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Fear Street #16
First Date
Fear Street -- where your worst nightmares live...
Chelsea is the typical shy girl. Always home on a Saturday night, she would give anything to have her first date. Finally, Chelsea's luck begins to change when two new guys move into town and both ask her out.
Too bad that one of Chelsea's new boys has a terrible hobby -- murder. Now Chelsea may be looking for love, but he's looking for a new victim.
The Fear is Catching.
165 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published May 1, 1992
63 people are currently reading
3163 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 188 reviews
December 23, 2019
Tengo muchos recuerdos de este libro, en primera porque eran de los que leía en compañía de mi grupo de amigas, y en segunda porque en aquellos años era el libro más largo que había leído.
La calle del terror tiene muchísimas cosas que te atraen si eres muy fan de las cosas paranormales. Es la colección que más me gusta del autor y esta es una muy ingeniosa.
¿Qué pasaría si vieras a la chica más linda, pero luego de pensarlo te atrevieras a hablarle pero por más que trataras no la encontraras por ningún lado?
Esa es justo la premisa de esta historia, pero cuidado, que en la calle del terror muchas cosas no son lo que parecen y si esta chica vive ahí, podría ser cualquiera cosa, incluso un fantasma.
La calle del terror tiene muchísimas cosas que te atraen si eres muy fan de las cosas paranormales. Es la colección que más me gusta del autor y esta es una muy ingeniosa.
¿Qué pasaría si vieras a la chica más linda, pero luego de pensarlo te atrevieras a hablarle pero por más que trataras no la encontraras por ningún lado?
Esa es justo la premisa de esta historia, pero cuidado, que en la calle del terror muchas cosas no son lo que parecen y si esta chica vive ahí, podría ser cualquiera cosa, incluso un fantasma.
October 27, 2018
I don’t remember my thoughts on this from when I was a preteen but it kinda made me mad this time. There’s s lot of body shaming in this book from family & friends. This poor girl is left alone 90% of the time & she’s scared a lot. She has reasons to be but it seems no one stops to think maybe an adult should stay with her. The villain has a pretty sad story too. This isn’t one of his best.
October 21, 2018
3.25
I liked it and quite the page turner when it gets going.
I liked it and quite the page turner when it gets going.
October 26, 2018
Here we are again with body shaming, and shaming curly hair again as well (come on, what is so wrong with curly hair R.L Stine!?)
R.L Stine is huge with rape culture in his teen books. Yikes. I did not notice this when I read them as a preteen/teenager. It happens three times in this book. With the boys in the car, two guys in Chelsea's workplace and that scene with a drunk Sparks. (more details below) These are terrifying real-world situation that no person wants to be in. There is also an instance where they call another girl a tramp, so we've got slut shaming, too.
Body shaming:
Don't do this. If you try to force someone to change their looks (by adding makeup..etc) when they don't want to, you are basically telling them they are not good enough the way they are.
Rape culture:
Slut shaming:
I still love these books; yeah, I have a blind spot for them. I know they are outdated and problematic by today's standards. I'm reading them through nostalgia-colored glasses.
Afterthought: I just want to point out that the main character is mentioned as being "chubby" and the bad guy says she is "dark and chubby. Not real pretty but she's okay." The book talks about "fixing" her up by straightening her hair, wearing makeup and losing a few pounds. These 80s & 90s teen books probably made a lot of people feel bad. Or if you were like me, you would just overlook the problematic stuff; it just went right over my head.
R.L Stine is huge with rape culture in his teen books. Yikes. I did not notice this when I read them as a preteen/teenager. It happens three times in this book. With the boys in the car, two guys in Chelsea's workplace and that scene with a drunk Sparks. (more details below) These are terrifying real-world situation that no person wants to be in. There is also an instance where they call another girl a tramp, so we've got slut shaming, too.
Body shaming:
Don't do this. If you try to force someone to change their looks (by adding makeup..etc) when they don't want to, you are basically telling them they are not good enough the way they are.
Rape culture:
Slut shaming:
I still love these books; yeah, I have a blind spot for them. I know they are outdated and problematic by today's standards. I'm reading them through nostalgia-colored glasses.
Afterthought: I just want to point out that the main character is mentioned as being "chubby" and the bad guy says she is "dark and chubby. Not real pretty but she's okay." The book talks about "fixing" her up by straightening her hair, wearing makeup and losing a few pounds. These 80s & 90s teen books probably made a lot of people feel bad. Or if you were like me, you would just overlook the problematic stuff; it just went right over my head.
February 9, 2022
This is probably the most generic and run-of-the-mill Fear Street book I've read. The only thing that's missing is the threatening phone calls from unknown persons. I didn't hate this book, but it was even cornier than usual and there was just nothing here I really cared about. This one ranks alongside Final Grade as being my least favorite so far. And I just don't care enough to give this one a proper review. Sorry. Can't recommend this one.
April 4, 2019
5 ⭐
I'm not entirely sure if I read this book while I was at school. I don't really remember it very much.
Enjoyed this book. Sad that Chelsea had her first date with a serial killer. Glad she and Nina were able to stop him. Hope she has a better date with Sparks.
I'm not entirely sure if I read this book while I was at school. I don't really remember it very much.
Enjoyed this book. Sad that Chelsea had her first date with a serial killer. Glad she and Nina were able to stop him. Hope she has a better date with Sparks.
February 4, 2022
Being very shy, Chelsea always had trouble talking to boys. That's why she's never even had her first date yet.
Then all of a sudden she has 2 boys asking her out at around the same time. Little does she know that one of them is a psychopath with plans to kill her.
So besides the fact that, once again, there are very aggressive male characters, I actually felt bad for the MC for a couple different reasons.
After her father's restaurant is robbed, leaving him in the hospital Chelsea is understandably shaken and scared afterwards. But to make matters worse, she is left home alone, and often scared, all the time. The parenting often doesn't make much sense in the Fear Street books.
With some body shaming thrown in for Chelsea on top of that, this book really hit a lot of bad points with today's standards.
Another thing that seemed unlikely: What are the chances of 2 very similar looking boys moving to the same small town at pretty much the same time. Also don't forget Chelsea herself is also new to town.
This one was a flop in the series for me.
Then all of a sudden she has 2 boys asking her out at around the same time. Little does she know that one of them is a psychopath with plans to kill her.
So besides the fact that, once again, there are very aggressive male characters, I actually felt bad for the MC for a couple different reasons.
After her father's restaurant is robbed, leaving him in the hospital Chelsea is understandably shaken and scared afterwards. But to make matters worse, she is left home alone, and often scared, all the time. The parenting often doesn't make much sense in the Fear Street books.
With some body shaming thrown in for Chelsea on top of that, this book really hit a lot of bad points with today's standards.
Another thing that seemed unlikely: What are the chances of 2 very similar looking boys moving to the same small town at pretty much the same time. Also don't forget Chelsea herself is also new to town.
This one was a flop in the series for me.
February 27, 2023
I was surprised at how much I liked this story and it's twist and turns.
Well written and fast paced it is for me a great introduction to the Fear Street series.
Well written and fast paced it is for me a great introduction to the Fear Street series.
December 29, 2022
Definitely one of the better Fear Street books, this one genuinely freaked me out.
Chelsea's family is new to Shadyside, and Chelsea is not having a good time. She doesn't feel she fits in, especially after her best friend Nina starts going out with Doug and no longer has time for her. She's lonely, and she's depressed. That is, until she meets someone too good to be true. The new boy in her homeroom sure is dreamy and shy - and he seems interested in her! So does this new guy hanging out at the diner where she works. Both want to go out with her, and when she agrees to a secret first date... well... she gets in over her head.
Because when things seem too good to be true? They often are.
Damn, this book went hard.
Chelsea's family is new to Shadyside, and Chelsea is not having a good time. She doesn't feel she fits in, especially after her best friend Nina starts going out with Doug and no longer has time for her. She's lonely, and she's depressed. That is, until she meets someone too good to be true. The new boy in her homeroom sure is dreamy and shy - and he seems interested in her! So does this new guy hanging out at the diner where she works. Both want to go out with her, and when she agrees to a secret first date... well... she gets in over her head.
Because when things seem too good to be true? They often are.
Damn, this book went hard.
Read
July 3, 2025MM $6.33 Ebay 7/3/25
November 20, 2025
Riddled with usual R.L. Stine goofiness but wow!!! I am shocked by how realistic, relatable, and empathetic his illustration of insecurity and loneliness is in this volume. Really brings me back to my highschool years which is simultaneously terrifying and very impressive! Chelsea comparing her lunch to Nina's makes me want to cry. Good stuff!!!
January 29, 2009
First Date (Fear Street)
By: R.L. Stine
Captivated and trapped by the plot in this book, I couldn't put it down. Everyone just wishes for their First Date to be perfect. The way R.L. Stine twists the words in this book sends shivers up and down your spine.
The plot in this book consists of a boy who looks very good, but is a murderer, and a guy who likes the girl. Well, the girl is just stupid enough to think the murderer is the guy that actually likes her. Haha, not funny, but the way R.L. Stine puts it in descriptive words, I couldn't get my eyes off the book.
R.L. Stine's way of writing the book isn't in children form. Maybe if you don't like scary books, or books that will send shiver up and down your spine, and cause you to have visions. (Well, sorry to tell you that, but this book does do that). Stine's descriptive word describes the 'cord' that Will (the murderer) uses to strangle the main character of the book. Can't spoil anymore! You just have to read it yourself!
Never was into horror books? Want something to give you the goosebumps? Well this is the correct book you're finding! First Date is just the exact book for Friday the 13th if you're superstitious. I'm warning you, if you don't read First Date you're missing out, the book will find it's way to come back and haunt you!
By: R.L. Stine
Captivated and trapped by the plot in this book, I couldn't put it down. Everyone just wishes for their First Date to be perfect. The way R.L. Stine twists the words in this book sends shivers up and down your spine.
The plot in this book consists of a boy who looks very good, but is a murderer, and a guy who likes the girl. Well, the girl is just stupid enough to think the murderer is the guy that actually likes her. Haha, not funny, but the way R.L. Stine puts it in descriptive words, I couldn't get my eyes off the book.
R.L. Stine's way of writing the book isn't in children form. Maybe if you don't like scary books, or books that will send shiver up and down your spine, and cause you to have visions. (Well, sorry to tell you that, but this book does do that). Stine's descriptive word describes the 'cord' that Will (the murderer) uses to strangle the main character of the book. Can't spoil anymore! You just have to read it yourself!
Never was into horror books? Want something to give you the goosebumps? Well this is the correct book you're finding! First Date is just the exact book for Friday the 13th if you're superstitious. I'm warning you, if you don't read First Date you're missing out, the book will find it's way to come back and haunt you!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 25, 2023
TW/CW: fat-shaming, murder, age-gap (unknown to the FMC).
ABOUT: A new face has arrived in Shadyside and Chelsea is eager to get him to notice her. A lonely girl, who is also new herself, struggles to feel seen and just wants to experience her first date. When she finally lands that very first date, she's so excited; but why does it have to be a secret?
THOUGHTS:
I MISS THESE BOOKS SO MUCH!!
Growing up I used to avoid R.L Stine's books because horror just wasn't my genre. I scared too easily back then, and I didn't need more reasons to fear the dark. Hitting 4th or maybe 5th grade (ish) changed my mind and I finally started reading the Goosebumps series. All my friends were reading them, my teachers, and even a student book club had begun to dangle the series in my face until I just finally decided to give it a go. A Night in Terror Tower was my first read I believe.
After a while of reading Goosebumps, I slowly moved onto Fear Street series. It mostly catered to teens and had more real-life type of darkness to it that Goosebumps couldn't give me. (Since Goosebumps is mostly a safe horror series for younger kids.) I'm not entirely sure if FIRST DATE was my first read, but I do remember reading this one. To be honest I think this is the very first book that introduced me to the dark-romance genre.
I wish the Fear Street series had been televised like the Goosebump series. (THERES STILL TIME PLEASE I'M BEGGING!!)
Anyway, back to the book. Again, this is catered for a younger audience so reading this as an adult will having you rolling your eyes and internally screaming at some of the choices the FMC makes. Chelsea is pretty much alone most of the time. Her parents are barely around so she doesn't really have a lot of guidance or company - even with friends. Nina is one of those friends that only pop up at your house to talk about her boyfriend troubles but ditch you once they make-up. With most of the people not really being there in her life it really made Chelsea blind to the red flags on what's okay vs not okay when it comes to first dates - or even boys.
I do remember a bit of my thought process to this as a pre-teen(ish). Not much but some. It's amazing how much I looked over back then. The car ride. The body-shaming. Nina and Doug. No lie, reading this [back then] I was kind of happy her parents weren't around because Chelsea could go out on this date and experience it with no interruptions or curfew. Reading this now I'm like, "Wow. The mom really heard the sentence 'I'm going on a date' and didn't at least ASK for a name, phone, or a location." LIKE CMON. STRANGER DANGER???HELLOOOO.
Honestly, Chelsea's character is such a "What I don't receive at home I will find somewhere else" type. 'Her mother was not given to outward displays of affection. Chelsea couldn’t remember the last time her mother had hugged her.' Chelsea is constantly looking for company. She's lonely and wants to start dating because she believes she will get that affection and more from a boyfriend. Nina and Doug are annoying her. Her mom is always working. Her dads always working/recovering. Who there's to help teach and guide this growing person into a dating life? No one. Chelsea doesn't know what to look for in red flags. She questions her dates actions but because she prioritizes her first date over her safety, so she doesn't say "Hey, this is weird. Bring me home."
SPOILERS:
Not to mention, the lack of self-confidence or self-love she has for herself. Her mother treats it as a joke. Everyone's advice is "lipstick and weight-loss." [insert eyeroll] Yeah okay, Lipstick and weight-loss will patch Chelsea's lack of self-love/confidence right up! (sarcasm)
And the curly hair shaming!! I completely forgot how much people just hated curly hair back then. Now it's embraced and loved but as a kid I, (and friends), were constantly forced to straighten mine and I feel like R. L Stine included that perfectly in the book. Idk what everyone's problem was and their hate towards curls but ugh did this take me back. (This book was published in 1992, but I wasn't born until 1996. The curly hair hating continued until the 2000's and I hope by now it fucking died.)
Mostly I think this book, and a majority of the Fear Street series, focuses on real-life horror. I have to re-read the entire series to confirm or not but it's not ONLY supernatural horror based from what I remember. This book alone is just the horror of teen-dating. (Which is fine because I don't need gore or gross monsters to be horrified. This doesn't affect my rating at all I'm just pointing it out.)
Also, going back to missing signs- Tim Sparks. First time reading it, I was like "FORGIVE HIM!!! YOU OWE HIM!!!!" Now?
me at my younger self: "SHE DOESNT OWE HIM SHIT. HES STILL WEIRD FOR THAT."
SPOILER:
This was a great October read for me. I hope I get to read more of the fear street series in the future!
ABOUT: A new face has arrived in Shadyside and Chelsea is eager to get him to notice her. A lonely girl, who is also new herself, struggles to feel seen and just wants to experience her first date. When she finally lands that very first date, she's so excited; but why does it have to be a secret?
THOUGHTS:
I MISS THESE BOOKS SO MUCH!!
Growing up I used to avoid R.L Stine's books because horror just wasn't my genre. I scared too easily back then, and I didn't need more reasons to fear the dark. Hitting 4th or maybe 5th grade (ish) changed my mind and I finally started reading the Goosebumps series. All my friends were reading them, my teachers, and even a student book club had begun to dangle the series in my face until I just finally decided to give it a go. A Night in Terror Tower was my first read I believe.
After a while of reading Goosebumps, I slowly moved onto Fear Street series. It mostly catered to teens and had more real-life type of darkness to it that Goosebumps couldn't give me. (Since Goosebumps is mostly a safe horror series for younger kids.) I'm not entirely sure if FIRST DATE was my first read, but I do remember reading this one. To be honest I think this is the very first book that introduced me to the dark-romance genre.
I wish the Fear Street series had been televised like the Goosebump series. (THERES STILL TIME PLEASE I'M BEGGING!!)
Anyway, back to the book. Again, this is catered for a younger audience so reading this as an adult will having you rolling your eyes and internally screaming at some of the choices the FMC makes. Chelsea is pretty much alone most of the time. Her parents are barely around so she doesn't really have a lot of guidance or company - even with friends. Nina is one of those friends that only pop up at your house to talk about her boyfriend troubles but ditch you once they make-up. With most of the people not really being there in her life it really made Chelsea blind to the red flags on what's okay vs not okay when it comes to first dates - or even boys.
I do remember a bit of my thought process to this as a pre-teen(ish). Not much but some. It's amazing how much I looked over back then. The car ride. The body-shaming. Nina and Doug. No lie, reading this [back then] I was kind of happy her parents weren't around because Chelsea could go out on this date and experience it with no interruptions or curfew. Reading this now I'm like, "Wow. The mom really heard the sentence 'I'm going on a date' and didn't at least ASK for a name, phone, or a location." LIKE CMON. STRANGER DANGER???HELLOOOO.
Honestly, Chelsea's character is such a "What I don't receive at home I will find somewhere else" type. 'Her mother was not given to outward displays of affection. Chelsea couldn’t remember the last time her mother had hugged her.' Chelsea is constantly looking for company. She's lonely and wants to start dating because she believes she will get that affection and more from a boyfriend. Nina and Doug are annoying her. Her mom is always working. Her dads always working/recovering. Who there's to help teach and guide this growing person into a dating life? No one. Chelsea doesn't know what to look for in red flags. She questions her dates actions but because she prioritizes her first date over her safety, so she doesn't say "Hey, this is weird. Bring me home."
SPOILERS:
Not to mention, the lack of self-confidence or self-love she has for herself. Her mother treats it as a joke. Everyone's advice is "lipstick and weight-loss." [insert eyeroll] Yeah okay, Lipstick and weight-loss will patch Chelsea's lack of self-love/confidence right up! (sarcasm)
And the curly hair shaming!! I completely forgot how much people just hated curly hair back then. Now it's embraced and loved but as a kid I, (and friends), were constantly forced to straighten mine and I feel like R. L Stine included that perfectly in the book. Idk what everyone's problem was and their hate towards curls but ugh did this take me back. (This book was published in 1992, but I wasn't born until 1996. The curly hair hating continued until the 2000's and I hope by now it fucking died.)
Mostly I think this book, and a majority of the Fear Street series, focuses on real-life horror. I have to re-read the entire series to confirm or not but it's not ONLY supernatural horror based from what I remember. This book alone is just the horror of teen-dating. (Which is fine because I don't need gore or gross monsters to be horrified. This doesn't affect my rating at all I'm just pointing it out.)
Also, going back to missing signs- Tim Sparks. First time reading it, I was like "FORGIVE HIM!!! YOU OWE HIM!!!!" Now?
me at my younger self: "SHE DOESNT OWE HIM SHIT. HES STILL WEIRD FOR THAT."
SPOILER:
This was a great October read for me. I hope I get to read more of the fear street series in the future!
Read
December 13, 2010You have to be careful when you talk to strangers. Even when you think your the most unattractive girl or guy at your school because people could use you, if you know what I mean. My main character, Chelsea was/is the type of girl to stay home instead of going to a party, but there's one thing that she wants badly. Her first date. She doesn't think shes good enough for any guy at her school until two new guys move into town and they both ask her out. Who will she date? Or Will she date both of them? Let'he words right ins find out.....
if your the type of person to like a good mystery with a confusing ending then " First Date " is the book to read, you never know what's coming until you see the words right infront of your face. Give this boook a try.
if your the type of person to like a good mystery with a confusing ending then " First Date " is the book to read, you never know what's coming until you see the words right infront of your face. Give this boook a try.
December 23, 2008
this book is about a girl named chealsea. All chealsea wants is a guy in her life. She wants a boyfriend to love her. Eventualy she meets one. turns out that this particular boy has a wierd hobby--murder! chealsea may be looking for love in this book, but all he's looking for is a victom!
i could connect this book to rea life. lots of people in the world get girlfriends or boyfriends, but they dont know if there dangerous-until they get killed!
i rated this book a four because this book literaly kept me on the edge of my seat! And i definetly encourage readers that like horror movies/books should read this book!
i could connect this book to rea life. lots of people in the world get girlfriends or boyfriends, but they dont know if there dangerous-until they get killed!
i rated this book a four because this book literaly kept me on the edge of my seat! And i definetly encourage readers that like horror movies/books should read this book!
November 1, 2009
Chelsea is a girl who can not get a date. She finally gets a date with a new student from her school. She soon is visited by the police and ask if she have seen another student named stark. She gets the student arrested and feels safe again. Her boyfriend chokes chelsea and tries to kill nina. The police came and arrest him and stark is set free.
Chelsea by accident arrested the wrong person. Something like this happened in tunnels of blood. Darren almost killed Mr cresply.
I gave this book a 3 of 5. There were some boring moments. The best part was the end. It was a good ending.
Chelsea by accident arrested the wrong person. Something like this happened in tunnels of blood. Darren almost killed Mr cresply.
I gave this book a 3 of 5. There were some boring moments. The best part was the end. It was a good ending.
October 25, 2010
This book was really tricky. There was two guys in this story. One was called Tim Sparks ( people call him sparks) and the other one is called Will. At the beginnging of the book I really throught that the person that have the hobby of killing his girlfriend was sparks. Until the end i found out that it wasnt sparks, it was Will, the guy that acts shy and all in front of chelsea. I love this book because it made me predict which guy is the real murder and i just didnt want to put the book down. I felt like reading on and on!
February 19, 2009
This book is about a girl named chelsea.She is very shy but her luck changes.she fianilly meets this guy who she really likes.There is a bad part about is that his hobby is mureder.
this book reminds me of real life.It reminds me of real life because people fall in love with people but don't what there really are. it connects to this book.
I would give this book 3 stars.I gave gave this book three stars because it was okay and i thought is kind of confusing.
this book reminds me of real life.It reminds me of real life because people fall in love with people but don't what there really are. it connects to this book.
I would give this book 3 stars.I gave gave this book three stars because it was okay and i thought is kind of confusing.
September 22, 2022
Nothing special, but still fun. I read these books about 10 years ago when I was in high school and just wanted to go back and reread them. This story wasn't anything big, like pretty much all of them, but as a series I love the Fear Street books. They're just quick, spooky fun and a super easy read when you don't want to do much thinking about a book.
September 15, 2017
Fear Street:The farce. Dear RL Stine, what's up with romanticizing toxic guys?
July 4, 2021
The book hurt my brain a bit. Chelsea is a terrible judge of character and the book just grinds to a halt a few times. I don't know what else to say besides it wasn't the best showcase of the "Fear Street" books. We do get a murder (in the prologue) and a hint at the murders that the bad guy has been doing. But the book itself just felt really boring after Stine reveals who the bad guy is. You just have to wait for everyone else to catch up with you and it gets tedious after a while.
"First Date" follows new girl, Chelsea whose family has just moved onto Fear Street. Her dad's dream of owning a coffee shop (but also like a burger place? I was so confused) is now a reality. Though Chelsea feels upset that she doesn't have a lot of new friends yet and she really wants a boyfriend, but feels like she will never get one. Then Chelsea meets two new guys (Sparks and Will) who are both set up as the potential serial killer we meet early in the book.
Honestly, I tried to like Chelsea, but there's not a lot of there there. She's obsessed with being asked out on a date and just sits around daydreaming about being asked and what she would say, do, etc. She even thinks a dude like Sparks who is drunk at one point and chases her could be good boyfriend potential. Enough said about that.
The ending was a whatever. I don't know if it's plausible how Stine shows how one character saved themselves, but decided to not delve too deep into it because I was running out of steam on the "Fear Street" series at this point.
"First Date" follows new girl, Chelsea whose family has just moved onto Fear Street. Her dad's dream of owning a coffee shop (but also like a burger place? I was so confused) is now a reality. Though Chelsea feels upset that she doesn't have a lot of new friends yet and she really wants a boyfriend, but feels like she will never get one. Then Chelsea meets two new guys (Sparks and Will) who are both set up as the potential serial killer we meet early in the book.
Honestly, I tried to like Chelsea, but there's not a lot of there there. She's obsessed with being asked out on a date and just sits around daydreaming about being asked and what she would say, do, etc. She even thinks a dude like Sparks who is drunk at one point and chases her could be good boyfriend potential. Enough said about that.
The ending was a whatever. I don't know if it's plausible how Stine shows how one character saved themselves, but decided to not delve too deep into it because I was running out of steam on the "Fear Street" series at this point.
November 16, 2020
titular sentence:
p7: It was our first date, after all.
ocr:
p8: Shady side.
p81: "There's someone Fd like you to meet."
On one hand, these thriller/mysteries with no paranormal/fantasy elements are more believable, therefore more scary. On the other, I kinda miss Jovial Bob's outrageous monsters, but Goosebumps will have to wait its turn.
p7: It was our first date, after all.
ocr:
p8: Shady side.
p81: "There's someone Fd like you to meet."
On one hand, these thriller/mysteries with no paranormal/fantasy elements are more believable, therefore more scary. On the other, I kinda miss Jovial Bob's outrageous monsters, but Goosebumps will have to wait its turn.
October 13, 2019
Very slow book, didn't really get going till the end .Most of it takes place at a coffee shop. But when it finally does get going it's pretty decent .3 out of 5 stars for me
Want to read
February 13, 202002122020: thriftbooks accidentally sent me a copy of this in the mail when i ordered soul on ice so now i feel obligated to read it
October 20, 2021
The angst...ugh!
May 27, 2022
Although it was pretty obvious who the bad guy was, this was fun :) very typical Fear Street.
May 27, 2022
From my blog theresthegirlwiththeblog.blogspot.com:
So a girl and a boy named Joe are parking but something is kind off about this guy who is very anxious and definitely not that interested in making out. He suggests they go for a walk but as they do he drops his wallet and the girl casually picks it up to see that his driver's license states his name to be Lonnie Mayes...uh oh!
So Lonnie-Joe makes up some lame excuse, the girl seems to buy it but still asks too many questions and next we are told by our omnipotent narrator that he comes back from the cliff edge...alone. So apparently he has killed other girls before and his next stop just happens to be good old Shadyside: the apparent murder capital of the world which seems to be right up his alley.
Our focus then turns to our main character, fifteen-year old Chelsea Richards who hasn't lived in town long. She seems to be an average girl with normal complaints about hating her life, doesn't have a dating life and only has one friend named Nina. Her mother suggests that maybe if she wore lipstick and lost some weight (wow really Moms?) she might actually get a date.
It seems that ignoring Mom's advice is a good idea because suddenly there is a new boy at school named Will that Chelsea develops a crush on and then a guy named Tim Sparks comes into the diner owned by Chelsea's father where she works as a waitress.
He takes an interest in Chelsea and asks her out to a movie but before she can answer this kind of tough looking guy her dad interrupts their conversation and Sparks (as he tells everyone to call him) angrily bolts.
Not long after Sparks leaves, some young thugs try to rob the restaurant and end up hitting Chelsea's dad over the head with a pipe so when he gets taken to the hospital poor Chelsea calls Nina to come stay with her and I feel her pain as a third wheel when Nina decides to bring her boyfriend Doug with her so they can make out (some friend you got yourself there, Chels!)
So with her only friend being too self-absorbed in her own guy, Chelsea soon decides that the next time Sparks asks her out she'll accept but when he comes back all we get is an awkward silence scenario and when Sparks leaves he goes home and pulls a phone out of the wall because he didn't ask her out like he planned and we are also treated to a scene of the guy we know as Lonnie-Joe killing a poor kitten :(
Lucking out with Sparks, Chelsea becomes over the moon happy when Will asks her to go out on a date and ends up taking her to the next town over and makes her promise not to tell anyone about their secret date.
Secret dates, anger issues it seems that our first date serial killer is one of Chelsea's would be beaus but which one is it?
Now I could go into more detail but the book doesn't give us much of a twist and the big reveal of whether Sparks or Will is the homicidal killer is blown way early! When I first read it I have to admit I wasn't shocked at who the bad guy would be because they make the other one of the biggest red herrings I have ever seen!
So if you have never read First Date, I won't spoil it for you and if you have well then you already know don't you? Sadly it's not the first or last time you have it so obviously spelled out for you just who the villain is in a Fear Street book...
Despite these annoying little niggles of detail, I enjoyed First Date because it does follow a real high school girl's thoughts. It may just be me but I can identify with Chelsea and even the description of her being short with curly brown hair and being a little chubby is kind of the way I was most of my school going years.
I'm not sure how male readers may feel about this book but it has a decent plot worthy of a good horror flick or even a bad one depending on your taste that is ;)
So a girl and a boy named Joe are parking but something is kind off about this guy who is very anxious and definitely not that interested in making out. He suggests they go for a walk but as they do he drops his wallet and the girl casually picks it up to see that his driver's license states his name to be Lonnie Mayes...uh oh!
So Lonnie-Joe makes up some lame excuse, the girl seems to buy it but still asks too many questions and next we are told by our omnipotent narrator that he comes back from the cliff edge...alone. So apparently he has killed other girls before and his next stop just happens to be good old Shadyside: the apparent murder capital of the world which seems to be right up his alley.
Our focus then turns to our main character, fifteen-year old Chelsea Richards who hasn't lived in town long. She seems to be an average girl with normal complaints about hating her life, doesn't have a dating life and only has one friend named Nina. Her mother suggests that maybe if she wore lipstick and lost some weight (wow really Moms?) she might actually get a date.
It seems that ignoring Mom's advice is a good idea because suddenly there is a new boy at school named Will that Chelsea develops a crush on and then a guy named Tim Sparks comes into the diner owned by Chelsea's father where she works as a waitress.
He takes an interest in Chelsea and asks her out to a movie but before she can answer this kind of tough looking guy her dad interrupts their conversation and Sparks (as he tells everyone to call him) angrily bolts.
Not long after Sparks leaves, some young thugs try to rob the restaurant and end up hitting Chelsea's dad over the head with a pipe so when he gets taken to the hospital poor Chelsea calls Nina to come stay with her and I feel her pain as a third wheel when Nina decides to bring her boyfriend Doug with her so they can make out (some friend you got yourself there, Chels!)
So with her only friend being too self-absorbed in her own guy, Chelsea soon decides that the next time Sparks asks her out she'll accept but when he comes back all we get is an awkward silence scenario and when Sparks leaves he goes home and pulls a phone out of the wall because he didn't ask her out like he planned and we are also treated to a scene of the guy we know as Lonnie-Joe killing a poor kitten :(
Lucking out with Sparks, Chelsea becomes over the moon happy when Will asks her to go out on a date and ends up taking her to the next town over and makes her promise not to tell anyone about their secret date.
Secret dates, anger issues it seems that our first date serial killer is one of Chelsea's would be beaus but which one is it?
Now I could go into more detail but the book doesn't give us much of a twist and the big reveal of whether Sparks or Will is the homicidal killer is blown way early! When I first read it I have to admit I wasn't shocked at who the bad guy would be because they make the other one of the biggest red herrings I have ever seen!
So if you have never read First Date, I won't spoil it for you and if you have well then you already know don't you? Sadly it's not the first or last time you have it so obviously spelled out for you just who the villain is in a Fear Street book...
Despite these annoying little niggles of detail, I enjoyed First Date because it does follow a real high school girl's thoughts. It may just be me but I can identify with Chelsea and even the description of her being short with curly brown hair and being a little chubby is kind of the way I was most of my school going years.
I'm not sure how male readers may feel about this book but it has a decent plot worthy of a good horror flick or even a bad one depending on your taste that is ;)
March 6, 2016
It took me a literal month (February 6th to March 6th) to do, but I finally finished First Date. But it was worth it because it was a very solid Fear Street story. The plot flowed smoothly, the main character was very likable, action and suspense were present throughout, and the villain was a well fleshed-out character. I'll get into specifics soon.
Plot Synopsis: Chelsea isn't having the greatest time. She's painfully shy, she feels insecure about her looks, and her parents have to work a lot and she barely gets to see them. The fact that she's new to Fear Street and has very few friends doesn't help matters. Chelsea wishes more than anything that a guy would be notice her-maybe even ask her out on her first date. So when she attracts the attention of not one but TWO cute boys, Chelsea couldn't be happier. But one of Chelsea's dates has a secret....a deadly secret. Will Chelsea's first date also be her last?
The plot is well-written and moves at a pace that builds tension and takes time to develop itself and its' characters. The writing is on point and I didn't take notice of many clunky portions, which is a definite plus. The action and suspense sequences, especially during the climax, were also very well-written and kept me on edge while I read them. Really, the overall writing style was handled well. In the first part, the POV switches between Chelsea and the killer, which gives a view from both perspectives of the plot and adds an air of uneasiness to the story seeing that Chelsea is unknowingly trusting and falling for someone who is plotting to murder her.
But one of the best parts of First Date is the characters and their development. Chelsea and the villain (who I will not name as to not spoil the reveal) are the best of the bunch. Chelsea is a very likable protagonist who is easy to root for, especially for me. When Chelsea is first introduced, she's very shy and insecure about herself. When she starts interacting with the two boys she meet, she's very awkward in doing so, struggling to come up with something witty and clever to say. As someone who has also had social struggles, Chelsea is very relatable. Plus, toward the ends when she realizes that she's in danger, she's quick to make smart decisions in order to escape. My only complaint with her is the way she reacts to her mother's snarky, sarcastic sense of humor with shrewdness. As someone with that kind of humor, I don't appreciate being snapped at for that anymore than Chelsea's mother did. But it's a mild nitpick that doesn't take away from all of Chelsea's good qualities.
The villain is also a well-written character with a lot more depth than is typically given to a Fear Street antagonist. His backstory is that . This background gives the villain emotional depth and an air of sympathy. Towards the end, it's hard not to feel sorry for the guy as it becomes clear he's finally lost what little sanity he had left.
First Date is an example of everything a good horror book should be: A good plot, good writing, compelling characters, great action scenes, and a complex villain. Any horror or Fear Street fan should definitely check this book out.
Pros: The compelling characters, the well-written plot, the writing, the action scenes and climax, and the complex and sympathetic villain.
Cons: None.
Plot Synopsis: Chelsea isn't having the greatest time. She's painfully shy, she feels insecure about her looks, and her parents have to work a lot and she barely gets to see them. The fact that she's new to Fear Street and has very few friends doesn't help matters. Chelsea wishes more than anything that a guy would be notice her-maybe even ask her out on her first date. So when she attracts the attention of not one but TWO cute boys, Chelsea couldn't be happier. But one of Chelsea's dates has a secret....a deadly secret. Will Chelsea's first date also be her last?
The plot is well-written and moves at a pace that builds tension and takes time to develop itself and its' characters. The writing is on point and I didn't take notice of many clunky portions, which is a definite plus. The action and suspense sequences, especially during the climax, were also very well-written and kept me on edge while I read them. Really, the overall writing style was handled well. In the first part, the POV switches between Chelsea and the killer, which gives a view from both perspectives of the plot and adds an air of uneasiness to the story seeing that Chelsea is unknowingly trusting and falling for someone who is plotting to murder her.
But one of the best parts of First Date is the characters and their development. Chelsea and the villain (who I will not name as to not spoil the reveal) are the best of the bunch. Chelsea is a very likable protagonist who is easy to root for, especially for me. When Chelsea is first introduced, she's very shy and insecure about herself. When she starts interacting with the two boys she meet, she's very awkward in doing so, struggling to come up with something witty and clever to say. As someone who has also had social struggles, Chelsea is very relatable. Plus, toward the ends when she realizes that she's in danger, she's quick to make smart decisions in order to escape. My only complaint with her is the way she reacts to her mother's snarky, sarcastic sense of humor with shrewdness. As someone with that kind of humor, I don't appreciate being snapped at for that anymore than Chelsea's mother did. But it's a mild nitpick that doesn't take away from all of Chelsea's good qualities.
The villain is also a well-written character with a lot more depth than is typically given to a Fear Street antagonist. His backstory is that . This background gives the villain emotional depth and an air of sympathy. Towards the end, it's hard not to feel sorry for the guy as it becomes clear he's finally lost what little sanity he had left.
First Date is an example of everything a good horror book should be: A good plot, good writing, compelling characters, great action scenes, and a complex villain. Any horror or Fear Street fan should definitely check this book out.
Pros: The compelling characters, the well-written plot, the writing, the action scenes and climax, and the complex and sympathetic villain.
Cons: None.
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