What do you think?
Rate this book
The Sitter
Master of chilling suspense R. L. Stine proves that you never outgrow a good scare. If he frightened you then, he’ll terrify you now. . . .
Ellie Saks is dying to escape the city. She’s sick of dead-end jobs, her mother’s disapproval, her loser ex-boyfriend, Clay, who won’t take a hint, and the memories of a terrible incident that occurred years ago. When her best friend suggests a summer in the Hamptons, full of glitzy parties, cool cocktails, and hot dates, Ellie’s on the first Jitney out. To fund all this glamour, Ellie takes a job as a nanny.
From the outside, the family’s beachfront home is perfect. But then Ellie meets four-year-old Brandon, who hasn’t spoken for months. The boy’s icy stare and demonic laughter make clear to Ellie that he is troubled, haunted by something too horrible for words.
She begins to receive threatening messages and disturbing gifts. But it’s not until she barely escapes a harrowing experience that she realizes her life may depend on figuring out who’s behind it: Clay? Brandon? And why? And every once in a while, in a crowd, she sees a face she hasn’t seen in seven years—the face of a boy who died long ago. It would seem that Ellie’s summer of fun has turned into a summer of horror—one she’ll never forget . . . if she survives it at all.
From the Trade Paperback edition.
Ellie Saks is dying to escape the city. She’s sick of dead-end jobs, her mother’s disapproval, her loser ex-boyfriend, Clay, who won’t take a hint, and the memories of a terrible incident that occurred years ago. When her best friend suggests a summer in the Hamptons, full of glitzy parties, cool cocktails, and hot dates, Ellie’s on the first Jitney out. To fund all this glamour, Ellie takes a job as a nanny.
From the outside, the family’s beachfront home is perfect. But then Ellie meets four-year-old Brandon, who hasn’t spoken for months. The boy’s icy stare and demonic laughter make clear to Ellie that he is troubled, haunted by something too horrible for words.
She begins to receive threatening messages and disturbing gifts. But it’s not until she barely escapes a harrowing experience that she realizes her life may depend on figuring out who’s behind it: Clay? Brandon? And why? And every once in a while, in a crowd, she sees a face she hasn’t seen in seven years—the face of a boy who died long ago. It would seem that Ellie’s summer of fun has turned into a summer of horror—one she’ll never forget . . . if she survives it at all.
From the Trade Paperback edition.
304 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2003
49 people are currently reading
695 people want to read
About the author
R.L. Stine
1,683 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...
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 84 reviews
February 6, 2017
I can’t say I was ever a big fan of R. L. Stine, but I always respected his work as a writer of scary fiction for children. Until a few days ago, I never realized he had written horror/thriller fiction intended for adults. After reading “The Sitter,” I think about Michael Jordan, arguably the best professional basketball player of all time, leaving the hardwood court for the baseball diamond. Thankfully, after a few years of uneven play, Jordan returned to win three more NBA titles. If this book is indicative of Mr. Stine’s future efforts in adult horror, he may wish to take a page out of Jordan’s playbook. Here’s what is right and not-so-right, without spoilers:
The basic plot is good, even scary at times. Woman in jeopardy (Ellie Saks) is threatened, yet she doesn’t know who is behind the notes and items intended to scare her. Some of the chapters allow the reader access to the killer’s mind, giving insight without telling who the killer might be. The fear and terror are what kept me reading.
The character of Ellie Saks is fleshed out. She is like a teenager who, after experiencing a traumatic event, finds it difficult (and really seems unaware) to outgrow her past. I found her character realistic, although the rest of the characters are fairly one-dimensional.
The overall writing is pure Stine, always excellent at what he does. Unfortunately, except for the sex and the vulgarities and other adult themes, the feel of the book matches the Goosebumps series. The chapter cliffhangers which aren’t really a danger and the one-liner at the end straining for a humorous moment to contrast with the horror of the final scenes are both techniques Stine has used effectively over the years. Sadly, those techniques do not transfer well to adult books, and I found myself wishing the author would have chosen to stick with one age level (children or adult) and not bounce back and forth between the two.
Even so, Stine has talent, even if it doesn’t fit well in adult fiction. Worth a read if you were a hardcore Stine fan, but there is no guarantee you will feel the same magic as when you were younger. Three stars.
The basic plot is good, even scary at times. Woman in jeopardy (Ellie Saks) is threatened, yet she doesn’t know who is behind the notes and items intended to scare her. Some of the chapters allow the reader access to the killer’s mind, giving insight without telling who the killer might be. The fear and terror are what kept me reading.
The character of Ellie Saks is fleshed out. She is like a teenager who, after experiencing a traumatic event, finds it difficult (and really seems unaware) to outgrow her past. I found her character realistic, although the rest of the characters are fairly one-dimensional.
The overall writing is pure Stine, always excellent at what he does. Unfortunately, except for the sex and the vulgarities and other adult themes, the feel of the book matches the Goosebumps series. The chapter cliffhangers which aren’t really a danger and the one-liner at the end straining for a humorous moment to contrast with the horror of the final scenes are both techniques Stine has used effectively over the years. Sadly, those techniques do not transfer well to adult books, and I found myself wishing the author would have chosen to stick with one age level (children or adult) and not bounce back and forth between the two.
Even so, Stine has talent, even if it doesn’t fit well in adult fiction. Worth a read if you were a hardcore Stine fan, but there is no guarantee you will feel the same magic as when you were younger. Three stars.
October 23, 2014
Great read, Mr. Stine! I loved the suspense and creepiness of this story. Never a dull moment. I definitely found it difficult to put down every night. I really liked the main character and didn't want her story to end. All I can say is "More more more, Mr. Stine!"
April 17, 2012
I was a huge R.L. Stine fan in my early teens! I loved all the fear street books! They are what got me into reading again! :)
April 8, 2024
3 stars samo na temelju nostalgije. Atmosfera mi je meh, nije dovoljno jezivo s obzirom na to što se događa. Glavni lik je zbunjena mlada žena kratkih živaca pa to malo iritira. Twist na kraju je bezveze, ali neka. I moram priznati da sam zaboravila da ima toliko seksa i psovanja.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 10, 2011
My review:
I finished it yesterday.... and it sucked. - I really didn't like it very much. I expected it to be GREAT, because, after all, the ratings were high, and they're (Sam Raimi's movie-company) are planning to adapt it for the Big Screen.... - But no, I was really disappointed.
Mainly it was just utterly boring, and full of clichés, like the same-old "crazy-psycho-stalking ex-boyfriend " of the protagonist what is suppose to "scare" you on every single fucking page of the book. The stupid 'hallucinations' of an old boyfriend who "died many years ago in a horrible accident which she caused", (she thinks she sees him everywhere; at the corner of every street, on the road in every car; no, at the end of every chapter :roll: - which of course every time seems to be someone who looks an awful lot like him).
And an over and over again done before story about a terrible sectret that lies in the forgotten past, and no one ever talks about anymore becaue it's so awful, and of course the killer somehow 'comes back' to present day to get his revenge and finish his work (in which he eventually doesn't succeed, but R.L. Stine claims he did :? ) - and tjees... I wonder in whom he hides... :roll:
And the gruesome little shocks and surprises that are the only "supposed-to-be-scaring-you" things in this book.
And of course, like in every R.L. Stine novel; tons of innocent animals get horribly and brutally murdered and killed , only with purpose to "torture" the protagonist (which lasts for 250 pages), and "scare" the reader, and than never mention it again in the rest of the story, like they don't matter.
So, we're now at the end, the last 20 pages, the plot tightning, and the well-known R.L.Stine-surprise-twist-ending is in sight. - But no, no surprise-twist this time. :( - Really too bad. - Everything developed, revealed and worked out just the "happy" and "no-questions-asked" (huh?) way I expected it from the beginning.
Although there was one tiny twist I did not entirely see coming (though I did have a hunch) and that was the "mommy-/-nanny" twist.
At the end I think it'd give it a 2,5/5*.
I finished it yesterday.... and it sucked. - I really didn't like it very much. I expected it to be GREAT, because, after all, the ratings were high, and they're (Sam Raimi's movie-company) are planning to adapt it for the Big Screen.... - But no, I was really disappointed.
Mainly it was just utterly boring, and full of clichés, like the same-old "crazy-psycho-stalking ex-boyfriend " of the protagonist what is suppose to "scare" you on every single fucking page of the book. The stupid 'hallucinations' of an old boyfriend who "died many years ago in a horrible accident which she caused", (she thinks she sees him everywhere; at the corner of every street, on the road in every car; no, at the end of every chapter :roll: - which of course every time seems to be someone who looks an awful lot like him).
And an over and over again done before story about a terrible sectret that lies in the forgotten past, and no one ever talks about anymore becaue it's so awful, and of course the killer somehow 'comes back' to present day to get his revenge and finish his work (in which he eventually doesn't succeed, but R.L. Stine claims he did :? ) - and tjees... I wonder in whom he hides... :roll:
And the gruesome little shocks and surprises that are the only "supposed-to-be-scaring-you" things in this book.
And of course, like in every R.L. Stine novel; tons of innocent animals get horribly and brutally murdered and killed , only with purpose to "torture" the protagonist (which lasts for 250 pages), and "scare" the reader, and than never mention it again in the rest of the story, like they don't matter.
So, we're now at the end, the last 20 pages, the plot tightning, and the well-known R.L.Stine-surprise-twist-ending is in sight. - But no, no surprise-twist this time. :( - Really too bad. - Everything developed, revealed and worked out just the "happy" and "no-questions-asked" (huh?) way I expected it from the beginning.
Although there was one tiny twist I did not entirely see coming (though I did have a hunch) and that was the "mommy-/-nanny" twist.
At the end I think it'd give it a 2,5/5*.
August 19, 2017
This was a more adult book from RL Stine and I really ended up liking it! I'd say more like 3.5 stars though because there were parts in the end I was like "eh" about. I think I liked it so much because it was written similar to the silver beach series that I love so much. Also because its a thriller that takes place in the hamptons with a wealthy family, my favorite thing!
Read
May 5, 2016A very good read for anyone seeking a horror read. This book is good to keep you on your toes and reading for hours. Not a very hard read and very easy to understand. You fall in love with he characters and feel very sympathetic towards them. All in all a very good read.
December 24, 2007
This book ROCKS!!! It is really scary and the plot is great. This is one of the best books I read. Really scary.
July 25, 2018
I think this is supposed to be one of Stine's "adult" novels, but the only difference I could tell between this and a Fear Street book was the occasional curse word and sex scene. Disappointingly, there was the same amount of gore and deaths as in one of his YA books (and mostly animal deaths, in typical R.L. Stine fashion).
July 15, 2025
For being a huge fan of him when I was younger and not really caring for his adult written books I decided to try another 1 of them and I did like this 1. It was really interesting and it left a few unanswered questions and it was awesome to experience it with me revisiting some authors and books I read when I was younger
June 15, 2025
I found the opening two chapters of this very captivating and both in completely different ways. Throughout the book we're juggling four mysteries, 1. The opening chapter cliffhanger, 2. Who's tormenting our protagonist? 3. What's up with one of the children? and 4. What's the story with the guest house? One of these reveals was very obvious, One was out of left field and the other two didn't make sense (although one was interesting). Ellie, our main character is in her mid 20's but reads like she's a typical Stine teen character, very immature and with a complete lack of awareness or common sense. This was definitely Stine's weakest adult novel that I've read (2.5 rounded down).
January 31, 2017
Did not finish at 31%. I was curious if I would like an adult book by R.L. Stine because I loved his young adult writing when I was much younger.
Unfortunately it didn't seem to me worth the time to finish this book. The feel of the book was just like one of his fear street novels, but to be 'qualified' as adult it seems as if the author threw in random cursing, drinking, cigarettes and semi-sex scenes. Wasn't impressed with the writing or the story. Moving on...
Unfortunately it didn't seem to me worth the time to finish this book. The feel of the book was just like one of his fear street novels, but to be 'qualified' as adult it seems as if the author threw in random cursing, drinking, cigarettes and semi-sex scenes. Wasn't impressed with the writing or the story. Moving on...
September 28, 2020
I really liked this book.
It was a fast read, funny, spooky, crazy and kept my interest from page one. He did a great job pulling me into the story line and told it in such a fun way that I laughed throughout the book. Really liked how Ellie would talk about the conversations with her mom. Funny but so so true and can totally relate.
I gave it four stars because I had such a good time reading it.
It was a fast read, funny, spooky, crazy and kept my interest from page one. He did a great job pulling me into the story line and told it in such a fun way that I laughed throughout the book. Really liked how Ellie would talk about the conversations with her mom. Funny but so so true and can totally relate.
I gave it four stars because I had such a good time reading it.
August 2, 2008
Great Mystery book!!! lots of suspense it keep me reading all night.
November 3, 2008
A very suspensful book. unpredictable.
November 23, 2010
amazingggggg.
January 18, 2017
To much
To many subplots. While an attempt was made to tie them up all it once it did not work for me. Had to skip parts. Eye rolling cringe worthy.
To many subplots. While an attempt was made to tie them up all it once it did not work for me. Had to skip parts. Eye rolling cringe worthy.
August 1, 2019
Just forgot how his books can be so addictive.
December 17, 2023
A quick read with a TWISTY ending!
April 22, 2018
Ellie Saks is at the end of her lease, the end of her temp job, and the end of her patience with her mother and her ex-boyfriend turned stalker Clay. So, she jumps at the opportunity to leave the city behind for a trip to the Hamptons for a summer of fun away from it all. A stroke of luck even lands her a babysitting job and place to stay. That luck turns sour though when someone starts sending her threatening notes and disturbing gifts. With a disturbed child to care for, a stalker on the loose, and a ghost story unfolding with her in the middle of it can Ellie figure out what’s going on or even survive her summer as the sitter?
Not going to lie, I didn’t enjoy The Sitter. This is one of those books that feels so, so like a lot of the books I have tremendous nostalgia for but with all the nostalgia stripped away and a painful attempt at retargeting its readership. See, R. L. Stine does a great job with teen horror, particularly cheesy teen horror. His books can be very formula and very like a B horror movie, but they tend to be fun and quick and you know what you’re getting in to when you pick one up. That’s sort of the case here and with a few changes this could have been a pretty standard Fear Street book. That’s part of the problem though, with The Sitter Stine tries too hard to make his book “adult” and it feels very forced. There’s a fair amount of profanity, some drinking, a really gross sex scene, drug use is mentioned, but it all feels like someone reminded Stine that he was writing for grownups after the book was already finished, so he just threw that all in.
So, that said, what made me dislike this book other than the audience related weirdness? There are a lot of things that get a pass in teen novels that shouldn’t and don’t in adult novels, this book for example had terrible foreshadowing. Early on, we find out about Ellie’s cat, he’s sweet and trusting and she misses him so because she couldn’t have him in her apartment. Yeah, he didn’t make it to the end of the book. The problem with that is twofold. Stine’s used killing the beloved family pet to gain a quick cheep hit to the feels before, several times actually, so as soon as the cat gets mentioned you know what’s going to happen. It’s a similar thing with the big twist at the end. It also ties into my next big issue.
A ton of terrible stuff happens between Lucky’s introduction and Lucky’s plot appointed death, but Ellie doesn’t seem to take that into account. The book’s plot was almost entirely reliant on the protagonist making stupid choices. Again, a lot of those choices would have made more sense in a book with a teenaged protagonist rather than one in her twenties both because relative youth and because a teen protagonist could be stuck being the sitter rather than it being a summer job. This bit is really hard to go into without spoilers, but our protagonist gets death threats and vile stuff mailed to her. She stays, doesn’t even talk to the police after like the second thing. Not for the threats, or her cat getting killed, or her stalker ex showing up and threatening her. Most of the tension in the book relies on the reader having never read R. L. Stine before and Ellie being an idiot.
Add to that, The Sitter has a ton of stuff going on that doesn’t seem to go anywhere until the end. There are chapters from the antagonist’s view point. They could have been cut entirely. There was a side plot about some curse on the guest house. That could have been cut. Clay probably should have been cut, he doesn’t really add much to the story and is basically made of cringe. The cat could have been cut, he was a completely pointless inclusion. Any of that could have been removed to tighten up the main plot and work the twist in better.
Those are my big issues with the book, everything else kind of spins off of those. It had a twist ending, but that was completely unsupported by the rest of the book. The only reason I didn’t see it coming was that it was so completely out of left field it came from another game entirely. It’s silly in the grand scheme of things, but this book made me angry. There were so many places where Stine could have done better, could have not done the blatantly obvious thing, could have shored up the writing instead of going into another side plot. This book gets a one, as much for what it could have been as for what it is.
Not going to lie, I didn’t enjoy The Sitter. This is one of those books that feels so, so like a lot of the books I have tremendous nostalgia for but with all the nostalgia stripped away and a painful attempt at retargeting its readership. See, R. L. Stine does a great job with teen horror, particularly cheesy teen horror. His books can be very formula and very like a B horror movie, but they tend to be fun and quick and you know what you’re getting in to when you pick one up. That’s sort of the case here and with a few changes this could have been a pretty standard Fear Street book. That’s part of the problem though, with The Sitter Stine tries too hard to make his book “adult” and it feels very forced. There’s a fair amount of profanity, some drinking, a really gross sex scene, drug use is mentioned, but it all feels like someone reminded Stine that he was writing for grownups after the book was already finished, so he just threw that all in.
So, that said, what made me dislike this book other than the audience related weirdness? There are a lot of things that get a pass in teen novels that shouldn’t and don’t in adult novels, this book for example had terrible foreshadowing. Early on, we find out about Ellie’s cat, he’s sweet and trusting and she misses him so because she couldn’t have him in her apartment. Yeah, he didn’t make it to the end of the book. The problem with that is twofold. Stine’s used killing the beloved family pet to gain a quick cheep hit to the feels before, several times actually, so as soon as the cat gets mentioned you know what’s going to happen. It’s a similar thing with the big twist at the end. It also ties into my next big issue.
A ton of terrible stuff happens between Lucky’s introduction and Lucky’s plot appointed death, but Ellie doesn’t seem to take that into account. The book’s plot was almost entirely reliant on the protagonist making stupid choices. Again, a lot of those choices would have made more sense in a book with a teenaged protagonist rather than one in her twenties both because relative youth and because a teen protagonist could be stuck being the sitter rather than it being a summer job. This bit is really hard to go into without spoilers, but our protagonist gets death threats and vile stuff mailed to her. She stays, doesn’t even talk to the police after like the second thing. Not for the threats, or her cat getting killed, or her stalker ex showing up and threatening her. Most of the tension in the book relies on the reader having never read R. L. Stine before and Ellie being an idiot.
Add to that, The Sitter has a ton of stuff going on that doesn’t seem to go anywhere until the end. There are chapters from the antagonist’s view point. They could have been cut entirely. There was a side plot about some curse on the guest house. That could have been cut. Clay probably should have been cut, he doesn’t really add much to the story and is basically made of cringe. The cat could have been cut, he was a completely pointless inclusion. Any of that could have been removed to tighten up the main plot and work the twist in better.
Those are my big issues with the book, everything else kind of spins off of those. It had a twist ending, but that was completely unsupported by the rest of the book. The only reason I didn’t see it coming was that it was so completely out of left field it came from another game entirely. It’s silly in the grand scheme of things, but this book made me angry. There were so many places where Stine could have done better, could have not done the blatantly obvious thing, could have shored up the writing instead of going into another side plot. This book gets a one, as much for what it could have been as for what it is.
October 1, 2022
I actually didn't plan on reading this book this year, because it's technically spooky season in book world starting in September, but a friend of mine read this and I heard nothing but good things about it. The Sitter is an adult novel from R.L.Stine .He has a few .This is my second one that I've read .The story starts off with an amazing prologue talking about this baby sitter carrying two kids to the beach. One kid takes a plastic shovel out of this bag of toys being held by the main character he goes to digging next to this abandoned guest house. As he digs ,he pulls up this skeletal remains of something then the little girl screams "mommy's bones " or something and I'm officially hooked ! The main story starts with this girl and her friend at a bar being hit on by some guy .Only for this stalkery ex bf of Ellie to come over and offer drugs to her .Neat .Ellie eventually breaks away from this guy named clay or tries to and we find out Ellie needs a job right now. She's a temp and she's about to be kicked out of her apartment, so she's starts looking for ads and finds one at this sales place, only to be turned down .But this lady over hears her and offers her a babysitting job. She seems desperate and we soon learn why. she goes to this couples house and we meet the husband chip who is kinda annoying and kinda funny. The line where he says she's good with kids while one kid cries immediately after meeting her cracks me up .She meets the two kids Brandon and Heather. Brandon doesn't talk and we don't know why. He talked good when he was younger and now he doesn't speak at all. The other kid heather is pretty normal .We learn pretty fast Brandon is strange. He has A pet chicken he kills with his bare hands.Then on the beach ,he sees this seagull .He stabs it with a stick. He also tries to drown his sister. Yea this kid sucks .She eventually learns the supposedly origin of why this kid is like this from an old lady that use to be a nanny for them and it's really cool .It even has some of the same origin themes as Slappy from Night Of The Living Dummy,but only a little bit .During all of this weird kid mess, she is still dealing with a stalker who's sending her flowers with bugs and two things that really caught me off guard that was really the goriest thing I've ever seen in a Stine book. With all that said. I did have a few negatives .One thing in particular was the fact of how all of this is set up .I cant say much without spoilers, but yea read it and you will see. Also a negative and a positive is the twists at the end this book. Their are literally like four twists at the end. That is insane. Overall I really enjoyed The Sitter .It had Gore, a good mystery and plenty of twists that kept you guessing. It also had a genuinely scary scene during a thunderstorm that I thought was really good. I like this book. So much that I can honestly say this is the best adult Stine book that I've read so far. To be honest he only wrote only three or so I think. I've read superstitious a few years ago so yea .I give The Sitter a 4.5 out of 5 stars .I highly recommend this.
October 1, 2025
I really enjoyed this novel!
Honestly, there were a lot of things in here I didn't expect: Not the amount of... uhh... scandalous scenes lmao, and dead people. But maybe that's my bad for not reading more of his books outside the Goosebumps series. The female characters, I find, were written surprisingly well, especially for a male horror author! Ellie is relatable and funny, having her own unique bits etc etc. She's very believable to me, as well as--well. No one else is really that believable, except her mom.
SPOILERS! One of the things I didn't like about this book was the fact they kept Will alive. It would have been more interesting to see Ellie cope with his death and find closure, while still keeping Abby's twist. Also, I didn't like the fact that nothing more was done with Chip or Clay. They're both still obnoxious creeps, as made clear, yet they don't face any repercussions for it(well, except clay). Honestly very few of the male characters that've caused Ellie harm get punished for it (on her account).
Otherwise, I really enjoyed reading this. It was suspenseful, even if I had to suspend my disbelief a bit.
Honestly, there were a lot of things in here I didn't expect: Not the amount of... uhh... scandalous scenes lmao, and dead people. But maybe that's my bad for not reading more of his books outside the Goosebumps series. The female characters, I find, were written surprisingly well, especially for a male horror author! Ellie is relatable and funny, having her own unique bits etc etc. She's very believable to me, as well as--well. No one else is really that believable, except her mom.
SPOILERS! One of the things I didn't like about this book was the fact they kept Will alive. It would have been more interesting to see Ellie cope with his death and find closure, while still keeping Abby's twist. Also, I didn't like the fact that nothing more was done with Chip or Clay. They're both still obnoxious creeps, as made clear, yet they don't face any repercussions for it(well, except clay). Honestly very few of the male characters that've caused Ellie harm get punished for it (on her account).
Otherwise, I really enjoyed reading this. It was suspenseful, even if I had to suspend my disbelief a bit.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 20, 2025
This was my favorite book of all time. I read it when I was 11 or 12, and I loved it so much, and nothing was ever able to take its place (it was equally shared with the harry potter series of course, the prisoner of azkaban being my favorite.) but this past summer I read Black Beauty and fell in love so hard with it, that it is now my favorite of all time.
This book is a horror/thriller that has so much going for it. I loved every moment of it, and every character brought something to the book. I loved the mystery and the shocking conclusion that you don't ever guess, but is revealed to you at the end. It really is a masterpiece to me and a book that I proudly own signed by the horror legend himself.
The book offers so much and I won't describe what it is about because if you want a blind date with a book, you can truly trust this one.
This book is a horror/thriller that has so much going for it. I loved every moment of it, and every character brought something to the book. I loved the mystery and the shocking conclusion that you don't ever guess, but is revealed to you at the end. It really is a masterpiece to me and a book that I proudly own signed by the horror legend himself.
The book offers so much and I won't describe what it is about because if you want a blind date with a book, you can truly trust this one.
February 12, 2017
I thought reading this book was a good idea for nostalgia purposes. I read every R.L. Stine book I could get my hands on when I was younger. I thought since he wrote an adult book it would be written in a much more complex way: more character development, stronger plots, better internal dialogue, stronger suspense... Don't let the cataloguing of this as an adult book fool you. It reads the same as one of his books read 20 years ago. And while I'm grateful that his books were part of my journey of becoming a sophisticated reader, I regret that in all this time, he has not become a sophisticated writer.
October 1, 2020
Oh man. I have loved R.L. Stine for so, so long but this...no.
It can be hard for a young adult/middle grades writer to transition into writing for adults, and Stine clearly excels at one and not the other. I have read his "adult" books before and I feel the same way about all of them. The plots, the stories, read SO MUCH like Fear Street books with some more adult themes (sex, cuss words, etc) sprinkled in to jazz them up. It doesn't really work, and it's sad because if he had re-worked this as a Fear Street book I probably would have enjoyed it a whole lot more.
It can be hard for a young adult/middle grades writer to transition into writing for adults, and Stine clearly excels at one and not the other. I have read his "adult" books before and I feel the same way about all of them. The plots, the stories, read SO MUCH like Fear Street books with some more adult themes (sex, cuss words, etc) sprinkled in to jazz them up. It doesn't really work, and it's sad because if he had re-worked this as a Fear Street book I probably would have enjoyed it a whole lot more.
July 5, 2025
An R.L. Stine that reads like a Christopher Pike. This was a bit darker than any of his Fear Street books, this one had fade to black love scenes, and even swearing 😄.
I enjoyed reading this, even if the ending was a bit disappointing with the big reveal of who was stalking Ellie. Much like all R.L. Stine novels, this one was fast-paced. There were a lot of subplots, and colourful characters, with my favourite being the over-the-top ex-nanny trying to tell Ellie “you in danger, girl”, that made the story quite a page turner.
I enjoyed reading this, even if the ending was a bit disappointing with the big reveal of who was stalking Ellie. Much like all R.L. Stine novels, this one was fast-paced. There were a lot of subplots, and colourful characters, with my favourite being the over-the-top ex-nanny trying to tell Ellie “you in danger, girl”, that made the story quite a page turner.
July 19, 2023
I had first read this book when I was in high school (12/13 years ago). A friend, had brought it from a library and lent it to me, but I couldn't finish it on time and returned it half- read. I tried getting a copy of it online for so many years but couldn't. Finally found it and the years of wait was actually worth it
The "Me" reading it back then and now were both equally excited and anxious chapter after chapter. A real pageturner.
The "Me" reading it back then and now were both equally excited and anxious chapter after chapter. A real pageturner.
July 19, 2017
Wow!!!
It has been so long since I have read anything from R L Stine but I am so glad I got to read this one! I want to say so much but everything is I want to say would be a spoiler alert! 😉 I will just say that you should read this story. You will think you know how it will end but you will be in for a surprise!
It has been so long since I have read anything from R L Stine but I am so glad I got to read this one! I want to say so much but everything is I want to say would be a spoiler alert! 😉 I will just say that you should read this story. You will think you know how it will end but you will be in for a surprise!
April 25, 2018
Don't get me wrong I love R.L. Stine's works but this wasn't one of my favorites. the main character was a little annoying, almost to where I didn't care what happened to her. the twist I had been speculating from the beginning, there where some things that surprised me it had some really creepy parts, but all in all it wasn't one of my favorites.
January 17, 2018
I downloaded this one because as a younger teen I always like reading the Fear Street books by RL Stine and Goosebumps.
This book was for maybe older teens. There's some drug talk, sex talk and murder of course.
It was kind of predictable and not super "edge of your seat" but for what I was expecting, it was a fun read.
This book was for maybe older teens. There's some drug talk, sex talk and murder of course.
It was kind of predictable and not super "edge of your seat" but for what I was expecting, it was a fun read.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 84 reviews