
1,679 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 333 reviews
October 22, 2018
#43 "He's a real animal!"
Wanna play a game? Ginger and her twin brothers are lost in a part of the woods that is very strange. They're on a camping trip and cannot find their parents. But what they do find are beasts! Beasts who can talk. And they want to play a game... a game of survival!
Wanna play a game? Ginger and her twin brothers are lost in a part of the woods that is very strange. They're on a camping trip and cannot find their parents. But what they do find are beasts! Beasts who can talk. And they want to play a game... a game of survival!
September 26, 2022
In The Beast from the East, three siblings--Ginger and her unimaginatively-named younger brothers Pat and Nat (who are also identical twins! who would have thought?)--get lost on a camping trip with their parents and stumble into a strange part of the woods filled with purple umbrella-shaped trees and other odd plants and animals. There they run into a group of giant, furry, blue beasts that force them to play a game called the Beast from the East, which is essentially tag. If the kids lose the game of tag they will be eaten by the beasts. They only have until sundown to win. Can they avoid this grim fate and beat the beasts at their own game?
This one wasn't bad! It's one of the better-written and less repetitive entries I've reread so far in the original Goosebumps series. The danger to the kids is real and knowing that they will actually die if they fail is uncommonly dramatic and high stakes for this series, which made this one a bit more interesting than the average entry. One thing I found really annoying was R.L. Stine's constantly having the beasts mention previously unknown rules in the middle of the game. These were clearly just rules Stine was making up on the fly to keep the story going, and this recurring plot device became stale rather quickly.
Overall, you could do a lot worse than The Beast from the East if you're looking to read a Goosebumps book. It's not really scary at all, but it's a neat little adventure story, and the classic Goosebumps twist at the end is actually half decent. Not bad, Stine. Not bad.
CAWPILE rating:
Characters: 6.5
Atmosphere / Setting: 6.0
Writing Style: 6.5
Plot: 6.5
Intrigue: 6.0
Logic / Relationships: 4.5
Enjoyment: 5.5
= 41.5 total
÷ 7 categories = 5.92 out of 10
= 3 stars
This one wasn't bad! It's one of the better-written and less repetitive entries I've reread so far in the original Goosebumps series. The danger to the kids is real and knowing that they will actually die if they fail is uncommonly dramatic and high stakes for this series, which made this one a bit more interesting than the average entry. One thing I found really annoying was R.L. Stine's constantly having the beasts mention previously unknown rules in the middle of the game. These were clearly just rules Stine was making up on the fly to keep the story going, and this recurring plot device became stale rather quickly.
Overall, you could do a lot worse than The Beast from the East if you're looking to read a Goosebumps book. It's not really scary at all, but it's a neat little adventure story, and the classic Goosebumps twist at the end is actually half decent. Not bad, Stine. Not bad.
CAWPILE rating:
Characters: 6.5
Atmosphere / Setting: 6.0
Writing Style: 6.5
Plot: 6.5
Intrigue: 6.0
Logic / Relationships: 4.5
Enjoyment: 5.5
= 41.5 total
÷ 7 categories = 5.92 out of 10
= 3 stars
July 13, 2021
This isn’t one of my top favourite Goosebumps stories but it’s still pretty damn great! I like the idea behind this particular story but I just found the execution lacked the usual sparkle these books have. It was missing that little something extra to truly creep me out and earn its full five star potential. I don’t think I could ever hate a Goosebumps book and even though this one isn’t my fave I do still love it because what I’m really looking for while reading these again as an adult is the nostalgia and the feeling of being a kid again. And this story still serves that in spades despite my little issues with it!
September 8, 2021
During this period in the Goosebumps series Stine mainly focused on action/adventure type of storylines.
Ginger and her twin brothers stumble into a game of Tag with a group of blue furred gorilla like monsters!
This book is certainly weird, it really taps into the playfulness of the game.
I always prefer the more spookier storylines, but this is an entertaining entry in the series.
Ginger and her twin brothers stumble into a game of Tag with a group of blue furred gorilla like monsters!
This book is certainly weird, it really taps into the playfulness of the game.
I always prefer the more spookier storylines, but this is an entertaining entry in the series.
April 29, 2015
"Quiet! Here comes the Beast from the East. Don't make a sound or he'll find you!"
...
This book is SO weird but very enjoyable. It starts out with one of the most amazing openings:
When I was a really little girl, my mom would tuck me into bed at night. She would whisper, "Good night, Ginger. Good night. Don't let the bed bugs bite."
I didn't know what bedbugs were. I pictured fat red bugs with big eyes and spidery legs, crawling under the sheet. Just thinking about them made me itchy all over.
After Mom kissed me on the forehead and left, Dad would step into my room and sing to me. Very softly. The same song every night. "The Teddy Bears' Picnic."
I don't know hwy he thought that song made a good lullaby. It was about going into the woods and finding hundreds and hundreds of bears.
The song gave me the shivers. What were the bears eating at their picnic? Children?
After Dad kissed me on the forehead and left the room, I'd be itching and shaking for hours.
GREAT OPENING. Ginger, her parents, and her twin 10-year-old brothers Pat and Nat, go on a camping trip. But the kids get lost in the woods. Woods that don't really look familiar. Woods with strange creatures and sentient trees.
The children meet some huge, 8-foot, blue-furred creatures. To the kids' shock, the creatures speak English. One, named Fleg, slaps Ginger on the shoulder. She's now The Beast From the East.
The creatures have now tagged her. If she can't remain hidden and uncaptured by sunset - they will eat her. She is told that she and her brothers better get running!
Caught in an alien, deadly game of Tag with rules Ginger can't understand, trapped in an exotic jungle - Ginger is fighting in a game of survival. Can she and her brothers win the game and save their lives?
...
Tl;dr - This is one of the more bizarre Stine books. But it is fun, weird, cool, and engaging. There are few things children like more than imagining crazy, weird-looking beasts and Stine even flirts with creating a strange language in this book - let's just say that by the end, your children will be able to count to five in ... whatever alien language the beasts speak! LOL So cool.
...
This book is SO weird but very enjoyable. It starts out with one of the most amazing openings:
When I was a really little girl, my mom would tuck me into bed at night. She would whisper, "Good night, Ginger. Good night. Don't let the bed bugs bite."
I didn't know what bedbugs were. I pictured fat red bugs with big eyes and spidery legs, crawling under the sheet. Just thinking about them made me itchy all over.
After Mom kissed me on the forehead and left, Dad would step into my room and sing to me. Very softly. The same song every night. "The Teddy Bears' Picnic."
I don't know hwy he thought that song made a good lullaby. It was about going into the woods and finding hundreds and hundreds of bears.
The song gave me the shivers. What were the bears eating at their picnic? Children?
After Dad kissed me on the forehead and left the room, I'd be itching and shaking for hours.
GREAT OPENING. Ginger, her parents, and her twin 10-year-old brothers Pat and Nat, go on a camping trip. But the kids get lost in the woods. Woods that don't really look familiar. Woods with strange creatures and sentient trees.
The children meet some huge, 8-foot, blue-furred creatures. To the kids' shock, the creatures speak English. One, named Fleg, slaps Ginger on the shoulder. She's now The Beast From the East.
The creatures have now tagged her. If she can't remain hidden and uncaptured by sunset - they will eat her. She is told that she and her brothers better get running!
Caught in an alien, deadly game of Tag with rules Ginger can't understand, trapped in an exotic jungle - Ginger is fighting in a game of survival. Can she and her brothers win the game and save their lives?
...
Tl;dr - This is one of the more bizarre Stine books. But it is fun, weird, cool, and engaging. There are few things children like more than imagining crazy, weird-looking beasts and Stine even flirts with creating a strange language in this book - let's just say that by the end, your children will be able to count to five in ... whatever alien language the beasts speak! LOL So cool.
February 9, 2019
Another one of the better ones from the later books, but so, so strange.
I don't even know why I liked it. I guess I just have this weakness for strange alien animals.
Super strange but if you just kinda go with it it's a pretty fun ride.
I don't even know why I liked it. I guess I just have this weakness for strange alien animals.
Super strange but if you just kinda go with it it's a pretty fun ride.
May 19, 2014
This was one of my favorite books as a child. My copy is ripped, dog eared, and full of Goosebumps stickers I received for subscribing to the scholastic book program at school. I loved Goosebumps, because they were scary but not over the top. We never find out if Ginger, Pat and Nat survive level three of Beast from the East. We don't know how they stumbled into Beast territory even. Still, with the scary blue beast on the front, this or any other Goosebumps books should be a winner.
I bought Goosebumps on dvd too, my sister and I used to own and watch around 80 different videos every school holidays and after school. The same movies, over and over, became favorites. My dad worked at Coles and brought them home if they had damaged cases or sat around too long. Those videos are long gone, but they were a salvation back when money was too tight for frivolous entertainment. Some of the Goosebumps videos inevitably becamd favorites, so it's been fun seeing them again.
Recommended for young readers who struggle to connect with books. Even though they're set in the 90s, kids could still relate today because the characters are always generic. I know I loved them back then!
I bought Goosebumps on dvd too, my sister and I used to own and watch around 80 different videos every school holidays and after school. The same movies, over and over, became favorites. My dad worked at Coles and brought them home if they had damaged cases or sat around too long. Those videos are long gone, but they were a salvation back when money was too tight for frivolous entertainment. Some of the Goosebumps videos inevitably becamd favorites, so it's been fun seeing them again.
Recommended for young readers who struggle to connect with books. Even though they're set in the 90s, kids could still relate today because the characters are always generic. I know I loved them back then!
December 31, 2021
I spent a month re-reading all 62 original Goosebumps books to see if they still hold up today, you can check out my 3.5 hour vlog here: https://youtu.be/2C73xc1FS5o
You can also check out my entire ranking of the original Goosebumps books where I review them from worst to best here: https://youtu.be/lBfaxCOwAnA
You can also check out my entire ranking of the original Goosebumps books where I review them from worst to best here: https://youtu.be/lBfaxCOwAnA
October 7, 2025
7.5/10
This was my second time reading this one and I have to admit, it’s not as good as I remembered, but nonetheless it was still a good read.
This was my second time reading this one and I have to admit, it’s not as good as I remembered, but nonetheless it was still a good read.
July 26, 2025
How have I never read this hidden GEM?! This has to be an unpopular opinion but I think that was a flawless Goosebumps book. The perfect mixture between spooky and silly. I also loved the “games” aspect of the story. It really brought on the suspense and had me questioning what twist Stine was going to hit me with next. I think this book just jumped into my top 5!
November 8, 2024
This one was completely off the wall (for that reason it reminded me of "Legend of the Lost Legend"). Not my taste personally and some moments were exceedingly frustrating.
August 17, 2020
Games can be a ton of fun! But what about when it's a game you've never heard of? With rules you do not understand that seemingly keep changing? With a bunch of beasts? And... the loser will be eaten? This is some middle grade survival horror at it's best! We've got snakes, vines, trees, bugs... wait, are we reading The Ruins or a Goosebumps book here?! Seriously had a blast with this one and forgot how this ending had another little twist. Definitely a recommended read for this series!
December 6, 2024
One of the funnest books ever in Goosebumps. The beasts (which aren’t actually called Beasts from the East) are awesome creatures. The setting was great. This was kind of a Camp book but kind of not, which is kind of cool. The plot and story was fucking fantastic. Had the usual bug related scenes. Which is gross. Little to no issues with this one. 9/10.
October 25, 2022
The cover image and title give The Beast From the East a definite Asian-feel, but forget any notions you had about carnivorous pandas or demonic blue koalas, because R.L. Stine set this story firmly in the woods of the U.S. midwest.
12-year old Ginger and her younger twin brothers, Pat and Nat get lost while on a family camping trip, and meet some creatures that force them into a version of tag called Beast from the East. Not only are the rules unclear to the kids, but whoever is “It” (“Beast from the East”) when the sun goes down gets eaten!
It’s not a bad concept, but it never feels creepy or even mildly scary, even with the game’s high stakes, so it felt a bit off-brand. I don’t expect impressive world-building from a ~100 page kids’ book, but the book could’ve benefited from developing the strange world Ginger and her siblings stumble into.
You also have to ignore the implausible convenience of primitive animal creatures having “universal language adaptor” technology (and the inconsistency of them then speaking English except for numbers, and having signs written in English). Stine could’ve made it more believable had the kids encountered another human who had been stuck playing the game for a long time (yes, this would require slightly changing the parameters of the game) and could explain the rules to the kids (Or, Stine could’ve just not made the beasts’ speaking English something that needed explaining).
The twist that results in the end of the game is good, and the final twist is a classic ominous-yet-humorous Goosebumps cliffhanger… but it doesn’t make sense with the narration at the beginning.
In terms of a deadly game of tag with beasts in the woods, Stine connected all the dots and checked off all the boxes. It just probably would've been better if he had gone in a completely different (Asian-inspired) direction.
12-year old Ginger and her younger twin brothers, Pat and Nat get lost while on a family camping trip, and meet some creatures that force them into a version of tag called Beast from the East. Not only are the rules unclear to the kids, but whoever is “It” (“Beast from the East”) when the sun goes down gets eaten!
It’s not a bad concept, but it never feels creepy or even mildly scary, even with the game’s high stakes, so it felt a bit off-brand. I don’t expect impressive world-building from a ~100 page kids’ book, but the book could’ve benefited from developing the strange world Ginger and her siblings stumble into.
You also have to ignore the implausible convenience of primitive animal creatures having “universal language adaptor” technology (and the inconsistency of them then speaking English except for numbers, and having signs written in English). Stine could’ve made it more believable had the kids encountered another human who had been stuck playing the game for a long time (yes, this would require slightly changing the parameters of the game) and could explain the rules to the kids (Or, Stine could’ve just not made the beasts’ speaking English something that needed explaining).
The twist that results in the end of the game is good, and the final twist is a classic ominous-yet-humorous Goosebumps cliffhanger… but it doesn’t make sense with the narration at the beginning.
In terms of a deadly game of tag with beasts in the woods, Stine connected all the dots and checked off all the boxes. It just probably would've been better if he had gone in a completely different (Asian-inspired) direction.
April 27, 2022
For one of the more famous Goosebumps books I was surprised how unexciting and lackluster this one was. Ginger mostly just runs around the book yelling "Help!" or "Pat!" or "Nat!" and that's just about it for her. And that ending... I mean I love a good Goosebumps twist but this means that the whole book was absolutely pointless and kinda takes away from any kind of story that was there. Old man yells at kid's book. 1/10
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July 12, 2024Oh my god. I've been trying to figure out whether my hazy memories of this book (yellow grass, purple bushes, trees like skyscrapers, and terrifying blue monsters, oh my!) were real or nothing but a childhood fever dream for YEARS. Of freaking course it's Goosebumps.
August 6, 2022
I honestly can't describe how bad this story is! Out of the 31 Goosebumps I've read this is by far the worst. It's like a really bad deleted scene from Alice in Wonderland.
January 5, 2019
They're baa-ack! Make way for the bestselling children's series of all time! With a fresh new look, GOOSEBUMPS is set to scare a whole new generation of kids. So reader beware--you're in for a scare!
Ginger Wald and her identical twin brothers, Nat and Pat, are lost in the woods. No problem. After all, Ginger did go to that stupid nature camp.
Still, there's something odd about this part of the woods. The grass is yellow. The bushes are purple. And the trees are like skyscrapers.
Then Ginger and her brothers meet the beasts. They're big blue furry creatures. And they want to play a game. The winners get to live. The losers get eaten. . . .
Ginger Wald and her identical twin brothers, Nat and Pat, are lost in the woods. No problem. After all, Ginger did go to that stupid nature camp.
Still, there's something odd about this part of the woods. The grass is yellow. The bushes are purple. And the trees are like skyscrapers.
Then Ginger and her brothers meet the beasts. They're big blue furry creatures. And they want to play a game. The winners get to live. The losers get eaten. . . .
June 14, 2022
This was such a quick read today and really reminded me of the fun I had reading Goosebumps books back when they first came out. Obviously I jumped right into the middle of the series, but since they're all individual books it doesn't really matter, does it? I hadn't ever read this one (that I recall anyways) so it was a fun little adventure through some middle grade horror and I loved the little mentions of nostalgia like Game Boys that definitely would've made kids excited to read this.
March 23, 2021
Haha - I'm going to play this game - haha.
I think this is one of the best books in Classic Goosebumps.
Stine really must have put a great deal of effort in planning out the whole game mentioned in this book.
A must read for everyone.
I think this is one of the best books in Classic Goosebumps.
Stine really must have put a great deal of effort in planning out the whole game mentioned in this book.
A must read for everyone.
January 13, 2022
Come sempre, molto divertente e "inquietante".
February 28, 2023
desperately trying to beat my reading slump any way I can, episode 1
September 27, 2015
I can tell that R.L. Stine really enjoyed writing The Beast From The East. When it comes to writing, he puts a lot of detail into the world that he creates and it makes for a very intriguing reading experience. Plus, all the characters are likable, action and tension are both present, and the ending is appropriate and weirdly satisfying. This can proudly join the ranks with other great Goosebumps installments.
Plot Synopsis: Ginger and her brothers, Nat and Pat, are out camping with their parents when they get lost in the forest. At first, Ginger doesn't think she'll have any problem finding their way back-until she winds up getting them even more lost. Soon, she and her brothers find themselves in a strange, unfamiliar part of the woods-one with bizarre plants and trees that tower over them like skyscrapers. And it's there that they met them-the Beasts. Large, blue beasts that want to play a game with them...a game where the loser gets eaten. Can Ginger escape the beasts before she and her brothers become their dinner?
The strange region of the forest where Ginger and her brothers get lost is very weird and vividly described. For me, a healthy amount of details makes a book even better and The Beast From The East does that perfectly. As for the plot, it's a very unique spin of the old "people get lost in the woods, terror ensues" plotline and adds creative elements to it. As the story progresses, there's a real sense of urgency and tension that puts you on the edge and makes you want to see the characters survive the Beasts' game. The game that the Beasts have the kids play is basically an all-in version of Tag and has many complex rules. While some rules come off as R.L. Stine just throwing in random stuff to keep the characters from dying, they all make sense and doesn't detract from the story.
The characters are all likable, especially Ginger. Once things starts getting tough, she manages to stay brave and alert and look out for her younger brothers while still having an appropriate amount of adolescent fear of the creatures they are being hunted by. Her brothers, Nat and Pat, while they at first come off as typical annoying little brothers, drop their annoying antics when things get serious for them. They don't really do much to help Ginger, but at least they don't get in her way or cause more trouble with their stupidity.
Overall, The Beast From The East was a very well written installment in the Goosebumps series. The writing is great, the characters are likable and very easy to root for, there's a feeling of suspense throughout the whole story, and the ending (which I won't spoil) felt right for the type of story that preceded it. Any Goosebumps or horror fan MUST read this book.
Pros: The detailed writing, the likable characters, the overlying feeling of suspense, and the appropriate ending.
Cons: None here.
(And thus, I have read all the Goosebumps books my grandmother has given me. It was a nice nostalgia trip and it has made me see why the Goosebumps series was so popular back in its' hayday. I might just check some out of the library sometime!)
Plot Synopsis: Ginger and her brothers, Nat and Pat, are out camping with their parents when they get lost in the forest. At first, Ginger doesn't think she'll have any problem finding their way back-until she winds up getting them even more lost. Soon, she and her brothers find themselves in a strange, unfamiliar part of the woods-one with bizarre plants and trees that tower over them like skyscrapers. And it's there that they met them-the Beasts. Large, blue beasts that want to play a game with them...a game where the loser gets eaten. Can Ginger escape the beasts before she and her brothers become their dinner?
The strange region of the forest where Ginger and her brothers get lost is very weird and vividly described. For me, a healthy amount of details makes a book even better and The Beast From The East does that perfectly. As for the plot, it's a very unique spin of the old "people get lost in the woods, terror ensues" plotline and adds creative elements to it. As the story progresses, there's a real sense of urgency and tension that puts you on the edge and makes you want to see the characters survive the Beasts' game. The game that the Beasts have the kids play is basically an all-in version of Tag and has many complex rules. While some rules come off as R.L. Stine just throwing in random stuff to keep the characters from dying, they all make sense and doesn't detract from the story.
The characters are all likable, especially Ginger. Once things starts getting tough, she manages to stay brave and alert and look out for her younger brothers while still having an appropriate amount of adolescent fear of the creatures they are being hunted by. Her brothers, Nat and Pat, while they at first come off as typical annoying little brothers, drop their annoying antics when things get serious for them. They don't really do much to help Ginger, but at least they don't get in her way or cause more trouble with their stupidity.
Overall, The Beast From The East was a very well written installment in the Goosebumps series. The writing is great, the characters are likable and very easy to root for, there's a feeling of suspense throughout the whole story, and the ending (which I won't spoil) felt right for the type of story that preceded it. Any Goosebumps or horror fan MUST read this book.
Pros: The detailed writing, the likable characters, the overlying feeling of suspense, and the appropriate ending.
Cons: None here.
(And thus, I have read all the Goosebumps books my grandmother has given me. It was a nice nostalgia trip and it has made me see why the Goosebumps series was so popular back in its' hayday. I might just check some out of the library sometime!)
November 27, 2024
I prefer my Goosebumps to be unapologetically weird, and Beast from the East more than delivered on that front. I enjoyed the way it was equal parts silly and scary at times. The kid characters were relatable, the beasts were quirky and unpredictable, and the magical forest setting gave the whole thing a nicely creepy and fantastical ambiance. At its strongest moments, I was reminded of One Day at Horrorland. Its biggest weakness, and the only notable one as far as I’m concerned, is that the rules were all a bit too contrived. Everything in the plot happened a bit too conveniently. It made it feel like no one really had to work for anything. Luck can only drive a plot so far, and I wish the formula was shaken up a bit toward the end. I still enjoyed the book as a whole. The luck aspect was used as an asset and a punchline, and the twist ending certainly implied that maybe luck had finally run out. I would say I want a sequel, but Stine’s record on sequels has me pretty content with this being left alone. This was an example of Stine leaning into his best instincts and avoiding his worst ones. Beast from the East was the most fun I’ve had reading one of these books in a while. At 43 books in, that’s really saying something.
Score: 4.5
For my snark-filled, spoiler-laced, deep-dive review; check out my blog:
Blog Review I Instagram I Twitter
Score: 4.5
For my snark-filled, spoiler-laced, deep-dive review; check out my blog:
Blog Review I Instagram I Twitter
July 31, 2013
I think this is a great example of using cliffhangers to entice younger readers to keep turning those pages!
Whereas otherwise I am not a fan of this book now as an adult, I recognise what an important example of learning to love reading this books stands for.
It's very Alice in Wonderland and I'm so jealous Stine get's away with writing something so ridiculous and it totally works. There are gross out moments (hello cave of bugs??) and the ending is a great one. I love how Stine doesn't always give happy endings, why does no one acknowledge the importance that something things don't work out?
Goosebumps are juvenile works for kids, but the books are now so much more. They're easy, they're silly, they're scary and even to this day some of them still give me Goosebumps! This one isn't a fav of mine but I'm happy this story is around because it invokes a never giving up attitude!
Whereas otherwise I am not a fan of this book now as an adult, I recognise what an important example of learning to love reading this books stands for.
It's very Alice in Wonderland and I'm so jealous Stine get's away with writing something so ridiculous and it totally works. There are gross out moments (hello cave of bugs??) and the ending is a great one. I love how Stine doesn't always give happy endings, why does no one acknowledge the importance that something things don't work out?
Goosebumps are juvenile works for kids, but the books are now so much more. They're easy, they're silly, they're scary and even to this day some of them still give me Goosebumps! This one isn't a fav of mine but I'm happy this story is around because it invokes a never giving up attitude!
November 9, 2011
These are one of those books that would be better as a movie but terrible as a book. If this were a movie it certainly wouldn't be a blockbuster film, but it would be for kids, if acting was done good it could be a funny film, but reading it..I have mixed feelings. Here you have three kids who walk around the woods somehow managed to reach some fantasy world with weird creatures and end up playing a deadly game of Tag (Book started going downhill from there) If you're it, you are labeled The Beast from the East. If time runs out, they eat you. I give the author credit, he made the book entertaining ...sort of, but the story itself was just..weird, no, lame is a better word. The cover fooled me. i thought it was going to be better. Speaking of the cover, notice the beasts hand? I actually know guys with fingernails that long! Creepy.
July 29, 2015
Source: I own this book.
Cost: Unknown
Title: The Beast from the East
Series: Goosebumps #43
Author: R.L. Stine
Overall Rating: 4 stars
THIS MADE ME LAUGH.
It was so clever and quick witted and I loved the little beasts, especially Spork! It was such a funny story about Ginger and her two brothers getting caught in the woods and being forced to play a game of Hide and Seek that would basically determine whether they live or die.
It was just such a funny ending as well! The poor kids in these books never win to be honest...And they're never older than 12...
Cost: Unknown
Title: The Beast from the East
Series: Goosebumps #43
Author: R.L. Stine
Overall Rating: 4 stars
THIS MADE ME LAUGH.
It was so clever and quick witted and I loved the little beasts, especially Spork! It was such a funny story about Ginger and her two brothers getting caught in the woods and being forced to play a game of Hide and Seek that would basically determine whether they live or die.
It was just such a funny ending as well! The poor kids in these books never win to be honest...And they're never older than 12...
June 8, 2014
Currently rereading my original Goosebumps collection
The Most Dangerous Game meets Goosebumps in one of the weirdest entries yet. Once the creatures started speaking I was thinking "This is going to be stupid", but the story becomes really funny and interesting when the game begins. I also loved the descriptions of the forest and the creatures. Kids will love this one.
Read from June 8, 2014 - June 8, 2014
The Most Dangerous Game meets Goosebumps in one of the weirdest entries yet. Once the creatures started speaking I was thinking "This is going to be stupid", but the story becomes really funny and interesting when the game begins. I also loved the descriptions of the forest and the creatures. Kids will love this one.
Read from June 8, 2014 - June 8, 2014
April 18, 2013
This was by far my favourite Goosebumps of this series. Loved these books as a kid!!!
October 19, 2023
Goosebumps: The Beast From the East by R. L. Stine is Goosebumps book 43 in the original series order. The story starts fast-paced and is pretty scary for the first 35 pages until the creatures speak their first words, You are it. Then you know what kind of Goosebumps story you're in for. The story has its lame moments but for the part, I was entertained and enjoyed the pace of the story. The cat and mouse game is changed to the creature and human in this story which makes it fun and exciting. The kids play a deadly game of tag for their lives with the threat that if they lose they will get eaten. The creatures start off scary but ruin it a little when they start to talk. This story is the kid-friendly version of Richard Bachman's aka Stephen King's The Running Man. In which unwitting players play a game of life and death where the rules aren't fully explained and easily broken. I felt the scene and setting were described well, I could easily envision the forest the kids were trapped in. The brother and sister relationship was excellent as the kids worked well together, and the older sister tried to stay calm for the younger brothers. The twist at the finale was lame but it set up a final twist that was decent and made sense. I seemed to like this story more than my fellow reviewers it is not great storytelling but fun. The Beast From the East was published on May 1, 1996.
Plot Summary: Ginger and her twin brothers Nat and Pat are on a nature hike with her parents. Ginger being the older sister is in charge of her younger brothers as they are left to explore but soon realize they are lost and find themselves hiding from these 8-foot blue furry creatures. Ginger and her brothers quickly find a place to hide and in the process, she loses her brother Pat as she hides with Nat. A Creature finds Ginger tags her with its big paw and says, You're it. You're the beast from the east. The rules are murky but basically, if you're it before sundown you're eaten.
What I Liked: The pace of the story is decently tension-filled, with a couple of breaks to explain the rules. The sibling dynamic works very well and adds to the heart of the story. The descriptions of scenery are some of the best in the Goosebumps series. The final twist worked well and you feel for the kids that are now kind of trapped. The bug scene worked well and made my skin itch.
What I Disliked: The reveal that it is a game of tag was too early and could have more tension built up before the reveal. I rolled my eyes at all the new rules but liked that it did play into the end of the story.
Recommendations: The story that it is all a game of tag will lead to eye rolls and I did too but the story is fun the tension and desperation worked for me. I think the first 30 pages will scare the younger kids because it is described like the T-Rex Scene in Jurassic Park where you hear the creature before you see them. I will recommend this book because it is so fun.
Rating: I rated Goosebumps: Beast From the East by R. L. Stine 4 out of 5 stars. This book barely made it to a 4-star but when looking at my 3-star reviews of Goosebumps books this book was better in a lot of ways.
Ranking: Here's my full ranking of the 43 Goosebumps books that I have read in order to my favorite to least favorite: 1) A Night in Terror Tower, 2) Stay Out of the Basement, 3) The Headless Ghost, 4) Ghost Beach, 5) Piano Lessons Can Be Murder, 6) The Haunted Mask, 7) The Horror at Camp Jellyjam, 8) One Day At Horrorland, 9) Night of the Living Dummy, 10) Welcome to Camp Nightmare, 11) A Shocker on Shock Street, 12)The Phantom of the Auditorium, 13) It Came From Beneath the Sink, 14) The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb, 15) Say Cheese and Die, 16) Let's Get Invisible, 17) The Scarecrow Walks at Midnight, 18) Welcome to Dead House, 19) Monster Blood II, 20) The Beast From the East, 21) The Girl who Cried Monster, 22)Deep Trouble, 23) The Ghost Next Door, 24)Night of the Living Dummy 2, 25) My Hairiest Adventure, 26) Be Careful What You Wish For... , 27) Return of the Mummy, 28) Why I'm Afraid of Bees, 29)The Haunted Mask II, 30)How I Got My Shrunken Head, 31) Attack of the Mutant, 32) Go Eat Worms!, 33) Revenge of the Lawn Gnomes, 34)The Werewolf of Fever Swamp, 33) Bad Hare Day, 36) Cuckoo Clock of Doom, 37) Monster Blood, 38)Night of the Living Dummy III, 39) The Barking Ghost, 40) Egg Monsters from Mars, 41) The Abominable Snowman of Pasadena, 42) You Can't Scare Me!, and 43) Monster Blood III.
Plot Summary: Ginger and her twin brothers Nat and Pat are on a nature hike with her parents. Ginger being the older sister is in charge of her younger brothers as they are left to explore but soon realize they are lost and find themselves hiding from these 8-foot blue furry creatures. Ginger and her brothers quickly find a place to hide and in the process, she loses her brother Pat as she hides with Nat. A Creature finds Ginger tags her with its big paw and says, You're it. You're the beast from the east. The rules are murky but basically, if you're it before sundown you're eaten.
What I Liked: The pace of the story is decently tension-filled, with a couple of breaks to explain the rules. The sibling dynamic works very well and adds to the heart of the story. The descriptions of scenery are some of the best in the Goosebumps series. The final twist worked well and you feel for the kids that are now kind of trapped. The bug scene worked well and made my skin itch.
What I Disliked: The reveal that it is a game of tag was too early and could have more tension built up before the reveal. I rolled my eyes at all the new rules but liked that it did play into the end of the story.
Recommendations: The story that it is all a game of tag will lead to eye rolls and I did too but the story is fun the tension and desperation worked for me. I think the first 30 pages will scare the younger kids because it is described like the T-Rex Scene in Jurassic Park where you hear the creature before you see them. I will recommend this book because it is so fun.
Rating: I rated Goosebumps: Beast From the East by R. L. Stine 4 out of 5 stars. This book barely made it to a 4-star but when looking at my 3-star reviews of Goosebumps books this book was better in a lot of ways.
Ranking: Here's my full ranking of the 43 Goosebumps books that I have read in order to my favorite to least favorite: 1) A Night in Terror Tower, 2) Stay Out of the Basement, 3) The Headless Ghost, 4) Ghost Beach, 5) Piano Lessons Can Be Murder, 6) The Haunted Mask, 7) The Horror at Camp Jellyjam, 8) One Day At Horrorland, 9) Night of the Living Dummy, 10) Welcome to Camp Nightmare, 11) A Shocker on Shock Street, 12)The Phantom of the Auditorium, 13) It Came From Beneath the Sink, 14) The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb, 15) Say Cheese and Die, 16) Let's Get Invisible, 17) The Scarecrow Walks at Midnight, 18) Welcome to Dead House, 19) Monster Blood II, 20) The Beast From the East, 21) The Girl who Cried Monster, 22)Deep Trouble, 23) The Ghost Next Door, 24)Night of the Living Dummy 2, 25) My Hairiest Adventure, 26) Be Careful What You Wish For... , 27) Return of the Mummy, 28) Why I'm Afraid of Bees, 29)The Haunted Mask II, 30)How I Got My Shrunken Head, 31) Attack of the Mutant, 32) Go Eat Worms!, 33) Revenge of the Lawn Gnomes, 34)The Werewolf of Fever Swamp, 33) Bad Hare Day, 36) Cuckoo Clock of Doom, 37) Monster Blood, 38)Night of the Living Dummy III, 39) The Barking Ghost, 40) Egg Monsters from Mars, 41) The Abominable Snowman of Pasadena, 42) You Can't Scare Me!, and 43) Monster Blood III.
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