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Fear Street #39
The Boy Next Door (Fear Street (Numbered PB)) by R L Stine
Lauren and Crystal think Scott has it all. He's the new star of Shadyside High's football team. And he's moved in right next door! Both girls will do anything. Say anything. Try anything to get the chance to go out with him. That's all either of them want. But that's all Scott's last girlfriend wanted, too--and now she's dead.
Hardcover
First published June 1, 1996
43 people are currently reading
2795 people want to read
About the author
R.L. Stine
1,679 books18.6k 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 163 reviews
June 18, 2019
Recordaba un poco distinta la experiencia de leer este libro.
Una historia que a mi parecer es un tanto más oscura que la mayoría del resto de los tomos de la calle del terror.
Me gusta que aquí la historia esté narrada por más personajes, le da más ritmo y consistencia a la trama.
Las protagonistas no me agradaron, aunque esas formas de ser y pensar le dieron más entretenimiento a los capitulos.
Predecible, sí, pero entretenido, ya lo creo.
Una historia que a mi parecer es un tanto más oscura que la mayoría del resto de los tomos de la calle del terror.
Me gusta que aquí la historia esté narrada por más personajes, le da más ritmo y consistencia a la trama.
Las protagonistas no me agradaron, aunque esas formas de ser y pensar le dieron más entretenimiento a los capitulos.
Predecible, sí, pero entretenido, ya lo creo.
August 9, 2012
Scott is the best villain ever. I loved this one!!
Glimpsing at Shadyside Snark, I see that this one has the same premise as First Date, which I was actually thinking about reading next. This one was different from any I have read before, but I might like this one less after I read First Date. Well, for now this one is original.
Moral of the Story: There is such a thing as being TOO prudish.
Body Count: 2
The Usual Suspect(s): Scott
Tagline: They were flirting - with death. (Awesome!)
Plot: The curtain opens to reveal Scott, The Good Son. How good? He kills girls that his mom disapproves of. Because he's just like her. He hates bad girls too. In fact, I loved the movie The Good Son. But I feel like this would have been a better plot for the movie. As long as they kept Elijah Wood. Scott is at the funeral of his former girlfriend, Dana. He told her to dive into a pool in the dark that he knew was empty. Splat for Dana! He liked her so much in the beginning, you see. When she was good. But as soon as she started dressing to reveal her figure and having enough confidence to wear make-up, Scott knew she had to go. He just has to KILL sometimes, natch. He has these dreams that aren't always just dreams. I love Scott. I DON'T love what he stands for, but as a villain in a teen novel he is quite top-notch.
Best friends (of course) Lynne & Crystal decide that they want Scott for themselves. Scott has just moved next door to Crystal. Crystal's sister Melinda seems like she might be a little interested in him too. She's a GOOD girl. She dresses in baggy clothes and has no fashion sense. Ironically she's the only one that has a chance with Scott. So the girls make a bet to see who will get him first. But there are two rules: 1. Whoever doesn't win has to be happy for whomever DOES get him and 2. They can't try and purposefully mess each other up. The first rule probably won't stick very long.
Crystal finds a piece of mail belonging to Scott's father in her mailbox. She's stoked that she now has a chance to talk to him. Meanwhile, Scott is dreaming about killing the dog of one of his many slutty neighbors. He is taking the garden shears to the dog's head. When he snaps out of it, he realizes he wasn't dreaming. He has just beheaded his neighbor's dog. Leave dogs out of this, Mr. Stine!
Crystal wanders over to find the whole gang at Scott's house: Lynne and their mutual friend Jake is always there. Jake doesn't see what the big deal is about Scott. If only he knew. They talk for a while, and Crystal tries to Jedi mind trick Scott into kissing her as she walks out of his bedroom. He's pretty intuitive and knows exactly what a "girl like her" is up to. He's glad she didn't try anything, though, so he doesn't have to kill her yet. Whew. That's a relief. He goes downstairs to look at the magazine and is relieved to find that it's a wholesome American Family magazine. Only, why is there a girl featured in a pair of jeans? Scott doesn't like jeans. They're not proper. He grabs nearby scissors and stabs himself in the hand for having set eyes on Magazine Girl. This was awesome, and it begs the question of what he'd do to himself if he ever watched porn.
Lynne seems to be making more headway with Scott than Crystal so far. This is by no means a GOOD thing. It means she's one of THOSE girls who knows what she wants and won't give up. So she accidentally on purpose leaves her backpack at Scott's house one day and when she goes in to retrieve it she kisses him ON THE LIPS. Scott proceeds to scrub his lips raw and plot how to murder Lynne for her womanly sins. Come to think of it, Scott sounds EXACTLY like the mom from Carrie. Hmmm.
Scott has decided to advance on Lynne himself and take her up to River Ridge the next night and throw her off the cliff. While they are in the car Lynne tries to get a little too close for comfort. Scott is crawling with disgust and grabs her hair so he can bash her head in. At that exact moment an old man comes up and asks for directions. Scott is extremely peeved, but he's also concerned with always committing the perfect murder. Therefore he knows he can't kill Lynne now that someone has seen the two of them together. So he goes back to ignoring her for several weeks.
One day Lynne and Crystal are joking around when Crystal decides to prank call Scott. Remember cordless phones? Awesome! Crystal puts on a hilarious French accent when Mr. Collins answers the phone. She does this twice and then quickly hangs up before she and Lynne choke with laughter. Then Lynne decides to have a go at it. Only this time Scott answers the phone and recognizes Lynne through her phony accent. Shit.
Cut to dinnertime with Mr. Perfect American Son and Mom. Scott is pissed that Lynne interrupted him eating dinner with his mom. His mom shouldn't have to suffer because of that unruly GIRL. Then we meet Mother Dearest. She tells Scott that Lynne doesn't know how to behave. Then she freaks out when Scott drops his fork and almost scratches her china. Oh Scott. How will you get out of this mess? Perhaps by killing Lynne and covering your tracks?
Exactly! Scott has turned Lynne into Lux Lisbon. He knocked her unconscious and put her in her car. Crystal is worried about her and comes over just in time to watch Lynne dying from carbon monoxide poisoning. In Lynne's room she finds a "suicide" note. Lynne claims that the way she acted was "no way to behave." Where have we heard that before? Crystal is, of course, devastated by Lynne's death. Scott doesn't feel much other than wishing that Lynne had behaved herself so he didn't have to kill her. He also approves of Crystal's choice of funeral attire: a long, black dress.
Mousy Melinda decides to step up and comfort Crystal. There's a party going on in town but Crystal couldn't feel less like going. Surprisingly, she gets a call from Scott. He pretends to be nice and actually care about her, and then he asks for Melinda. Melinda is shocked. Scott invites her to the party. Crystal thinks she should change her image before she goes, but Melinda likes the way she looks. It's a good thing, because when she shows up Scott dreams that he punches Melinda's jaw for wearing a mini-skirt! She's still wearing her potato sack skirt though. Crystal's influence hasn't worked - yet.
When Scott invites Melinda to dinner the following Saturday Crystal chases after with a blush brush. She ends up smearing rouge on Melinda's cheek so it's super noticeable to Scott when he picks her up. He is silent and angry all through dinner, but he decides to give her another chance. Too bad. The following week Melinda has completely transformed into Crystal because Crystal swears that Scott will LOVE the way she is all dressed up. Not so much. Scott bugs out when he sees Melinda's transformation at school. Crystal catches him punching his locker repeatedly and muttering "No way to behave, no way to behave!" Crystal feels weird... where has she heard that before? (In Lynne's suicide note, as it turns out.)
After they go see a movie, Melinda tries to engage Scott in conversation but he tries to throw her out his car door and onto the pavement! Then he pulls over and tells her that he liked the way she dressed before. Melinda tells him she is only doing this because Crystal said she would look better this way. Crystal! Of course! Scott is relieved that he doesn't have to kill Melinda now.... he just has to kill Crystal.
By the time Melinda and Scott get home Crystal has glued all the puzzle pieces together. Scott killed Lynne! She has to protect Melinda! Only she really needs to protect herself. As long as Melinda goes back to dressing like a potato, I'm sure she'll be fine. Crystal tries to warn Melinda when she comes through the door, but Melinda believes Scott's lies. She goes upstairs to change and refuses to listen to Crystal.
Scott is making his way to their house with a knife in his hand. Crystal tells Melinda not to open the door, but of course she isn't going to listen to logic. So she opens it and Scott starts heading for Crystal with the knife. Only Melinda and Crystal look so much alike now that Melinda starts crying that SHE'S really Crystal so that she can save her sister. I'm glad she came to her senses! Once Scott has changed from killing Crystal to Melinda, Crystal comes up behind him and smashes him with a vase. And though both of them have a car outside they instead run upstairs to the attic which will not protect them for long.
Scott finds them almost instantly, but lucky for them there is a hole in the attic that he falls through. They see him fall and assume that he's dead. However, since this book is an exact replica of Scream, Scott immediately reaches out and grabs Crystal's ankle when she comes downstairs. Then blood comes gushing out of his mouth and he lets go.
Three months later, Scott is in a mental institution (??), and a new hot neighbor has moved next door. Crystal and Melinda shove each other out of the way to get a good look at him. Maybe those girls were asking for it after all...
Gaping Plot Holes: Well, the name of the best friends on the back cover is Lauren and Crystal. In the book it's Lynne and Crystal. Also, the girl in the window is dressed like a GOOD girl. No leotards and jeans. Major fail, cover artist. Also, one minute Scott has blood coming out of his mouth and the next he's in a mental institution.
The Actual Suspect(s): Scott
Glimpsing at Shadyside Snark, I see that this one has the same premise as First Date, which I was actually thinking about reading next. This one was different from any I have read before, but I might like this one less after I read First Date. Well, for now this one is original.
Moral of the Story: There is such a thing as being TOO prudish.
Body Count: 2
The Usual Suspect(s): Scott
Tagline: They were flirting - with death. (Awesome!)
Plot: The curtain opens to reveal Scott, The Good Son. How good? He kills girls that his mom disapproves of. Because he's just like her. He hates bad girls too. In fact, I loved the movie The Good Son. But I feel like this would have been a better plot for the movie. As long as they kept Elijah Wood. Scott is at the funeral of his former girlfriend, Dana. He told her to dive into a pool in the dark that he knew was empty. Splat for Dana! He liked her so much in the beginning, you see. When she was good. But as soon as she started dressing to reveal her figure and having enough confidence to wear make-up, Scott knew she had to go. He just has to KILL sometimes, natch. He has these dreams that aren't always just dreams. I love Scott. I DON'T love what he stands for, but as a villain in a teen novel he is quite top-notch.
Best friends (of course) Lynne & Crystal decide that they want Scott for themselves. Scott has just moved next door to Crystal. Crystal's sister Melinda seems like she might be a little interested in him too. She's a GOOD girl. She dresses in baggy clothes and has no fashion sense. Ironically she's the only one that has a chance with Scott. So the girls make a bet to see who will get him first. But there are two rules: 1. Whoever doesn't win has to be happy for whomever DOES get him and 2. They can't try and purposefully mess each other up. The first rule probably won't stick very long.
Crystal finds a piece of mail belonging to Scott's father in her mailbox. She's stoked that she now has a chance to talk to him. Meanwhile, Scott is dreaming about killing the dog of one of his many slutty neighbors. He is taking the garden shears to the dog's head. When he snaps out of it, he realizes he wasn't dreaming. He has just beheaded his neighbor's dog. Leave dogs out of this, Mr. Stine!
Crystal wanders over to find the whole gang at Scott's house: Lynne and their mutual friend Jake is always there. Jake doesn't see what the big deal is about Scott. If only he knew. They talk for a while, and Crystal tries to Jedi mind trick Scott into kissing her as she walks out of his bedroom. He's pretty intuitive and knows exactly what a "girl like her" is up to. He's glad she didn't try anything, though, so he doesn't have to kill her yet. Whew. That's a relief. He goes downstairs to look at the magazine and is relieved to find that it's a wholesome American Family magazine. Only, why is there a girl featured in a pair of jeans? Scott doesn't like jeans. They're not proper. He grabs nearby scissors and stabs himself in the hand for having set eyes on Magazine Girl. This was awesome, and it begs the question of what he'd do to himself if he ever watched porn.
Lynne seems to be making more headway with Scott than Crystal so far. This is by no means a GOOD thing. It means she's one of THOSE girls who knows what she wants and won't give up. So she accidentally on purpose leaves her backpack at Scott's house one day and when she goes in to retrieve it she kisses him ON THE LIPS. Scott proceeds to scrub his lips raw and plot how to murder Lynne for her womanly sins. Come to think of it, Scott sounds EXACTLY like the mom from Carrie. Hmmm.
Scott has decided to advance on Lynne himself and take her up to River Ridge the next night and throw her off the cliff. While they are in the car Lynne tries to get a little too close for comfort. Scott is crawling with disgust and grabs her hair so he can bash her head in. At that exact moment an old man comes up and asks for directions. Scott is extremely peeved, but he's also concerned with always committing the perfect murder. Therefore he knows he can't kill Lynne now that someone has seen the two of them together. So he goes back to ignoring her for several weeks.
One day Lynne and Crystal are joking around when Crystal decides to prank call Scott. Remember cordless phones? Awesome! Crystal puts on a hilarious French accent when Mr. Collins answers the phone. She does this twice and then quickly hangs up before she and Lynne choke with laughter. Then Lynne decides to have a go at it. Only this time Scott answers the phone and recognizes Lynne through her phony accent. Shit.
Cut to dinnertime with Mr. Perfect American Son and Mom. Scott is pissed that Lynne interrupted him eating dinner with his mom. His mom shouldn't have to suffer because of that unruly GIRL. Then we meet Mother Dearest. She tells Scott that Lynne doesn't know how to behave. Then she freaks out when Scott drops his fork and almost scratches her china. Oh Scott. How will you get out of this mess? Perhaps by killing Lynne and covering your tracks?
Exactly! Scott has turned Lynne into Lux Lisbon. He knocked her unconscious and put her in her car. Crystal is worried about her and comes over just in time to watch Lynne dying from carbon monoxide poisoning. In Lynne's room she finds a "suicide" note. Lynne claims that the way she acted was "no way to behave." Where have we heard that before? Crystal is, of course, devastated by Lynne's death. Scott doesn't feel much other than wishing that Lynne had behaved herself so he didn't have to kill her. He also approves of Crystal's choice of funeral attire: a long, black dress.
Mousy Melinda decides to step up and comfort Crystal. There's a party going on in town but Crystal couldn't feel less like going. Surprisingly, she gets a call from Scott. He pretends to be nice and actually care about her, and then he asks for Melinda. Melinda is shocked. Scott invites her to the party. Crystal thinks she should change her image before she goes, but Melinda likes the way she looks. It's a good thing, because when she shows up Scott dreams that he punches Melinda's jaw for wearing a mini-skirt! She's still wearing her potato sack skirt though. Crystal's influence hasn't worked - yet.
When Scott invites Melinda to dinner the following Saturday Crystal chases after with a blush brush. She ends up smearing rouge on Melinda's cheek so it's super noticeable to Scott when he picks her up. He is silent and angry all through dinner, but he decides to give her another chance. Too bad. The following week Melinda has completely transformed into Crystal because Crystal swears that Scott will LOVE the way she is all dressed up. Not so much. Scott bugs out when he sees Melinda's transformation at school. Crystal catches him punching his locker repeatedly and muttering "No way to behave, no way to behave!" Crystal feels weird... where has she heard that before? (In Lynne's suicide note, as it turns out.)
After they go see a movie, Melinda tries to engage Scott in conversation but he tries to throw her out his car door and onto the pavement! Then he pulls over and tells her that he liked the way she dressed before. Melinda tells him she is only doing this because Crystal said she would look better this way. Crystal! Of course! Scott is relieved that he doesn't have to kill Melinda now.... he just has to kill Crystal.
By the time Melinda and Scott get home Crystal has glued all the puzzle pieces together. Scott killed Lynne! She has to protect Melinda! Only she really needs to protect herself. As long as Melinda goes back to dressing like a potato, I'm sure she'll be fine. Crystal tries to warn Melinda when she comes through the door, but Melinda believes Scott's lies. She goes upstairs to change and refuses to listen to Crystal.
Scott is making his way to their house with a knife in his hand. Crystal tells Melinda not to open the door, but of course she isn't going to listen to logic. So she opens it and Scott starts heading for Crystal with the knife. Only Melinda and Crystal look so much alike now that Melinda starts crying that SHE'S really Crystal so that she can save her sister. I'm glad she came to her senses! Once Scott has changed from killing Crystal to Melinda, Crystal comes up behind him and smashes him with a vase. And though both of them have a car outside they instead run upstairs to the attic which will not protect them for long.
Scott finds them almost instantly, but lucky for them there is a hole in the attic that he falls through. They see him fall and assume that he's dead. However, since this book is an exact replica of Scream, Scott immediately reaches out and grabs Crystal's ankle when she comes downstairs. Then blood comes gushing out of his mouth and he lets go.
Three months later, Scott is in a mental institution (??), and a new hot neighbor has moved next door. Crystal and Melinda shove each other out of the way to get a good look at him. Maybe those girls were asking for it after all...
Gaping Plot Holes: Well, the name of the best friends on the back cover is Lauren and Crystal. In the book it's Lynne and Crystal. Also, the girl in the window is dressed like a GOOD girl. No leotards and jeans. Major fail, cover artist. Also, one minute Scott has blood coming out of his mouth and the next he's in a mental institution.
The Actual Suspect(s): Scott
Read
October 7, 2017Misogyny in a teen book just doesn't fly anymore.
April 7, 2023
Far more entertaining than I expected.
February 16, 2024
Scott has just moved to Fear Street after a traumatic event shook his life a year ago. He lost his girlfriend in a fatal accident.
His new neighbor has her eyes on him but so do other girls at school. He is not looking for a relationship and definitely not with girls like them.
The girls are trying to get his attention and even start a competition to see who he will ask out first. However, becoming Scott’s new girlfriend might end up being…deadly.
Even though these books are always fast paced and fun to read I have to admit as always that they are outdated. I did not appreciate many of the messages this book was sending in a way. it almost seems like you have to fight your friends for boys and you need to change your appearance for boys to be noticed.
However the moral of the story is also that trying too hard for someone that is obviously not worth it, won’t end up well.
His new neighbor has her eyes on him but so do other girls at school. He is not looking for a relationship and definitely not with girls like them.
The girls are trying to get his attention and even start a competition to see who he will ask out first. However, becoming Scott’s new girlfriend might end up being…deadly.
Even though these books are always fast paced and fun to read I have to admit as always that they are outdated. I did not appreciate many of the messages this book was sending in a way. it almost seems like you have to fight your friends for boys and you need to change your appearance for boys to be noticed.
However the moral of the story is also that trying too hard for someone that is obviously not worth it, won’t end up well.
October 26, 2018
Rating:3.5
Cheesy horror with a stalker boy who , and two sisters and one of the sister's best friend crushing on him.
The book is for kids in middle school and up.
There are some slightly graphic scenes so just a little warning.
Cheesy horror with a stalker boy who , and two sisters and one of the sister's best friend crushing on him.
The book is for kids in middle school and up.
There are some slightly graphic scenes so just a little warning.
Also with the sloppy editing on the description; its says Lauren but there is no Lauren in the book! I know they mean Lynne which is the character's actual name.
September 9, 2014
A wholesome young man with considerable sexual hang-ups unsuccessfully battles the urge to murder his lipstick-wearing, scantily-clad female classmates. I feel like there might be room for a "still a better love story than Twilight" joke here.
September 19, 2013
This book is about boy who moves next door to two sisters. The boy acts very strangely. He wants on sister to be his girlfriend, and thinks the other is getting in his way. He tries to kill the other sister, but fails.
I would recommend this book to someone else. The book drew me in and I didn't want to put it down. The detail, action and horror in this book makes this book a very cool and scary book. I additionally liked how the book switches from one person speaking to another person.
I would recommend this book to someone else. The book drew me in and I didn't want to put it down. The detail, action and horror in this book makes this book a very cool and scary book. I additionally liked how the book switches from one person speaking to another person.
March 8, 2024
Nostalgia, USA right here! Omg I had this one and Switched, the hardcopies, when I was a child. I am so happy that I found both of them so I can re-read them. Sweet memories.
Now...reading this as an almost 40 year old - Scott may have started my obsession with morally grey men lmao.
Now...reading this as an almost 40 year old - Scott may have started my obsession with morally grey men lmao.
October 5, 2020
This didn’t age well...
Not the best first choice to start my Fear Street reread with
Not the best first choice to start my Fear Street reread with
July 16, 2021
Crystal and Lynn are obsessed with Crystal's new neighbor; he's so cute, they're determined to get a date with him. Except, there's something off about Scott. His last girlfriend died in a mysterious way, and he seems to be so distant and moody all the time. See, any girl in Scott's life needs to be good and proper.
Wearing makeup?
That's no way to behave.
Showing too much skin?
That's no way to behave.
Shameless flirting?
That's. No. Way. To. Behave.
Wearing makeup?
That's no way to behave.
Showing too much skin?
That's no way to behave.
Shameless flirting?
That's. No. Way. To. Behave.
November 29, 2021
I’m just not sure sure RL Stine has ever met a teen girl
December 13, 2025
Lohnt sich immer wieder von neu zu lesen 💯
June 16, 2015
THE BOY NEXT DOOR had a definite creep element to the story that gave it an edge. Scott is a sicko, fueled by his parents. I’m sure their intentions are fine but they ended up creating this monster who envisions women as beacons of chastity, don’t wear make-up, don’t wear revealing clothing, don’t act in a lascivious way and when they do he gets repulsed by them, disgusted, and feels the need to eliminate them from life. As crazies are wont to do. The POV alternates between Crystal and Scott so you actually get to be inside his head a little and it’s not a nice place to be.
Stine has a weird idea of how teens interact with each other because I find, in nearly all of his Fear Street/YA horror books, that they act toward each other in ways that are a bit repulsive or Hollywood stereotypical and not how (I think, anyway) people actually interact with each other. You end up with people dating each others’ exes (regardless of sex, I’ve never known anyone to think this was okay), competing with each other for the same guy (or girl, which I can somewhat buy but the competition ends up amplifying to a level that, if they were really friends, they wouldn’t do), and generally not being very friendly with each other. It’s odd to read and makes for a very disconnected reading experience. Not that I’m reading these gems to get some deep insight from them or anything.
Comeuppance is had by Scott at the end and he ends up in a nice padded room and, of course, everyone gets over the fact that he was a psycho pretty quickly. Although I will say credit here for Crystal’s funk after Lynne died. In usual Stine manner the characters get over deaths of people close to them far too quickly for them to be at all human but here Crystal mourns for weeks, to the point where her loved ones are worried about her. It was a refreshing change for once.
THE BOY NEXT DOOR is up there when it comes to scare factor and I think it’ll hit home far quicker for women (obviously) because to say there aren’t guys like this out there is just a downright lie. Maybe they don’t murder the women whom don’t meet their standards but the notion of women being subservient, docile, matronly baby-makers certainly isn’t an oddball notion, even now. Add in the murder to it and yeah, it sent a chill up my spine. I would have done far more than brain Scott with a vase if he were attacking me. Just saying.
4.5
Stine has a weird idea of how teens interact with each other because I find, in nearly all of his Fear Street/YA horror books, that they act toward each other in ways that are a bit repulsive or Hollywood stereotypical and not how (I think, anyway) people actually interact with each other. You end up with people dating each others’ exes (regardless of sex, I’ve never known anyone to think this was okay), competing with each other for the same guy (or girl, which I can somewhat buy but the competition ends up amplifying to a level that, if they were really friends, they wouldn’t do), and generally not being very friendly with each other. It’s odd to read and makes for a very disconnected reading experience. Not that I’m reading these gems to get some deep insight from them or anything.
Comeuppance is had by Scott at the end and he ends up in a nice padded room and, of course, everyone gets over the fact that he was a psycho pretty quickly. Although I will say credit here for Crystal’s funk after Lynne died. In usual Stine manner the characters get over deaths of people close to them far too quickly for them to be at all human but here Crystal mourns for weeks, to the point where her loved ones are worried about her. It was a refreshing change for once.
THE BOY NEXT DOOR is up there when it comes to scare factor and I think it’ll hit home far quicker for women (obviously) because to say there aren’t guys like this out there is just a downright lie. Maybe they don’t murder the women whom don’t meet their standards but the notion of women being subservient, docile, matronly baby-makers certainly isn’t an oddball notion, even now. Add in the murder to it and yeah, it sent a chill up my spine. I would have done far more than brain Scott with a vase if he were attacking me. Just saying.
4.5
September 16, 2023
Such an interesting horror scenario 🤔 I wish the book was longer!
January 19, 2010
This book was about a boy named Scott who killed his ex girlfriend. He killed her because he thought she turned into a slut. He moves next door to a girl named Crystal and she immediately likes him. He wants to keep his distance because he thinks she's slutty too and doesn't want to kill her. Crystal and her friend Lynne are basically fighting over him, but then her sister Mel falls for him too. She doesn't believe Crystal when she says Scott isn't right in the head, so she gets put in a lot of danger.
I connect this to a horror movie called the mist. In the mysterious mist, there are creatures that kill you. The main character gets stranded in a grocery store with a few other people, and no one believes that the mist can kill you, so they go into it. A lot of people end up dying because no one listened to the main character. This is what happens in The Boy Next Door. Mel doesn't listen to Crystal, even though she's right.
I only gave this book two stores. Crystal was a really annoying character, and it was poorly written. You can't really expect much from an R.L Stine book, though. If you like really easy-to-read thrillers, this book is for you.
I connect this to a horror movie called the mist. In the mysterious mist, there are creatures that kill you. The main character gets stranded in a grocery store with a few other people, and no one believes that the mist can kill you, so they go into it. A lot of people end up dying because no one listened to the main character. This is what happens in The Boy Next Door. Mel doesn't listen to Crystal, even though she's right.
I only gave this book two stores. Crystal was a really annoying character, and it was poorly written. You can't really expect much from an R.L Stine book, though. If you like really easy-to-read thrillers, this book is for you.
May 6, 2011
This book is about a new neighbor that moved next door from Crystal and Lynne. Crystal and Lynne are two best friends, and when the new neighbor named Scott moved next to Crystal, both of them were betting on of who were going to kiss him first and go out with him. But something has happened to Scott's old girlfriend before but he wants to forget about it and didn't want to tell anyone what happened. So what's going to happen next?
October 22, 2017
Unlike most Fear Street books, there is no question who the killer is here. We actually get to have a look into his mind which creates a new tension as we wait to see when they will strike. Plus the boy next door is the kind of guy you never want to actually be with. It's a fun read if you're looking for a good popcorn book. More details here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QClzk...
May 9, 2017
It was really different from his other books ! I really liked it
May 5, 2017
This book will forever be on my mind when I take a peek out my window and spot the boys next door.
March 12, 2023
So I did not expect to enjoy The Boy Next Door as much as I did. This was literally just a Fear Street book that I haven't read.I pulled it off my shelf at random. I'm down to like my last maybe seven or so from the original Fear Street series. After that I would have read all of them at least once.And my goodness this book was great !The story starts off with a prologue. (Yay.) About this guy. He is at his girlfriend's funeral and he talks about how she died was an accident.And at first you actually think it is an accident. But then he mentions that he actually gets away with it.And the way she died is actually kind of questionable. But also very sickening,and even a little funny,if you really think about it.He mentions that he invites his girlfriend over to a pool party at his neighbor's house. But the pool is empty, so she ends up jumping off a diving board into an empty pool head first and dies.That's pretty much the prologue.The actual story starts off with these two girls named Lynn and Crystal. They're complaining about not being able to find the right guy, and they're both kind of boy crazy. They both can get boyfriends, but none of them are what they want. This is when they notice that they see that they have a new neighbor moving in.Here we meet Scott and his family. Both of the girls seem to really think that Scotts attractive and they both really want to date him.So they end up making like a little bet to see who can get him to ask out who first. Then we're introduced to Melinda. (My favorite.)Which is Crystal's little sister.A nerdy girl who loves to spend her time indoors and reading books instead of going out with guys. She even gets like a description of why she enjoys this.And it's actually a really good interpretation of an introvert. She also sees the neighbor but she doesn't show that she likes him because even tho she has an uncanny resemblance to her older sister.She dresses down not wearing make up or revealing clothes and she wears glasses. She is also super shy and doesn't really talk to guys or anything like that.This book has a perception change where it goes from Crystals point of vto Scott's point of view ,to Melinda's point of view.And I have to say Scott's point of view is easily the most entertaining to read.He basically doesn't like girls that dress up provocatively,or show a lot of skin ,wear a lot of makeup, stuff like that, because they're not well-behaved in his mind. We even get a very small scene where he's eating dinner with his mom and he describes his spaghetti as looking like intestines.That gives him the urge to kill, because he feels like he is punishing those that are being bad. But don't feel bad he's very Even Steven .If he ever feels like he can't punish those girls, he'll punish himself, like stabbing himself in the back of the hand with a pair of scissors.During Scotts kills he refers to them as dreams but they're not actually dreams. They're real and when this book gets into the kills. It gets really entertaining. We do get sadly a pet death with the help of some gardening shears.The human kill that happens in this book is kind of rare because Scott makes it seem as the person commits suicide.That's kind of different for Fear Street to tackle that kind of subject. I know in The Surprise Party they had a scene that was similar to that. But I don't think they ever mentioned the word "suicide" .The Boy Next Door is easily one of the most slept on Fear street books out there. And I can vouch for that, because I had no intentions on reading this anytime soon. It was just a random book I grabbed.This book is really good. I highly recommend it. It's very gory. It's fun. The killer is interesting. He's basically like a Norman Bates kind of like guy.I give The Boy Next Door a 5 out of 5 Stars.This is my first one in about two years.
March 17, 2022
From the original post on my blog, There's The Girl With The Blog, on blogspot.com:
The prologue wastes no time in letting us know that we will get some first-person perspective from our titular boy next door as he lets us know just what happened to poor Dana Potter. They went next door to the neighbor's house to swim in their pool but it had been drained and Dana dove in first...cracking her skull.
It wasn't until she died that he screamed for help and the remorse he feels is for how it was her fault that he had to kill her. If she hadn't started to dress in short skirts, hadn't started painting her face with make-up and behaving so wild...her blood wouldn't be on his hands.
So in the first chapter, we meet Crystal Thomas talking on the phone to her best friend Lynne Palmer as she is trying on one of the new lipsticks that she bought at the mall. They talk about how they can't find a boyfriend even though Lynne has all the guys at Shadyside High trying to ask her out which brings them around to talking about Crystal's new neighbors as they finally arrive, Crystal peeking out the window.
She tells Lynne the parents are good-looking and their son isn't half bad either as she sees him enter the house and take the bedroom right across from hers! He catches her staring at him and Crystal is mortified but not as much as he is in more of a disgusted manner at seeing the girl across the street in a low cut leotard under her jeans with red lipstick smeared on her lips...spying on him!
The next day or maybe a few days later, Lynne comes over to discuss Scott (now that they know his name so do we the readers) joining the football team and how every girl is wondering just who he will ask out. Crystal's sister Melinda wanders into the kitchen and it's clear that she and Lynne don't get along really well and that she might be at little jealous of how much closer Crystal seems to Lynne.
When Lynne asks Melinda if she has talked to Scott (Crystal has only said like half a dozen words to him and Lynne probably not at all) Melinda says she has English with Scott and that he's nice but keeps to himself. It's very clear that Melinda thinks Scott is good-looking but Crystal knows how shy her sister can be around guys, always reading classic literature and wearing baggy tops over her jeans.
Lynne decides that the girls should have a contest to see who can go out with Scott first with the only rules being they can't mess each other up on purpose and must be happy for whoever comes out victorious.
At lunch, Lynne sits herself down at the football players' lunch table, squeezing in between Scott and a boy named Jake Roberts, who is friends with her and Crystal and has a huge crush for Lynne. Lynne flirts with Scott like crazy and invites him to a party but he declines and Crystal can't help but be internally pleased but also wishes she could be as forward as her friend even though she and Scott exchange a few words.
An opportunity presents itself for Crystal to go and talk with Scott when the mailman drops a magazine of his father's at her house by mistake and she decides to return it. Before that we get a little preview of just how messed up Scott is when he kills the dog of a woman who lives down the way :(
The dog apparently had to die because the woman wears short shorts and makes kissing noises every time Scott passes by embarrassing him...and that's not nice.
So Crystal comes over with the magazine and is a little disappointed that Jake is over there hanging out with his new buddy Scott but Scott invites Crystal to join them in his room to visit for awhile. When a knock comes to the front door, Scott comes back with Lynne in some skin-tight skating clothes with the excuse that she came looking for Jake and she's a little surprised to find Crystal on Scott's bed. When Scott tells them that he has homework and chores to do, Jake carries Lynne out of the room over his shoulder like a caveman which is pretty funny, leaving Crystal with Scott.
Crystal tries to get Scott to kiss her but chickens out and awkwardly leaves and we learn that Scott was not amused. He accuses her of invading his room like a disease, probably stealing the magazine as an excuse to come over, feeling sick by her perfume and dreading that she would have kissed him with that cheap lipstick and have its taste on his mouth. With no outlet, Scott stabs the back of his hand with a pair of scissors!
A few days later, Lynne shows up at Scott's house with some Cokes and chips as Crystal comes home to see Scott arrive with Jake. He politely lets them in and while Jake watches football highlights, Crystal asks Scott if he had a girlfriend back home and when he says no it turns to why he hasn't asked anyone at Shadyside out.
Scott doesn't answer and Crystal can understand what her sister Melinda meant about Scott being a little sad when they talked last. She thinks it's a little rude when Lynne tries to pressure him about the girlfriend thing, thinking Scott probably has a broken heart, and soon he tells Crystal, Jake and Lynne that they have to leave again.
Lynne makes an excuse about forgetting her backpack (she really did but it's so obvious she has another motive) and later reveals to Crystal that she went back and kissed Scott. Crystal is not happy but neither is Scott, brushing his teeth, using mouthwash and scalding hot water to try and get the feeling of Lynne's lips off his skin.
Scott is now set on making sure Lynne pays for being such a bad, bad girl and almost gets the chance but gets interrupted by a man asking for directions while he and Lynne are parked up on a ridge. When a week goes by and no word from Scott, Lynne starts to become depressed and driving Crystal crazy so the girls do a prank call to Scott's house but Scott recognizes Lynne's voice and says he's sorry but football practice keeps him busy and turns her down when she asks if he wants to do something.
We get an interesting look at what it's like in the Collins home when we learn that the girls' call disturbed dinner and Scott's mother isn't happy with how persistent this Lynne girl has been calling the house. She can't have her son going out with a girl who just doesn't know how to behave...maybe Scott shouldn't have given her any indication that he cared. Mother's angry and that just won't do...
When Crystal discovers Lynne has killed herself by turning on the car in the closed garage and leaving a suicide note behind, she is devastated and has no idea Scott is behind it. Now that Scott has gotten rid of another bad girl he can focus on finding the right girl...a girl like Melinda Thomas...a good girl.
She's so sweet and kind taking care of her sister in this terrible time but Scott had to do what needed to be done...now he can have a normal life with the perfect girlfriend. Too bad Crystal can't keep her opinions to herself and decides Melinda needs a little help to keep Scott interested, unknowing that her advice may just make her sister the next victim of the boy next door...
The Boy Next Door is actually a pretty good read. You already know that at least one of the lead girls is probably going to be one of Scott's victims and well, it's obviously not going to be Crystal because the protagonist almost always survives.
I like how it switches to Scott's perspective at times so we can find out how deranged he is and the little moment with his mom gives us insight as to how maybe some of these parents are the reason the kids in Shadyside are the way they are.
When we get to the last few chapters, it's pretty intense despite going so fast to wrap things up and the ending is one of those Ha-ha sitcom endings but it lets us know what happens to our villain instead of leaving it open-ended even if it is a throw away and you might miss it line.
All in all...I would recommend it.
The prologue wastes no time in letting us know that we will get some first-person perspective from our titular boy next door as he lets us know just what happened to poor Dana Potter. They went next door to the neighbor's house to swim in their pool but it had been drained and Dana dove in first...cracking her skull.
It wasn't until she died that he screamed for help and the remorse he feels is for how it was her fault that he had to kill her. If she hadn't started to dress in short skirts, hadn't started painting her face with make-up and behaving so wild...her blood wouldn't be on his hands.
So in the first chapter, we meet Crystal Thomas talking on the phone to her best friend Lynne Palmer as she is trying on one of the new lipsticks that she bought at the mall. They talk about how they can't find a boyfriend even though Lynne has all the guys at Shadyside High trying to ask her out which brings them around to talking about Crystal's new neighbors as they finally arrive, Crystal peeking out the window.
She tells Lynne the parents are good-looking and their son isn't half bad either as she sees him enter the house and take the bedroom right across from hers! He catches her staring at him and Crystal is mortified but not as much as he is in more of a disgusted manner at seeing the girl across the street in a low cut leotard under her jeans with red lipstick smeared on her lips...spying on him!
The next day or maybe a few days later, Lynne comes over to discuss Scott (now that they know his name so do we the readers) joining the football team and how every girl is wondering just who he will ask out. Crystal's sister Melinda wanders into the kitchen and it's clear that she and Lynne don't get along really well and that she might be at little jealous of how much closer Crystal seems to Lynne.
When Lynne asks Melinda if she has talked to Scott (Crystal has only said like half a dozen words to him and Lynne probably not at all) Melinda says she has English with Scott and that he's nice but keeps to himself. It's very clear that Melinda thinks Scott is good-looking but Crystal knows how shy her sister can be around guys, always reading classic literature and wearing baggy tops over her jeans.
Lynne decides that the girls should have a contest to see who can go out with Scott first with the only rules being they can't mess each other up on purpose and must be happy for whoever comes out victorious.
At lunch, Lynne sits herself down at the football players' lunch table, squeezing in between Scott and a boy named Jake Roberts, who is friends with her and Crystal and has a huge crush for Lynne. Lynne flirts with Scott like crazy and invites him to a party but he declines and Crystal can't help but be internally pleased but also wishes she could be as forward as her friend even though she and Scott exchange a few words.
An opportunity presents itself for Crystal to go and talk with Scott when the mailman drops a magazine of his father's at her house by mistake and she decides to return it. Before that we get a little preview of just how messed up Scott is when he kills the dog of a woman who lives down the way :(
The dog apparently had to die because the woman wears short shorts and makes kissing noises every time Scott passes by embarrassing him...and that's not nice.
So Crystal comes over with the magazine and is a little disappointed that Jake is over there hanging out with his new buddy Scott but Scott invites Crystal to join them in his room to visit for awhile. When a knock comes to the front door, Scott comes back with Lynne in some skin-tight skating clothes with the excuse that she came looking for Jake and she's a little surprised to find Crystal on Scott's bed. When Scott tells them that he has homework and chores to do, Jake carries Lynne out of the room over his shoulder like a caveman which is pretty funny, leaving Crystal with Scott.
Crystal tries to get Scott to kiss her but chickens out and awkwardly leaves and we learn that Scott was not amused. He accuses her of invading his room like a disease, probably stealing the magazine as an excuse to come over, feeling sick by her perfume and dreading that she would have kissed him with that cheap lipstick and have its taste on his mouth. With no outlet, Scott stabs the back of his hand with a pair of scissors!
A few days later, Lynne shows up at Scott's house with some Cokes and chips as Crystal comes home to see Scott arrive with Jake. He politely lets them in and while Jake watches football highlights, Crystal asks Scott if he had a girlfriend back home and when he says no it turns to why he hasn't asked anyone at Shadyside out.
Scott doesn't answer and Crystal can understand what her sister Melinda meant about Scott being a little sad when they talked last. She thinks it's a little rude when Lynne tries to pressure him about the girlfriend thing, thinking Scott probably has a broken heart, and soon he tells Crystal, Jake and Lynne that they have to leave again.
Lynne makes an excuse about forgetting her backpack (she really did but it's so obvious she has another motive) and later reveals to Crystal that she went back and kissed Scott. Crystal is not happy but neither is Scott, brushing his teeth, using mouthwash and scalding hot water to try and get the feeling of Lynne's lips off his skin.
Scott is now set on making sure Lynne pays for being such a bad, bad girl and almost gets the chance but gets interrupted by a man asking for directions while he and Lynne are parked up on a ridge. When a week goes by and no word from Scott, Lynne starts to become depressed and driving Crystal crazy so the girls do a prank call to Scott's house but Scott recognizes Lynne's voice and says he's sorry but football practice keeps him busy and turns her down when she asks if he wants to do something.
We get an interesting look at what it's like in the Collins home when we learn that the girls' call disturbed dinner and Scott's mother isn't happy with how persistent this Lynne girl has been calling the house. She can't have her son going out with a girl who just doesn't know how to behave...maybe Scott shouldn't have given her any indication that he cared. Mother's angry and that just won't do...
When Crystal discovers Lynne has killed herself by turning on the car in the closed garage and leaving a suicide note behind, she is devastated and has no idea Scott is behind it. Now that Scott has gotten rid of another bad girl he can focus on finding the right girl...a girl like Melinda Thomas...a good girl.
She's so sweet and kind taking care of her sister in this terrible time but Scott had to do what needed to be done...now he can have a normal life with the perfect girlfriend. Too bad Crystal can't keep her opinions to herself and decides Melinda needs a little help to keep Scott interested, unknowing that her advice may just make her sister the next victim of the boy next door...
The Boy Next Door is actually a pretty good read. You already know that at least one of the lead girls is probably going to be one of Scott's victims and well, it's obviously not going to be Crystal because the protagonist almost always survives.
I like how it switches to Scott's perspective at times so we can find out how deranged he is and the little moment with his mom gives us insight as to how maybe some of these parents are the reason the kids in Shadyside are the way they are.
When we get to the last few chapters, it's pretty intense despite going so fast to wrap things up and the ending is one of those Ha-ha sitcom endings but it lets us know what happens to our villain instead of leaving it open-ended even if it is a throw away and you might miss it line.
All in all...I would recommend it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 26, 2025
4.5 stars. Pretty sure this was a reread, but I read so many Fear Street back in the day that it's hard to keep them all straight.
This probably had the least amount of plot holes and cringe of any of these nostalgic teen horror novels I've been rereading lately!
I thought the villain was well done. I Iike that with some of Stine's books we get to see inside the mind of the bad guy.
Some of the details were quite disturbing. I must've had much thicker skin back in the day. Multiple deaths.
I don't recall there being any language. No spice. Nothing paranormal.
I'm giving it 4.5 stars, with half a star factoring in nostalgia and how much I would have enjoyed it if I were the targeted demographic.
This probably had the least amount of plot holes and cringe of any of these nostalgic teen horror novels I've been rereading lately!
I thought the villain was well done. I Iike that with some of Stine's books we get to see inside the mind of the bad guy.
Some of the details were quite disturbing. I must've had much thicker skin back in the day. Multiple deaths.
I don't recall there being any language. No spice. Nothing paranormal.
I'm giving it 4.5 stars, with half a star factoring in nostalgia and how much I would have enjoyed it if I were the targeted demographic.
March 27, 2025
This was an interesting thriller teens throwback, fast paced and intriguing too with body count!!
The writing is good, the events were interesting, and I liked this book because it dealt with the story from two different perspectives, the book has some crazy and creepy moments too.
The ending wasn't the best for me, and I would have liked to see more backstory on the antagonist.
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#VERDICT
(7.2/10)
The writing is good, the events were interesting, and I liked this book because it dealt with the story from two different perspectives, the book has some crazy and creepy moments too.
The ending wasn't the best for me, and I would have liked to see more backstory on the antagonist.
*******************************************************************************
#VERDICT
(7.2/10)
February 27, 2023
A little darker than I remember R.L. Stine being, pleasantly surprised! Quick read
January 22, 2024
A teenage boy has killed two girls and has got away with it And there are two more he decides they are evil and are next to die. When anything goes wrong, he rants and raves , but no one notices and considers him a great catch for a boyfriend.
June 9, 2025
It was…a book. A very vapid, superficial one. No twists and turns. You already know the plot by page 2. No character development. Girls are obsessed with a hot guy. Guy is tired of being obsessed over so it makes him murderous. He has a mother who is a crazy Evangelical a la Stephen King’s “Carrie.” That might have been a cool avenue to explore, but Stine doesn’t bother touching it, so I’m not sure why he mentions it to begin with. Friend-zoned guy who deserved more story time and at least one serious date is completely ignored. Best friend is a superficial biotch whose sole goal is to get lucky with a hot dude (90s ya fic lucky, so only 1st base stuff here). You should read this book just to see how far YA fiction has come in terms of complexity, character development, and topical issues…and that’s probably the only good reason to invest time in it. Well, unless you love these kind of simple stories. In that case, you do you, man. One advantage? It’s short, so you can finish it in less than 2 hours probably.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 4, 2017
in 2013 my local library was getting ride of all paperback books and they had all the R.L. Stine / Christopher Pike books so I bought all of them and read them with a massive teen book marathon .. I really hope that a whole new generation of teens gets to fall in love with these books !!! as they are simply the best I loved all of these books in my teens .. :) and I really enjoyed going down memory lane re reading them as an adult ... :)
October 31, 2018
As a huge fan of R.L. Stine when I was younger I thought I would go back and read one of the books from his Fear Street Series for Halloween. I chose one of the shelf at my local library and I now remember why I liked these books so much as a pre-teen. It cannot get much better than the tagline on the front of the book, "They were flirting--with death." There was also a mention of inline skates which I LOVED. Anyways, just as good as I remembered it being.
September 18, 2021
I read this book that was written for teenagers in preparation for the Fear Street movies--it ended up being quite different because the book is not supernatural, unlike the series and movies.
Anyways the back cover misspelled one of the characters' names, yet even still, this book was a great ride. It's scary and sexy, which is the exact Venn diagram that would have gripped me as a teen and which I'm still hunting for in the books I read now
Anyways the back cover misspelled one of the characters' names, yet even still, this book was a great ride. It's scary and sexy, which is the exact Venn diagram that would have gripped me as a teen and which I'm still hunting for in the books I read now
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