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Fear Street #49
Into the Dark
Paulette Fox refuses to let her blindness stop her from living a full life. But one thing she's never done is fall in love - until now. Paulette knows Brad Jones is the only guy for her.
Even when her friends see Brad commit a horrible crime, Paulette is sure that he's innocent. Her friends tell her he's out of control. That she will be his next victim. But Paulette knows he would never hurt her.
Is Paulette right about Brad? Or has her love put her in terrible danger?
Even when her friends see Brad commit a horrible crime, Paulette is sure that he's innocent. Her friends tell her he's out of control. That she will be his next victim. But Paulette knows he would never hurt her.
Is Paulette right about Brad? Or has her love put her in terrible danger?
147 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published October 1, 1997
16 people are currently reading
2079 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 63 reviews
June 13, 2018
Re-read. I really liked this one. Paulette is blind and looking for love. She's sick of people babying her and telling her she can't do certain things...like date the new boy in Shadyside. Brad has a past and her friends don't understand what she...sees...in him. But Brad and Paulette hit it off...right as someone starts stalking her. Bad things are happening to Paulette and without her eyes, she can't protect herself. Or can she?
This was just a refreshing take on horror. I really liked Paulette as a character and I enjoyed the originality of the tale. It was a bit predictable fairly early on, but it didn't take away from the story. In my opinion, it's one of the better Fear Street titles.
This was just a refreshing take on horror. I really liked Paulette as a character and I enjoyed the originality of the tale. It was a bit predictable fairly early on, but it didn't take away from the story. In my opinion, it's one of the better Fear Street titles.
March 22, 2022
Our protag Paulette is plucky, headstrong and stubborn AF. She lives a full life with caring friends at Shadyside High, piano lessons at the Music Academy, and all the pies she can eat at Pete's Pizza. There's only one setback--Paulette is blind.
While the cover art is truly laughable (Paulette stumbles through an open doorway with treacherous steps leading down while wearing dark glasses that the Three Blind Mice would wear!), I enjoyed reading this one, and experiencing the story as it unfolded through the eyes of, err...I mean, in the shoes of Paulette. So basically Paulette meets Brad, a nice dude who's new at Shadyside and works at the Music Academy as a janitor, who also loves to play the piano. They form a misfits bond and pretty soon he's all Paulette can think about. Buuut when Brad starts doing weird shit...holding up the pizza place with a gun (YIPES!), calling Paulette in the middle of the night acting like a total creepazoid ("I REALLY LIKE YOU, DO YOU LIKE MEEEEE"), and trying to break into her room at night and leaving his class ring behind...well. What's a blind girl in love to do?
I can't really say more without spoiling the whole damn thing, but I really loved Paulette and her spunk. Definitely one of the smarter Fear Street heroines who, despite her handicap, can outwit the bad guys and get out of a pickle.
3 out of 5 mournful sonatas played on the piano wondering what the hell to do about this hunky/weird/potentially DANGEROUS dude named Brad. Is he a criminal? Is it a case of mistaken identity? Welp, they do say LOVE IS BLIND.
While the cover art is truly laughable (Paulette stumbles through an open doorway with treacherous steps leading down while wearing dark glasses that the Three Blind Mice would wear!), I enjoyed reading this one, and experiencing the story as it unfolded through the eyes of, err...I mean, in the shoes of Paulette. So basically Paulette meets Brad, a nice dude who's new at Shadyside and works at the Music Academy as a janitor, who also loves to play the piano. They form a misfits bond and pretty soon he's all Paulette can think about. Buuut when Brad starts doing weird shit...holding up the pizza place with a gun (YIPES!), calling Paulette in the middle of the night acting like a total creepazoid ("I REALLY LIKE YOU, DO YOU LIKE MEEEEE"), and trying to break into her room at night and leaving his class ring behind...well. What's a blind girl in love to do?
I can't really say more without spoiling the whole damn thing, but I really loved Paulette and her spunk. Definitely one of the smarter Fear Street heroines who, despite her handicap, can outwit the bad guys and get out of a pickle.
3 out of 5 mournful sonatas played on the piano wondering what the hell to do about this hunky/weird/potentially DANGEROUS dude named Brad. Is he a criminal? Is it a case of mistaken identity? Welp, they do say LOVE IS BLIND.
August 11, 2015
Interesting book. Wonder what will happen now. I wonder if Brad was Ed and Ed was Brad. Who knows.
Can't wait to read more Fear Street novels.
Can't wait to read more Fear Street novels.
August 31, 2020
Meh. A bit dumb, even for an R.L. Stine book. I felt like this must have been one of the books where he suddenly realised "Oh shit. I'm supposed to have a manuscript in by tomorrow, I'll just pull an all-nighter and churn out any old slapdash. Plot be damned!!!!"
2 stars - one for each of the protagonist's unseeing eyes and what must have been an early attempt at not having a typical able-bodied M.C.
2 stars - one for each of the protagonist's unseeing eyes and what must have been an early attempt at not having a typical able-bodied M.C.
January 5, 2023
First read of the year, baby! I wanted to fit this in last week but things came up so I moved it, making this the start of 2023 reading for me. I wanted to randomize another Fear Street book since I'm reviewing one next month and hopefully wanted a cleanse from Silent Night 3.
I wanted to possibly review this but after reading it, I don't think I will as there's honestly not a ton to say other than what I will say here. This is one I found thrifting which was a good deal as it's a later on, and those are harder to find. This was like the 3rd to last of the series and you can tell.
Paulette Fox is a blind girl who meets a boy named Brad Jones. Yes, that's actually his name. He's nice but soon odd things happen and there are rumors he got into trouble at his old school. She's soon found out what his deal is.
So going into this, I was worried about the blind thing and while I can't really say how it is, we'll start with that. It's mixed as you may expect but it's not bad. There's a decent effort here and having a full on protagonist be disabled in any way these is at least different.
She has a thing about not wanting to be seen as weak an finds that others baby her too much. This thing of trying to overcompensate is a common thing that can be iffy, we just to be reminded she isn't weak despite the blind-ness. But there is a good point of how someone can be unintentionally offesnive even when they're trying to be nice.
Her desire to prove herself is a vice, she gets into Brad too quickly because he seems to not judge her as much. Paulette can be too gullible and into him super fast so she isn't ideal but has her moments. It can feel like a bit of a gimmick and it is mentioned a bit too much but she is competent and there are some details that work.
Not perfect but bad enough to write the whole thing off. Outside of that, this is a fine but very standard Fear street. It's a typical setup of a possibly evil boyfriend that goes in the directions you expect. It's mostly rushed, it jumps into things too fast and the writing is a bit too simple to sell the creepy moments. The climax is solid and it gets more fun as it goes, but you can tell this is a late game rush job.
The twist is silly and can be seen from a mile away. I sorta like the ideas it brings up as we see what the villain's deal is, but the motive is rushed so it doesn't go that deep. Ending is abrupt too. The pacing at least means it's not boring, and there's some decent setup and payoff.
This cone felt ghostwriten, as there's hardly any fake outs and there's less Stine-isms. No redheads or animal death here. Has some of his stink but not as much.
There's not as much to say scene by scene and overall I more or less said it all here. I only wanted to do it to make jokes about the Brad Jones thing. This one is even noted as being from Springfireld and having a smooth voice. No idea if he reviews porn though.
But even then, there was only a couple chances for obvio7us jokes. Overall, a passable one for the series that has enough thrills but is nothing too special. A little better than average in places and nothing is too bad but it's all just...fine. I'd rate it as Decent.
CONTINUITY WATCH: 99 Fear Street is mentioned as is Simon Fear.
STINE-ISMS: whoosh of air, very brief fat shaming reference. There's a whole scene with smells but no sour, told you it's ghostwritten.
POP CULTURE WATCH: King Kong
ACAB WATCH: Cops laugh at Paulette when she says she could tell someone wasn’t Brad the smell.
BODY COUNT: 1
A passable start to the year. I know what is next, I have plans for the year that will hopefully involve getting to some backlog books and I wanna try some new things, maybe. We'll see, hopefully we'll have fun with the reads this year. See ya then.
I wanted to possibly review this but after reading it, I don't think I will as there's honestly not a ton to say other than what I will say here. This is one I found thrifting which was a good deal as it's a later on, and those are harder to find. This was like the 3rd to last of the series and you can tell.
Paulette Fox is a blind girl who meets a boy named Brad Jones. Yes, that's actually his name. He's nice but soon odd things happen and there are rumors he got into trouble at his old school. She's soon found out what his deal is.
So going into this, I was worried about the blind thing and while I can't really say how it is, we'll start with that. It's mixed as you may expect but it's not bad. There's a decent effort here and having a full on protagonist be disabled in any way these is at least different.
She has a thing about not wanting to be seen as weak an finds that others baby her too much. This thing of trying to overcompensate is a common thing that can be iffy, we just to be reminded she isn't weak despite the blind-ness. But there is a good point of how someone can be unintentionally offesnive even when they're trying to be nice.
Her desire to prove herself is a vice, she gets into Brad too quickly because he seems to not judge her as much. Paulette can be too gullible and into him super fast so she isn't ideal but has her moments. It can feel like a bit of a gimmick and it is mentioned a bit too much but she is competent and there are some details that work.
Not perfect but bad enough to write the whole thing off. Outside of that, this is a fine but very standard Fear street. It's a typical setup of a possibly evil boyfriend that goes in the directions you expect. It's mostly rushed, it jumps into things too fast and the writing is a bit too simple to sell the creepy moments. The climax is solid and it gets more fun as it goes, but you can tell this is a late game rush job.
The twist is silly and can be seen from a mile away. I sorta like the ideas it brings up as we see what the villain's deal is, but the motive is rushed so it doesn't go that deep. Ending is abrupt too. The pacing at least means it's not boring, and there's some decent setup and payoff.
This cone felt ghostwriten, as there's hardly any fake outs and there's less Stine-isms. No redheads or animal death here. Has some of his stink but not as much.
There's not as much to say scene by scene and overall I more or less said it all here. I only wanted to do it to make jokes about the Brad Jones thing. This one is even noted as being from Springfireld and having a smooth voice. No idea if he reviews porn though.
But even then, there was only a couple chances for obvio7us jokes. Overall, a passable one for the series that has enough thrills but is nothing too special. A little better than average in places and nothing is too bad but it's all just...fine. I'd rate it as Decent.
CONTINUITY WATCH: 99 Fear Street is mentioned as is Simon Fear.
STINE-ISMS: whoosh of air, very brief fat shaming reference. There's a whole scene with smells but no sour, told you it's ghostwritten.
POP CULTURE WATCH: King Kong
ACAB WATCH: Cops laugh at Paulette when she says she could tell someone wasn’t Brad the smell.
BODY COUNT: 1
A passable start to the year. I know what is next, I have plans for the year that will hopefully involve getting to some backlog books and I wanna try some new things, maybe. We'll see, hopefully we'll have fun with the reads this year. See ya then.
July 15, 2016
Moral of the Story: If your sweet and caring boyfriend starts acting really weird and robbing places, it's probably just his evil twin.
Body Count: 1
The Usual Suspect(s): Brad Jones
Tagline: See no evil...
Plot: This book involves a "very special" character. Paulette Fox is blind. It's one of those where the writer tries so hard to make the friends of the protagonist look politically correct that the actual protagonist (in this case, Paulette) ends up looking like he/she is uncomfortable in his/her own skin. Aside from being blind, Paulette is pretty normal. She's better than most Shadyside girls... at least, she is at first. Naturally Paulette spends the whole book whining that no one thinks she can take care of herself when that's actually the exact opposite of what everyone thinks... leading us to believe, of course, that maybe Paulette isn't really that okay with who she is.
We begin with Paulette's friend Jonathan driving her to her piano lesson. As they are walking inside they are stopped by Brad Jones who has seen Paulette around Shadyside and wants to get to know her. Paulette gives him her phone number, but Jonathan doesn't feel so good about the whole thing. He is the typical jealous friend I've been reading so much of lately in these Fear Street books. I want to punch him in the face. I almost suspected him at several points, just because he's SO fucking clingy I can't imagine he would let ANYONE get close to Paulette. So Jonathan immediately tells her that Brad is bad news and that there has been rumors that he got into trouble at his old school. Aw, come on, Jonathan. That's every guy in Shadyside.
That night Paulette receives a call from Brad, or is it?! He's acting really strange on the phone. He says that he thinks about her all the time and Paulette's all, "Uh, duh, we just met." I'm liking Paulette right now, but I have an inkling that the feeling won't last.
Paulette and Brad have lunch together the next day, and she completely ignores the weird phone call. Brad lets Paulette touch his face so she can get a mental image of what he looks like. Paulette likes him even more now, because most people are creeped out by Paulette's need to touch their face. She feels a scar on Brad's forehead and asks how he got it. Then he tells her that he plays the piano too... in an old abandoned house on Fear Street. That's not weird at all! Nope. Why the hell people continue to want to actually go to Fear Street is honestly beyond me.
Paulette and her best friend Cindy leave school that day to go to Paulette's house and study. That doesn't happen so much when Cindy tells Paulette that her room has been vandalized! Paulette runs her fingers over the words that read, "You will be dead, blind girl!" Now, remember in the last book I recapped (Homecoming Queen) how those kids may have been stupid too but they actually called the police? Yeah, none of that happens here. Paulette is so concerned about not being treated like a child that she convinces Cindy not to call the police. I desperately wish Cindy were smart enough not to listen to Paulette. But Paulette IS acting like a child... she never wants anyone to be with her in case she misses a call from Brad! Smart move, Paulette. Sure don't want to miss a call from a guy who plays piano in an abandoned house on Fear Street!
The next day Paulette is walking to school and is positive that someone is following her. Since she is blind all of her other senses are heightened. She is right, of course, and gets pushed into traffic! Who should appear to rescue her but Brad? He tells her that she must have tripped, since he was behind her on the street and saw no one else following her. Hmmm... maybe it's just Brad's fault then? Paulette doesn't think so, and at this point she's become just a wee too trusting of Brad.
Brad wants Paulette to join her at the abandoned Fear Street house to listen to him play piano. Instead of realizing her limits and saying, "No, that would be an awful idea since I'm blind!" she instead tells him, "Sure, let's do it!" And off they go. Paulette listens to Brad play and they banter for a bit until Paulette hears something upstairs and Brad goes to check it out. That would be fine except that Brad never returns. Wtf? Super uncool! I would never speak to him again, but my name isn't Paulette (thank god). Luckily, her friend Jonathan is also a bit of a psycho and he has followed her there. Paulette moans about how she can take care of herself and how she doesn't understand why he followed her... sorry P, I'm kinda with Jonathan on this point. If you were stupid enough to go to Fear Street you should just let Jonathan rescue you already.
Well, that's the end of Brad for a while, because he just acts shady at school the next day and then tells Paulette he can never see her again. Good riddance, honestly, but Paulette still can't concentrate on anything except Brad. One night she is woken up by the sound of something at her window, and an arm reaches through and tries to pull Paulette out the window! Holy shit! Paulette's parents come in to see what's wrong, but she swears that she's fine, and she STILL wants to be left home alone. Paulette hasn't had enough of her creepy association with Brad. The arm through the window left a ring for Paulette - one that carries the initials "B.J." (snicker) ... Paulette just wonders why Brad didn't identify himself. Perhaps because he was never very stable to begin with?
Paulette, Jonathan, and Cindy head to Pete's Pizza and the place gets held up in a robbery! I never thought I'd see one of these in a Fear Street book, to be honest. It's kinda scary since it's so true to life. The robber has a gun and ends up shooting Jonathan (not fatally). Paulette tries to stop his bleeding with her jacket. The police come and everyone claims that the robber was Brad (someone took his mask off). But Paulette knows his voice and smell, and she is POSITIVE that it's not Brad. The police just look at her funny (I'm assuming) and dismiss her claims. I'm with Paulette on this one, though. Smell is SUPER strong. I think I could identify a killer based on smell, but don't quote me on that.
The next afternoon Paulette is suntanning in her backyard when she hears an intruder. She tries to go inside but finds that her guardrail is missing. She finds another familiar thing in the backyard and that helps her get inside and lock the back door. She thinks she's safe now, but I don't see how she could possibly think that. It sounds like she lives in a big house, after all. And it hasn't stopped her stalker before.
Paulette finally gets the call that she's been waiting for. Brad has an evil twin named Ed! He's jealous and always commits robberies and blames them on Brad. Or I guess they are just blamed on Brad by default of, you know, being Ed's identical twin. I love the Sweet Valley in this plotline! Brad is weak and at that abandoned house on Fear Street again. Paulette finally thinks of calling the police to get help for Brad, but he refuses. Paulette is a lovesick crackhead, and so she goes over to Fear Street right away without telling anyone else or calling the police. Let's slow clap for Paulette, everyone.
She finds Brad there and he tells her that Ed is about to come after them, so they have to tie him up. But we haven't had a big twist in the story for a while, so, wouldn't you know, Paulette ties up the wrong guy! Ed has tricked her. She tricks him right back and pretends to be madly in love with him. She gets him in another room and breaks his flashlight. The dark isn't any problem for her, after all. He comes storming after her, but Paulette was awesome and took defense classes before she met Brad. She doesn't give in to his strength and instead she takes his arm and flings him right into the rotting wood of the staircase. He breaks his neck and dies! Thank god.
The ending is the most uneventful one in Fear Street thus far. Brad and Paulette get out of the house and hug each other and Brad says he's finally found his way out of the dark. Okay? That's literally all that happens for the ending... not your best work, RL!
Gaping Plot Holes: None, but I was kind of hoping for evil triplets. The evil twin thing was a bit played out in the 90s, yes?
The Actual Suspect(s): Ed Jones, Brad's evil twin brother
Body Count: 1
The Usual Suspect(s): Brad Jones
Tagline: See no evil...
Plot: This book involves a "very special" character. Paulette Fox is blind. It's one of those where the writer tries so hard to make the friends of the protagonist look politically correct that the actual protagonist (in this case, Paulette) ends up looking like he/she is uncomfortable in his/her own skin. Aside from being blind, Paulette is pretty normal. She's better than most Shadyside girls... at least, she is at first. Naturally Paulette spends the whole book whining that no one thinks she can take care of herself when that's actually the exact opposite of what everyone thinks... leading us to believe, of course, that maybe Paulette isn't really that okay with who she is.
We begin with Paulette's friend Jonathan driving her to her piano lesson. As they are walking inside they are stopped by Brad Jones who has seen Paulette around Shadyside and wants to get to know her. Paulette gives him her phone number, but Jonathan doesn't feel so good about the whole thing. He is the typical jealous friend I've been reading so much of lately in these Fear Street books. I want to punch him in the face. I almost suspected him at several points, just because he's SO fucking clingy I can't imagine he would let ANYONE get close to Paulette. So Jonathan immediately tells her that Brad is bad news and that there has been rumors that he got into trouble at his old school. Aw, come on, Jonathan. That's every guy in Shadyside.
That night Paulette receives a call from Brad, or is it?! He's acting really strange on the phone. He says that he thinks about her all the time and Paulette's all, "Uh, duh, we just met." I'm liking Paulette right now, but I have an inkling that the feeling won't last.
Paulette and Brad have lunch together the next day, and she completely ignores the weird phone call. Brad lets Paulette touch his face so she can get a mental image of what he looks like. Paulette likes him even more now, because most people are creeped out by Paulette's need to touch their face. She feels a scar on Brad's forehead and asks how he got it. Then he tells her that he plays the piano too... in an old abandoned house on Fear Street. That's not weird at all! Nope. Why the hell people continue to want to actually go to Fear Street is honestly beyond me.
Paulette and her best friend Cindy leave school that day to go to Paulette's house and study. That doesn't happen so much when Cindy tells Paulette that her room has been vandalized! Paulette runs her fingers over the words that read, "You will be dead, blind girl!" Now, remember in the last book I recapped (Homecoming Queen) how those kids may have been stupid too but they actually called the police? Yeah, none of that happens here. Paulette is so concerned about not being treated like a child that she convinces Cindy not to call the police. I desperately wish Cindy were smart enough not to listen to Paulette. But Paulette IS acting like a child... she never wants anyone to be with her in case she misses a call from Brad! Smart move, Paulette. Sure don't want to miss a call from a guy who plays piano in an abandoned house on Fear Street!
The next day Paulette is walking to school and is positive that someone is following her. Since she is blind all of her other senses are heightened. She is right, of course, and gets pushed into traffic! Who should appear to rescue her but Brad? He tells her that she must have tripped, since he was behind her on the street and saw no one else following her. Hmmm... maybe it's just Brad's fault then? Paulette doesn't think so, and at this point she's become just a wee too trusting of Brad.
Brad wants Paulette to join her at the abandoned Fear Street house to listen to him play piano. Instead of realizing her limits and saying, "No, that would be an awful idea since I'm blind!" she instead tells him, "Sure, let's do it!" And off they go. Paulette listens to Brad play and they banter for a bit until Paulette hears something upstairs and Brad goes to check it out. That would be fine except that Brad never returns. Wtf? Super uncool! I would never speak to him again, but my name isn't Paulette (thank god). Luckily, her friend Jonathan is also a bit of a psycho and he has followed her there. Paulette moans about how she can take care of herself and how she doesn't understand why he followed her... sorry P, I'm kinda with Jonathan on this point. If you were stupid enough to go to Fear Street you should just let Jonathan rescue you already.
Well, that's the end of Brad for a while, because he just acts shady at school the next day and then tells Paulette he can never see her again. Good riddance, honestly, but Paulette still can't concentrate on anything except Brad. One night she is woken up by the sound of something at her window, and an arm reaches through and tries to pull Paulette out the window! Holy shit! Paulette's parents come in to see what's wrong, but she swears that she's fine, and she STILL wants to be left home alone. Paulette hasn't had enough of her creepy association with Brad. The arm through the window left a ring for Paulette - one that carries the initials "B.J." (snicker) ... Paulette just wonders why Brad didn't identify himself. Perhaps because he was never very stable to begin with?
Paulette, Jonathan, and Cindy head to Pete's Pizza and the place gets held up in a robbery! I never thought I'd see one of these in a Fear Street book, to be honest. It's kinda scary since it's so true to life. The robber has a gun and ends up shooting Jonathan (not fatally). Paulette tries to stop his bleeding with her jacket. The police come and everyone claims that the robber was Brad (someone took his mask off). But Paulette knows his voice and smell, and she is POSITIVE that it's not Brad. The police just look at her funny (I'm assuming) and dismiss her claims. I'm with Paulette on this one, though. Smell is SUPER strong. I think I could identify a killer based on smell, but don't quote me on that.
The next afternoon Paulette is suntanning in her backyard when she hears an intruder. She tries to go inside but finds that her guardrail is missing. She finds another familiar thing in the backyard and that helps her get inside and lock the back door. She thinks she's safe now, but I don't see how she could possibly think that. It sounds like she lives in a big house, after all. And it hasn't stopped her stalker before.
Paulette finally gets the call that she's been waiting for. Brad has an evil twin named Ed! He's jealous and always commits robberies and blames them on Brad. Or I guess they are just blamed on Brad by default of, you know, being Ed's identical twin. I love the Sweet Valley in this plotline! Brad is weak and at that abandoned house on Fear Street again. Paulette finally thinks of calling the police to get help for Brad, but he refuses. Paulette is a lovesick crackhead, and so she goes over to Fear Street right away without telling anyone else or calling the police. Let's slow clap for Paulette, everyone.
She finds Brad there and he tells her that Ed is about to come after them, so they have to tie him up. But we haven't had a big twist in the story for a while, so, wouldn't you know, Paulette ties up the wrong guy! Ed has tricked her. She tricks him right back and pretends to be madly in love with him. She gets him in another room and breaks his flashlight. The dark isn't any problem for her, after all. He comes storming after her, but Paulette was awesome and took defense classes before she met Brad. She doesn't give in to his strength and instead she takes his arm and flings him right into the rotting wood of the staircase. He breaks his neck and dies! Thank god.
The ending is the most uneventful one in Fear Street thus far. Brad and Paulette get out of the house and hug each other and Brad says he's finally found his way out of the dark. Okay? That's literally all that happens for the ending... not your best work, RL!
Gaping Plot Holes: None, but I was kind of hoping for evil triplets. The evil twin thing was a bit played out in the 90s, yes?
The Actual Suspect(s): Ed Jones, Brad's evil twin brother
November 21, 2020
I always go into these books with low standards because ‘Fear Street’ is mostly about the entertainment for me, but oh my god, Paulette was a complete idiot. Her being mad about people thinking her blindness meant she was incapable of doing normal things was valid. That said, there comes a point where your actual life is at stake and you shouldn’t dismiss your friends’ concerns based on some hang-up you have. Literally, some crazy person and I just couldn’t with her. This type of stuff happened constantly and after the fifth time, I was so over her making dumb decisions.
The twist was the typical R.L. Stine craziness, so I’m pretty indifferent to it all. The one thing I found strange was that Paulette kept bothering with this guy with the way he was acting. Like, you barely know this dude. Cut your losses and find a normal potential boyfriend that isn’t going to call your house and say weird things. I just feel like both Brad and her friend Jonathan came off like creeps.
The twist was the typical R.L. Stine craziness, so I’m pretty indifferent to it all. The one thing I found strange was that Paulette kept bothering with this guy with the way he was acting. Like, you barely know this dude. Cut your losses and find a normal potential boyfriend that isn’t going to call your house and say weird things. I just feel like both Brad and her friend Jonathan came off like creeps.
September 8, 2015
I thought I remembered this being a good book in the series, but reading it now made me realize how lame it was. The "twist" is pretty obvious, the ending is ridiculous, and the writing seemed worse than usual.
Also, Jonathan is beyond creepy. If I hadn't remembered the ending, I would have thought HE was behind the stalking, as he was clearly obsessed with Paulette.
Also, Jonathan is beyond creepy. If I hadn't remembered the ending, I would have thought HE was behind the stalking, as he was clearly obsessed with Paulette.
June 2, 2025
2.5⭐ rounded up.
Started out good, but some of the logical issues with the plot and dumb character decisions really held this one back for me. It was fine, overall.
Started out good, but some of the logical issues with the plot and dumb character decisions really held this one back for me. It was fine, overall.
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September 30, 2025Boris en ik hadden het pas over enge boeken. Toen vertelde hij dat hij als kind dit boek gelezen had, en het echt eng vond. Genoeg reden voor mij om het te lezen dus. De hoofdpersoon is een blind meisje, wat het perspectief erg interessant maakt. Steeds overkomt haar weer wat ergs, door iemand die volgens haar omgeving de jongen is met wie ze aan het daten is, maar waarvan zij zeker is van niet door zijn geur en stem. Dit boek had ik vooral graag gelezen op mn twaalfde, want dan had ik het denk ik heeeel spannend gevonden. Het einde was eerder lachwekkend dan een heftige climax.
Het is een boek voor jongeren, dus ik voel me niet bekwaam om het sterren te geven. Graag zou ik een boek voor volwassenen lezen met deze hoofdpersoon.
Het is een boek voor jongeren, dus ik voel me niet bekwaam om het sterren te geven. Graag zou ik een boek voor volwassenen lezen met deze hoofdpersoon.
January 24, 2019
Honestly, I wavered between giving this book 1 or 2 stars. There are some interesting parts, but a lot of the novel contains stupid cliches. I won't go into all of them, but there were a few that really annoyed me. The main character, Paulette, is blind and hates the fact that people treat her like a little kid. I understand this, but there are moments in the book where she puts herself in danger because she doesn't want people fussing over her. . And don't even get me started on the .
July 12, 2024
At the tail end of the original Fear Street Series, there is this undiscovered gem.
There are parts of the plot that are not easy to miss once we get going but we have a very likeable protagonist.
Paulette Fox has been blind since birth and her parents still treat her like a child sometimes. They are more hindered by their daughter's handicap than Paulette is but at least they are supportive in trying and not doing more harm than good.
Paulette can play the piano really well, her other senses heightened and she is determined to take a self-defense class despite her friends Jonathan and Cindy thinking she is crazy. The only real tropes of Paulette being blind are that she uses the cane and maybe dark glasses sometimes but we are treated to a prologue describing what Paulette looks like from the P.O.V. of someone who will be causing a lot of grief for our main girl.
Brown hair and green eyes so perhaps Paulette doesn't do the glasses...part of me is also kind of glad that she doesn't have a seeing-eye dog. Sometimes pets don't have happy endings in Fear Street books...
Going to a music lesson one day, Paulette is heading inside while Jonathan is parking his car. A voice calls for her to look out and then Paulette feels herself meeting the asphalt as something runs into her.
It is a young man pushing her out of the way of being hit by a car where the driver didn't engage the parking brake. He introduces himself as Brad Jones, new student to Shadyside and part-time janitor helper at the music academy, and Paulette is drawn to his voice and the fact that he saved her.
They flirt a little until Jonathan shows up and Brad runs off to work. Paulette keeps her lesson even after getting scraped up which turns out to be a good thing as Brad asks for her number when she is leaving with Jonathan. It is clear her friend isn't too thrilled about Brad and Jonathan tells Paulette that it is because he has heard rumors about Brad.
Supposedly, he committed robberies in the last town he lived in and had to transfer to a different school. Paulette isn't into gossip but when she tells Cindy about Brad, she repeats the same things even though she does tell Paulette that Brad is movie-star handsome. Brad joins Paulette for lunch and Cindy leaves them alone where they talk some more.
Cliched but they have a scene where Brad takes Paulette's hands and lets her touch his face to get a sense map of it so she can "see" what he looks like. It really gets my heart a thumping because Paulette says that most people don't like her to do that and also, we have no idea what Cindy or Jonathan look like so...
Have her two best buddies never let Paulette touch their faces?
Anyway...
Later that day when Cindy comes over to study and they head up to Paulette's room, the other girl screams. Paulette asks what is wrong and Cindy tells her that a message has been painted on her wall in blood-red paint:
YOU WILL BE DEAD, BLIND GIRL.
Someone was able to sneak quietly into the house and vandalize her wall...and Paulette didn't even know! She was playing the piano but before then she came home from school and changed clothes but none of her senses picked up footfalls. Coming up the stairs, the smell of the paint didn't reach her nose.
That is truly terrifying...some real Wait Until Dark vibes popping up in this book.
The next time, someone pushes Paulette off the sidewalk into the street and she almost gets ran over but the woman is able to stop in time. Paulette does hear footsteps this time and the strong hands on her back...the same strong hands that help her stand up.
It's Brad and he is starting to act very strange...talking intently and intensely about how he and Paulette have a connection. A voice almost strained and husky with emotion but then...the same normal Brad the next time they talk.
When he takes her to an abandoned house on Fear Street, Paulette hears a noise upstairs and Brad rushes off to check it out. Nosy Jonathan just happens to be following Paulette and he searches the house to find it is completely empty...no Brad anywhere.
Paulette's friends are none too pleased about Brad just ditching a blind girl in an abandoned house on Fear Street and the next time Paulette meets up with Brad...he says he can't see her anymore and drops out of school.
Cindy and Jonathan take Paulette out for pizza to cheer her up and wouldn't you know? Pete's Pizza is robbed on that very afternoon!
The masked robber almost goes after Paulette, not knowing she is blind, and Jonathan's actions to protect his friend lead to him being shot! By the time the police and an ambulance arrive, he has been wrestled to a table and unmasked.
All around her, Paulette hears the voices cry out:
"It's Brad...Brad Jones!"
Brad escapes but Paulette's other senses tell her...it was a mistake! It couldn't have been Brad shooting her friend because his voice was not the same or even the scent she has come to recognize whenever Brad is around...like leather not the cinnamon scent of today.
No one believes Paulette, poor and confused little blind girl, letting her love for a troubled young man blind her even more to how dangerous Brad really is. Yet Paulette is a smart, young woman and even though she can't see Paulette won't let Brad go into the dark alone...and prove he is innocent.
Pretty intense yet predictable enough before the book is even over to spoil the reveal but yet...there are still some twists to keep the momentum going into a very harrowing climax. If not for the predictability and the suddenness of the ending, I would have probably given Into The Dark five stars.
What it lacks in that one star is more than made up by the others and given that the protagonist is missing out on one of her own five senses...it seems fitting.
There are parts of the plot that are not easy to miss once we get going but we have a very likeable protagonist.
Paulette Fox has been blind since birth and her parents still treat her like a child sometimes. They are more hindered by their daughter's handicap than Paulette is but at least they are supportive in trying and not doing more harm than good.
Paulette can play the piano really well, her other senses heightened and she is determined to take a self-defense class despite her friends Jonathan and Cindy thinking she is crazy. The only real tropes of Paulette being blind are that she uses the cane and maybe dark glasses sometimes but we are treated to a prologue describing what Paulette looks like from the P.O.V. of someone who will be causing a lot of grief for our main girl.
Brown hair and green eyes so perhaps Paulette doesn't do the glasses...part of me is also kind of glad that she doesn't have a seeing-eye dog. Sometimes pets don't have happy endings in Fear Street books...
Going to a music lesson one day, Paulette is heading inside while Jonathan is parking his car. A voice calls for her to look out and then Paulette feels herself meeting the asphalt as something runs into her.
It is a young man pushing her out of the way of being hit by a car where the driver didn't engage the parking brake. He introduces himself as Brad Jones, new student to Shadyside and part-time janitor helper at the music academy, and Paulette is drawn to his voice and the fact that he saved her.
They flirt a little until Jonathan shows up and Brad runs off to work. Paulette keeps her lesson even after getting scraped up which turns out to be a good thing as Brad asks for her number when she is leaving with Jonathan. It is clear her friend isn't too thrilled about Brad and Jonathan tells Paulette that it is because he has heard rumors about Brad.
Supposedly, he committed robberies in the last town he lived in and had to transfer to a different school. Paulette isn't into gossip but when she tells Cindy about Brad, she repeats the same things even though she does tell Paulette that Brad is movie-star handsome. Brad joins Paulette for lunch and Cindy leaves them alone where they talk some more.
Cliched but they have a scene where Brad takes Paulette's hands and lets her touch his face to get a sense map of it so she can "see" what he looks like. It really gets my heart a thumping because Paulette says that most people don't like her to do that and also, we have no idea what Cindy or Jonathan look like so...
Have her two best buddies never let Paulette touch their faces?
Anyway...
Later that day when Cindy comes over to study and they head up to Paulette's room, the other girl screams. Paulette asks what is wrong and Cindy tells her that a message has been painted on her wall in blood-red paint:
YOU WILL BE DEAD, BLIND GIRL.
Someone was able to sneak quietly into the house and vandalize her wall...and Paulette didn't even know! She was playing the piano but before then she came home from school and changed clothes but none of her senses picked up footfalls. Coming up the stairs, the smell of the paint didn't reach her nose.
That is truly terrifying...some real Wait Until Dark vibes popping up in this book.
The next time, someone pushes Paulette off the sidewalk into the street and she almost gets ran over but the woman is able to stop in time. Paulette does hear footsteps this time and the strong hands on her back...the same strong hands that help her stand up.
It's Brad and he is starting to act very strange...talking intently and intensely about how he and Paulette have a connection. A voice almost strained and husky with emotion but then...the same normal Brad the next time they talk.
When he takes her to an abandoned house on Fear Street, Paulette hears a noise upstairs and Brad rushes off to check it out. Nosy Jonathan just happens to be following Paulette and he searches the house to find it is completely empty...no Brad anywhere.
Paulette's friends are none too pleased about Brad just ditching a blind girl in an abandoned house on Fear Street and the next time Paulette meets up with Brad...he says he can't see her anymore and drops out of school.
Cindy and Jonathan take Paulette out for pizza to cheer her up and wouldn't you know? Pete's Pizza is robbed on that very afternoon!
The masked robber almost goes after Paulette, not knowing she is blind, and Jonathan's actions to protect his friend lead to him being shot! By the time the police and an ambulance arrive, he has been wrestled to a table and unmasked.
All around her, Paulette hears the voices cry out:
"It's Brad...Brad Jones!"
Brad escapes but Paulette's other senses tell her...it was a mistake! It couldn't have been Brad shooting her friend because his voice was not the same or even the scent she has come to recognize whenever Brad is around...like leather not the cinnamon scent of today.
No one believes Paulette, poor and confused little blind girl, letting her love for a troubled young man blind her even more to how dangerous Brad really is. Yet Paulette is a smart, young woman and even though she can't see Paulette won't let Brad go into the dark alone...and prove he is innocent.
Pretty intense yet predictable enough before the book is even over to spoil the reveal but yet...there are still some twists to keep the momentum going into a very harrowing climax. If not for the predictability and the suddenness of the ending, I would have probably given Into The Dark five stars.
What it lacks in that one star is more than made up by the others and given that the protagonist is missing out on one of her own five senses...it seems fitting.
May 23, 2023
Paulette is a dumbass.
March 14, 2024
TW/CW: death, robbery, gun-related injury.
Into the Dark is told from Paulette's perspective and how differently she navigates her world. She wants to be independent and not pitied or be surrounded by people who feel as if they have to babysit her because she is blind. Her lack of sight does not mean she is not capable of learning new things, and we learn this pretty fast into the book.
Personally, hated the way Cindy disregarded Paulette's plea about Brad's innocence. Cindy and Jonathan may have been Paulette's friends but sometimes they treated her like a child and that's exactly what Paulette was constantly upset about. As she should be! She doesn't have the sense of sight, but her other senses work just fine - as Paulette's friend Cindy should have stuck up for her when the officer laughed. (Also wtf?)
This read wasn't all that great for me personally for multiple reasons. One major reason is it feels like someone copied and pasted The New Girl and just changed a few names and stuff around so it wasn't identical. Not a fan of the ending either, I wanted to see a little more of how everything came to light - especially when her parents found out what went on while they were away. Maybe see a little character growth from Cindy and Jonathan.
Onto the next!
(Also I realized too late I was reading the books out of order, but I just decided to continue anyway. Not sure if this affects anything though- I assume the fear street books could be read in any order unless its a book with a Part 1, 2, 3. )
Into the Dark is told from Paulette's perspective and how differently she navigates her world. She wants to be independent and not pitied or be surrounded by people who feel as if they have to babysit her because she is blind. Her lack of sight does not mean she is not capable of learning new things, and we learn this pretty fast into the book.
Personally, hated the way Cindy disregarded Paulette's plea about Brad's innocence. Cindy and Jonathan may have been Paulette's friends but sometimes they treated her like a child and that's exactly what Paulette was constantly upset about. As she should be! She doesn't have the sense of sight, but her other senses work just fine - as Paulette's friend Cindy should have stuck up for her when the officer laughed. (Also wtf?)
This read wasn't all that great for me personally for multiple reasons. One major reason is it feels like someone copied and pasted The New Girl and just changed a few names and stuff around so it wasn't identical. Not a fan of the ending either, I wanted to see a little more of how everything came to light - especially when her parents found out what went on while they were away. Maybe see a little character growth from Cindy and Jonathan.
Onto the next!
(Also I realized too late I was reading the books out of order, but I just decided to continue anyway. Not sure if this affects anything though- I assume the fear street books could be read in any order unless its a book with a Part 1, 2, 3. )
December 19, 2025
/4 stars
This might be the best fear street I’ve read so far.
Intense plot that’s only semi-predictable ✅
Different and interesting protagonist ✅
Non-toxic love interest who’s not a major creep ✅
All award winning qualities. The love interest was for once just a normal dude who really seemed to care about Paulette. I really liked Paulette. She was a well written character. She didn’t have any major character flaws other than maybe being a little stubborn. She was feisty and smart. I love that they wrote it from her POV as a blind person. I didn’t expect representation in a slightly biased book from the 90s, so I was pleasantly surprised. The only predictable thing was the twin trope. I mean, two places at once? Weird unexplainable personality flaws? Either a twin or a severe case of schizophrenia.
Redhead Moment: none to note.
This might be the best fear street I’ve read so far.
Intense plot that’s only semi-predictable ✅
Different and interesting protagonist ✅
Non-toxic love interest who’s not a major creep ✅
All award winning qualities. The love interest was for once just a normal dude who really seemed to care about Paulette. I really liked Paulette. She was a well written character. She didn’t have any major character flaws other than maybe being a little stubborn. She was feisty and smart. I love that they wrote it from her POV as a blind person. I didn’t expect representation in a slightly biased book from the 90s, so I was pleasantly surprised. The only predictable thing was the twin trope. I mean, two places at once? Weird unexplainable personality flaws? Either a twin or a severe case of schizophrenia.
Redhead Moment: none to note.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 5, 2021
Full review at: https://www.jackreacts.com.au/post/fe...
Snippet: I really wanted to like this one, but I don't think it met my expectations. It was great to see a handicapped heroine who prided herself on her independence, but my god was Paulette an idiot.
Storywise, it wasn't that exciting either. I guessed the twist halfway through, and while that normally happens anyway, there wasn't enough excitement going on to keep me interested. Paulette was getting dumber by the minute too and I could feel my brain cells dying one by one as my will to live slowly withered away, so I was wanting this to be over ASAP.
Check out my full review linked up top for an in-depth recap :)
Snippet: I really wanted to like this one, but I don't think it met my expectations. It was great to see a handicapped heroine who prided herself on her independence, but my god was Paulette an idiot.
Storywise, it wasn't that exciting either. I guessed the twist halfway through, and while that normally happens anyway, there wasn't enough excitement going on to keep me interested. Paulette was getting dumber by the minute too and I could feel my brain cells dying one by one as my will to live slowly withered away, so I was wanting this to be over ASAP.
Check out my full review linked up top for an in-depth recap :)
November 27, 2023
I am back in Fear Street, back to where the campfire ghost stories are told, where at night the horrors begin.
Imagine meeting someone by chance, someone whom you like
Imagine each time they arrive, they are saving you from an accident
Imagine being left alone in an empty house on Fear Street
It does not sound scary but it is because
Someone is trying to kill you
Someone has been in your house scaring you
Someone knows you are blind
However
You know that the someone you like is not after you
You can tell by their voice, their face shape
And
The truth will shock you
Never judge a book by its cover as looks are deceiving, touch and sense is not
Imagine meeting someone by chance, someone whom you like
Imagine each time they arrive, they are saving you from an accident
Imagine being left alone in an empty house on Fear Street
It does not sound scary but it is because
Someone is trying to kill you
Someone has been in your house scaring you
Someone knows you are blind
However
You know that the someone you like is not after you
You can tell by their voice, their face shape
And
The truth will shock you
Never judge a book by its cover as looks are deceiving, touch and sense is not
September 14, 2022
I think R.L. Stine's descriptions are impressive and the story itself is intriguing. It's not my favorite, but I enjoyed it. This was a twist on Fear Street by having the main character be blind and I think other Fear Street books with the main characters having different abilities like this book would have been cool. The reader is "thrown into the dark" through Paulette's perspective. I like how the book shows that a person shouldn't be treated as incapable just because she (or he) is different.
September 20, 2023
Sebel bangettttt, karena tokoh utamanya terlalu bodoh dan naif.
Maksudnya gini, tokoh utamanya itu tuna netra, kenalan sama cowok yang agak sus. Semua temen-temennya bilang, si cowok ini bermasalah. Bukannya tobat eh malah lanjut part 2.
Huhuhhuhuhuuuu.. selalu penekanannya "aku tahu dia tidak seperti itu" ya gimana ya, dia kan gak bisa lihat langsung, ngobrol juga cuma 5 menit-10 menit, ketemu juga baru 2 kali.. masa udah percaya 100% tanpa ragu sedikitpun.
Salah satu Tokoh utama paling nyebelin seantero fear street series
Maksudnya gini, tokoh utamanya itu tuna netra, kenalan sama cowok yang agak sus. Semua temen-temennya bilang, si cowok ini bermasalah. Bukannya tobat eh malah lanjut part 2.
Huhuhhuhuhuuuu.. selalu penekanannya "aku tahu dia tidak seperti itu" ya gimana ya, dia kan gak bisa lihat langsung, ngobrol juga cuma 5 menit-10 menit, ketemu juga baru 2 kali.. masa udah percaya 100% tanpa ragu sedikitpun.
Salah satu Tokoh utama paling nyebelin seantero fear street series
October 25, 2023
It starts off as a story about a blind girl that has strange things happen to her when the new boy moves into town, you think it's a Jekyll and Hyde story when BOOM! It's a good and evil twin story out of nowhere. And yes, it even went so far as the "I'm the real one, no, I am" Just like the mirror/mirror episode of Star Trek, but without the gotee.
Being almost hit by traffic must be a #1 killer of blind people because she almost got hit like 3 times.
Being almost hit by traffic must be a #1 killer of blind people because she almost got hit like 3 times.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 31, 2023
This was pretty refreshing to read but predictable. The evil twin trope actually worked pretty well here because our main character can't see. There were some inconsistencies with her being able to identify them by the smell but that didn't come to play when she got tricked into tying one of them up.
I got frustrated with her decisions and infatuation with Brad sometimes but the friendship dynamique is a lot better, i think. At least the parents are more protective and concerning.
I got frustrated with her decisions and infatuation with Brad sometimes but the friendship dynamique is a lot better, i think. At least the parents are more protective and concerning.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 26, 2025
3.5 ⭐️ I had such a good time reading this! It was something new & really interesting to have a blind protagonist. I think R.L. Stine did a great job bringing Paulette’s perspective to life. I really loved her as a character- she was so likable & probably one of my favorites in the series. I did guess the twist kind of early on, but I thought it was really cool still. This was def one of the most interesting FS books I’ve read so far
June 14, 2021
I read this in Saturday 12/06/21 but forgot to review.
It was okay, but gave me vibes of 'The New Girl' and also 'Double Date'. It was a bit predictable, the main character was a bit annoying sometimes.
The only thing interested was that the protagonist was blind, so it was different to imagine how the story went through her eyes (although it was third person narrative).
It was okay, but gave me vibes of 'The New Girl' and also 'Double Date'. It was a bit predictable, the main character was a bit annoying sometimes.
The only thing interested was that the protagonist was blind, so it was different to imagine how the story went through her eyes (although it was third person narrative).
October 12, 2023
A fun read by RL Stine. Paulette is blind. Her parents tend to see her limitations. Paulette knows she can do things others think she can’t. Enter Brad. Could this be love blooming between them? But why does he act strange at times?
⚠️Trigger Warnings⚠️
- Breaking & Entering
- Attempted Murder
- Armed Robbery
- Stalker
⚠️Trigger Warnings⚠️
- Breaking & Entering
- Attempted Murder
- Armed Robbery
- Stalker
November 14, 2023
Very predictable, knew it was a twin situation. The ending felt incomplete and rushed. Wish it would have proved Brads innocence with the police finding out about his twin Ed being the one who did the robberies and all.
July 23, 2024
3.5 stars - Paulette is blind but that doesn't stop her from becoming involved with a guy who seems to have a darker side to him. It was interesting to have a main character with a visual disability and see how that plays out when placed in a classic Fear Street struggle.
September 21, 2024
This was an okay book but it was not the greatest in the series. You can tell here that R. L. Stine is loosing steam for the series. It's actually impressive he comes up with so many plotlines as he does and many of the books are pretty solid. Anyways, this was an okay book for this series.
January 2, 2022
Pitka, dinamična priča.
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