What do you think?
Rate this book
Goosebumps Most Wanted #Special Edition #1
Zombie Halloween
The infamous, Most Wanted Goosebumps characters are out on the loose and after you. Just in time for Halloween, a super special edition!
Kenny Manzetti was the new kid in town. His family moved back in to an old house to help take care of his grandfather. Everyone in his new neighborhood is obsessed with zombies--even Grandpa Mo. But then a new family moves in next door and there choice in furniture is...interesting.
Kenny is convinced that there is something strange about the new neighbors but his parents won't listen to him. So Kenny and his friends go in for a closer look. A bad idea on any day but definitely the wrong choice around Halloween. Will Kenny survive long enough to go trick or treating?
With an extended page count this special edition is a scream!
Kenny Manzetti was the new kid in town. His family moved back in to an old house to help take care of his grandfather. Everyone in his new neighborhood is obsessed with zombies--even Grandpa Mo. But then a new family moves in next door and there choice in furniture is...interesting.
Kenny is convinced that there is something strange about the new neighbors but his parents won't listen to him. So Kenny and his friends go in for a closer look. A bad idea on any day but definitely the wrong choice around Halloween. Will Kenny survive long enough to go trick or treating?
With an extended page count this special edition is a scream!
195 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 24, 2014
101 people are currently reading
1162 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...
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 112 reviews
January 29, 2022
Undead enemies abound in this multigenerational fright fest, a slight divergence from the typical Goosebumps book. In 1944, Mario and his mother have just moved into a run-down mansion. His father is away in Europe fighting the war, but at least Mario has made one friend in the new neighborhood, a girl named Ivy. Exploring the decrepit basement of Mario's house, he and Ivy find a trapdoor leading to a subterranean tunnel, but there's no treasure at the other end of this passage. It's a route for zombies to access the house from the nearby graveyard, and the next thing Mario and Ivy know, they're overrun by an army of the living dead.
In the present day, Kenny Manzetti, twin sister Tricia, and their parents have moved to a new house in a new city. The twins have met one friend, a small redhead named Alec, but getting to know others is a long process. The Manzettis live with Kenny and Tricia's Grandpa Mo, a confused old man with recurring nightmares of zombie attacks. He constantly warns his family that zombies are real. Alec believes him, and though Kenny is skeptical, at least sharing Alec's interest in zombies strengthens their friendship. But a taste for zombie entertainment culture turns dark when a scattering of reports by locals claim that the dead are rising in town. Grandpa Mo forecasts doom, and Kenny, Alec, and a few other boys set up a zombie patrol to keep watch. Kenny doesn't actually believe in undead monsters, but he'll have to change his mind when confronted with a howling, decaying pack of them in the graveyard by his house. Will the Manzettis' big Halloween party be crashed by a horde of mindless beasts?
Zombie Halloween isn't R.L. Stine's best, but it contains an intriguing idea or two. Having the story stretch between three generations was a promising concept. The book's best attribute is probably Brandon Dorman's cover art, a creepy, gross, surprisingly colorful image that should attract the eyes of young horror readers. I appreciate the imagination and effort Brandon Dorman puts into these covers. If you're going to read only one book from the Goosebumps Most Wanted series, opt for A Nightmare on Clown Street, but Zombie Halloween is harmless fun for the season. I'll always be an R.L. Stine fan.
In the present day, Kenny Manzetti, twin sister Tricia, and their parents have moved to a new house in a new city. The twins have met one friend, a small redhead named Alec, but getting to know others is a long process. The Manzettis live with Kenny and Tricia's Grandpa Mo, a confused old man with recurring nightmares of zombie attacks. He constantly warns his family that zombies are real. Alec believes him, and though Kenny is skeptical, at least sharing Alec's interest in zombies strengthens their friendship. But a taste for zombie entertainment culture turns dark when a scattering of reports by locals claim that the dead are rising in town. Grandpa Mo forecasts doom, and Kenny, Alec, and a few other boys set up a zombie patrol to keep watch. Kenny doesn't actually believe in undead monsters, but he'll have to change his mind when confronted with a howling, decaying pack of them in the graveyard by his house. Will the Manzettis' big Halloween party be crashed by a horde of mindless beasts?
Zombie Halloween isn't R.L. Stine's best, but it contains an intriguing idea or two. Having the story stretch between three generations was a promising concept. The book's best attribute is probably Brandon Dorman's cover art, a creepy, gross, surprisingly colorful image that should attract the eyes of young horror readers. I appreciate the imagination and effort Brandon Dorman puts into these covers. If you're going to read only one book from the Goosebumps Most Wanted series, opt for A Nightmare on Clown Street, but Zombie Halloween is harmless fun for the season. I'll always be an R.L. Stine fan.
November 18, 2021
A few zombies here, a few zombies there, a whole 'lotta zombies EVERYWHERE.
This one was a reread. I didn't remember much about it but wanted to read it again to know where I'll be placing it when I rank the Goosebumps Most Wanted series. I can see why I didn't remember it very well. This book was boring.
It opens up with a somewhat interesting prologue, taking place in the '40's as some kids are exploring their new house and discover a trapdoor in the basement. It leads to a creepy underground area with a tunnel going into the graveyard across the street from where they live. Of course, they encounter the undead and only one of the kids make it out alive. Fast forward to present times, and we follow a couple of other twelve-year-olds that move into the same house and eventually discover the same trap-door - but it takes over 100 pages of this 170 page chunker to get there. This is one of the longest and most drawn out Goosebumps books that I've read. There isn't even a coherent plot or clear direction for story, at least early on. The protagonist and his friends are all obsessed with zombies in pop culture, often referring to video games and the famous television show, "The Walking Zombies." - And his Grandpa Mo lives with him and his parents who is always sleepwalking and having nightmares about zombies coming up from the grave to come and take him away. Much of the book revolves around Grandpa's nighttime escapades into the local graveyard, mumbling about zombies; the kids zombie/halloween party they are planning, discussion of their zombie video games and TV show, and pretty much anything and everything related to the undead. We get no glimpse at their everyday lives, no cohesive story, no development of plot or character, and no good reason as to why this book needed to be a special edition Goosebumps clocking at over 160 pages.
I didn't necessarily hate this one; there are far worse Most Wanted entries but this one just had me snoozing through out. It's too long and uneventful and frankly I got sick of all the zombie talk. It did have some interesting stuff going for it such as the prologue, Grandpa Mo's role in the story was somewhat interesting though not utilized the best, and I loved the twist ending. The ending was perhaps the best part of the book. But aside from those things, I didn't much care for Zombie Halloween and frankly, I don't want to read or watch anything that has to do with zombies for a very, very long time. I think we got the idea that this book is about zombies and every character in this book is obsessed with them, the first 2,378 times R.L. Stine used the word zombie. So yeah, I'm good. Stine, please don't ever write another zombie book. Cool, thanks.
2 / 5
This one was a reread. I didn't remember much about it but wanted to read it again to know where I'll be placing it when I rank the Goosebumps Most Wanted series. I can see why I didn't remember it very well. This book was boring.
It opens up with a somewhat interesting prologue, taking place in the '40's as some kids are exploring their new house and discover a trapdoor in the basement. It leads to a creepy underground area with a tunnel going into the graveyard across the street from where they live. Of course, they encounter the undead and only one of the kids make it out alive. Fast forward to present times, and we follow a couple of other twelve-year-olds that move into the same house and eventually discover the same trap-door - but it takes over 100 pages of this 170 page chunker to get there. This is one of the longest and most drawn out Goosebumps books that I've read. There isn't even a coherent plot or clear direction for story, at least early on. The protagonist and his friends are all obsessed with zombies in pop culture, often referring to video games and the famous television show, "The Walking Zombies." - And his Grandpa Mo lives with him and his parents who is always sleepwalking and having nightmares about zombies coming up from the grave to come and take him away. Much of the book revolves around Grandpa's nighttime escapades into the local graveyard, mumbling about zombies; the kids zombie/halloween party they are planning, discussion of their zombie video games and TV show, and pretty much anything and everything related to the undead. We get no glimpse at their everyday lives, no cohesive story, no development of plot or character, and no good reason as to why this book needed to be a special edition Goosebumps clocking at over 160 pages.
I didn't necessarily hate this one; there are far worse Most Wanted entries but this one just had me snoozing through out. It's too long and uneventful and frankly I got sick of all the zombie talk. It did have some interesting stuff going for it such as the prologue, Grandpa Mo's role in the story was somewhat interesting though not utilized the best, and I loved the twist ending. The ending was perhaps the best part of the book. But aside from those things, I didn't much care for Zombie Halloween and frankly, I don't want to read or watch anything that has to do with zombies for a very, very long time. I think we got the idea that this book is about zombies and every character in this book is obsessed with them, the first 2,378 times R.L. Stine used the word zombie. So yeah, I'm good. Stine, please don't ever write another zombie book. Cool, thanks.
2 / 5
March 24, 2023
I read this first time back in early 2021, I remembered liking it, but now it has lost me now that I've reread it, I probably was blinded because I like zombies in literature, just my favorite horror movie monster in general.
Zombie Halloween begins on a good note with a prologue that dates back in the 40's with references to World War II and that's interesting.
It's also intense, it deals with the basement within the basement and it's a tunnel which leads to a graveyard where zombies roam and the detail on the zombies are so good. I don't think this type of rotten zombies are what a middle grade book will appeal on. also someone did die and became one of the zombies.
That's dark, but as the story goes forward in present time, the story now drags.
The present time deals with this kids that are related to the character in the prologue and their story sprungs so many things happening, they're obssesed with zombies, they watch this show and also play the tie in game, suspects that zombies roam around at their village. lots and lots of that and actual zombies are barely in it. Mostly what brings this book down is the lack of zombies and it focuses more on kids being kids, lots of twists and red herrings leading to a rushed ending which makes me wonder why is this book lengths on 170 pages, a special edition when zombies will be barely in it.
Even though I find the book lackluster and boring, one thing I can give points in here is the atmosphere. it definetly sets the tone for the book, it's a good to waste my time into as this was atleast a quick read. it's just boring of all the zombie talk. it would be more interesting if I can be in the conversation. 🤔
Zombie Halloween begins on a good note with a prologue that dates back in the 40's with references to World War II and that's interesting.
It's also intense, it deals with the basement within the basement and it's a tunnel which leads to a graveyard where zombies roam and the detail on the zombies are so good. I don't think this type of rotten zombies are what a middle grade book will appeal on. also someone did die and became one of the zombies.
That's dark, but as the story goes forward in present time, the story now drags.
The present time deals with this kids that are related to the character in the prologue and their story sprungs so many things happening, they're obssesed with zombies, they watch this show and also play the tie in game, suspects that zombies roam around at their village. lots and lots of that and actual zombies are barely in it. Mostly what brings this book down is the lack of zombies and it focuses more on kids being kids, lots of twists and red herrings leading to a rushed ending which makes me wonder why is this book lengths on 170 pages, a special edition when zombies will be barely in it.
Even though I find the book lackluster and boring, one thing I can give points in here is the atmosphere. it definetly sets the tone for the book, it's a good to waste my time into as this was atleast a quick read. it's just boring of all the zombie talk. it would be more interesting if I can be in the conversation. 🤔
November 25, 2021
R. L Stine really upped his game with Zombie Halloween, the first book in the Goosebumps Most Wanted: Special Edition series. It was spectacularly spooky and funny at points, and I absolutely enjoyed a good number of the chapter twists and turns. I remember writing in my review of Welcome to Dead House a while ago that I really think Stine does great when he involves parents and other adult figures, and he does so with this book. Absolutely wonderful!
That ending, though. I kind of expected it, but forgot about it until the end. That was some twist!
That ending, though. I kind of expected it, but forgot about it until the end. That was some twist!
November 2, 2021
4.5/5 Such an entertaining read! I really enjoyed the description of the zombies. Very gory! The story moved smoothly and I absolutely loved the twist at the end. I would definitely recommend this to others.
September 18, 2022
This is my last of the four Most Wanted special edition books .There's only four in the Special Edition Series. But it's still a small milestone nonetheless. This one is Halloween themed.So hopefully we're ending on a High note. Zombie Halloween begins with this kid Mario staring up at his new house with his new friend he met named ivy .Mario is a little upset about the house him and his family moved into. It's beat up and run down and sets right across from a graveyard. Ivy somehow gets him to explore the graveyard and runS into a fake scare from his little brother Anthony. They end up falling in an open grave and have trouble getting out. When they finally do they head home and explore the house a little bit. Inside the house they enter the basement and find this trap door .They do indeed go inside the trapdoor and end up running into something . I'm not going to say what happens next but it's sad and gory.
Part two begins with these two kids Kenny and Alec playing a video game about zombies. We are then introduced to Kenny's Grandpa Mo Grandpa Mo is a little strange .He loves telling stories of zombies.Some he even says are true. One he talks about is about this lightning storm that came through that was so loud it woke the dead.One of the kids notice there is a family that's moving in next door.They notice the movers taking coffins out. But they don't see a single person living there.Eventually they meet the neighbor kid named Trevor. He's weird and dosnt seem to like to talk. They immediately think he's a zombie for this reason, plus Grandpa Mo's influence.Grandpa Ho has nightmares about zombies and seems really paranoid about zombies.They even see him dancing at a grave one night and it's a really weird image .Part Two/three of this book has quite a few things going for it. We have zombie patrol which Kenny and Alex form. But the rest of the kids quit after one night.We also have a Halloween party coming up. Zombie Halloween started off really strong and I thought for sure it was going to be amazing. Unfortunately it has the same pacing issues just like the other Special Edition Most Wanted books.They starts off strong and then fizzle out. Also this ending was spoiled to me a few years ago. But it still didn't make alot of sense. Not to mention, one thing that I didn't like was there was no mention one time of Trick Or Treating.I know that's a silly complaint .But it's Halloween. Give me the tropes .I give zombie Halloween a 3.5 out of five stars.
Part two begins with these two kids Kenny and Alec playing a video game about zombies. We are then introduced to Kenny's Grandpa Mo Grandpa Mo is a little strange .He loves telling stories of zombies.Some he even says are true. One he talks about is about this lightning storm that came through that was so loud it woke the dead.One of the kids notice there is a family that's moving in next door.They notice the movers taking coffins out. But they don't see a single person living there.Eventually they meet the neighbor kid named Trevor. He's weird and dosnt seem to like to talk. They immediately think he's a zombie for this reason, plus Grandpa Mo's influence.Grandpa Ho has nightmares about zombies and seems really paranoid about zombies.They even see him dancing at a grave one night and it's a really weird image .Part Two/three of this book has quite a few things going for it. We have zombie patrol which Kenny and Alex form. But the rest of the kids quit after one night.We also have a Halloween party coming up. Zombie Halloween started off really strong and I thought for sure it was going to be amazing. Unfortunately it has the same pacing issues just like the other Special Edition Most Wanted books.They starts off strong and then fizzle out. Also this ending was spoiled to me a few years ago. But it still didn't make alot of sense. Not to mention, one thing that I didn't like was there was no mention one time of Trick Or Treating.I know that's a silly complaint .But it's Halloween. Give me the tropes .I give zombie Halloween a 3.5 out of five stars.
November 12, 2015
There wouldn't be so many stories about vampires and zombies and other weird creatures if they didn't really exist.
ZOMBIE HALLOWEEN by R. L. Stine is an intense, highly entertaining horror thriller with a young target audience. I confess to being nowhere near the author's intended audience. I really enjoyed ZOMBIE HALLOWEEN. Who would have thought that a YA book would keep me on the edge of my seat through-out?
R.L. Stine is a new author to me. My son and I recently saw the Goosebumps movie and we both loved it. It inspired me to check out the books as I wanted to delve into the background of the human and fantasy characters in the movie. I'm very glad we saw the movie because, as a result, I've discovered a new favorite author. Sometimes I'm in the mood for a scary read and R.L. Stine has plenty offerings to choose from!
This three-part story is set in two time periods: 1944 (Part 1) and present day (Parts 2 and 3). The two time periods are linked by a familial connection and a common setting within the same home across from a spooky graveyard in a small town. The story in 1944 features Mario, his younger brother, Anthony, and his friend, Ivy. Kenney is our present day hero.
I've definitely been zapped with the R.L. Stine bug. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this YA book and have vowed that it won't be the last R.L. Stine book for me! I've already got another on my nightstand and I picked up a Goosebumps audiobook too!
Warning: Each chapter features a cliffhanger ending including the last chapter!!!!! AAGH! Just know that if you read ZOMBIE HALLOWEEN, you'll have to read the sequel - which is not a bad thing. Overflowing with heart-stopping suspense, I highly recommend ZOMBIE HALLOWEEN to anyone of any age who enjoys a fun scary read with loads of surprising twists and turns! Boo to you!
My full review is posted at Reading Between The Wines Book Club. Please check it out here: http://www.readingbetweenthewinesbook...
4 1/2 Wine Glasses!
ZOMBIE HALLOWEEN by R. L. Stine is an intense, highly entertaining horror thriller with a young target audience. I confess to being nowhere near the author's intended audience. I really enjoyed ZOMBIE HALLOWEEN. Who would have thought that a YA book would keep me on the edge of my seat through-out?
R.L. Stine is a new author to me. My son and I recently saw the Goosebumps movie and we both loved it. It inspired me to check out the books as I wanted to delve into the background of the human and fantasy characters in the movie. I'm very glad we saw the movie because, as a result, I've discovered a new favorite author. Sometimes I'm in the mood for a scary read and R.L. Stine has plenty offerings to choose from!
This three-part story is set in two time periods: 1944 (Part 1) and present day (Parts 2 and 3). The two time periods are linked by a familial connection and a common setting within the same home across from a spooky graveyard in a small town. The story in 1944 features Mario, his younger brother, Anthony, and his friend, Ivy. Kenney is our present day hero.
I've definitely been zapped with the R.L. Stine bug. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this YA book and have vowed that it won't be the last R.L. Stine book for me! I've already got another on my nightstand and I picked up a Goosebumps audiobook too!
Warning: Each chapter features a cliffhanger ending including the last chapter!!!!! AAGH! Just know that if you read ZOMBIE HALLOWEEN, you'll have to read the sequel - which is not a bad thing. Overflowing with heart-stopping suspense, I highly recommend ZOMBIE HALLOWEEN to anyone of any age who enjoys a fun scary read with loads of surprising twists and turns! Boo to you!
My full review is posted at Reading Between The Wines Book Club. Please check it out here: http://www.readingbetweenthewinesbook...
4 1/2 Wine Glasses!
October 6, 2019
This had a classic Goosebumps feel to it.
October 26, 2023
Bad book just dumbest. Lol, I don't know why r.l stine thought of this.
August 7, 2016
Provided by the Publisher via NetGalley
I enjoyed reading Goosebumps Most wanted series, and I was excited to read this special edition. It was a lot different from the other books by R.L. Stine.
This book was divided into 3 parts. The first part set in 1944 and was about Mario, his younger brother Anthony and his new friend Ivy. Part 2 and 3 set in present day and was told from Kenny's point of view. One thing in common between Mario and Kenny was that they lived in the same house.
I found this book rather pleasant in a spooky way. I loved the cliffhanger at the end of each chapter, which was just like almost all of R.L. Stine's books. I think there were a lot of scary scenes in this book comparing to a few other of his recent works. And I liked it. I really liked the twists and the ending, even at times things seemed a little too weird.
Overall, it was quite a wonderful book.
My thanks to Scholastic Paperbacks for this galley.
July 23, 2025
Because ive put a pause on trying to develop my second most wanted video so i avoid burn out, i decided to make a review for the last book i will be reading for a while.
Zombie Halloween! A book that has a damn near perfect set up in the first half, and a disturbing way of advancing the plot to get to the actual zombies of the book. Besides that? Well…
Ill start here: the fake outs in the last 50 pages are pretty ridiculous with some of them being outright confusing Stine even wrote them in. If thats not bad enough one of the fake outs lasts for a few entire chapters! The last 20 pages also feels slightly tacky compared to most of the book and i wish it had a better climax and maybe even a little more zombie action. We seriously only get to see zombies for around 30 pages, so it feels like wasted potential.
I wish i could love this book given how it has incredible written all over the first three fourths of the story, but having a rough climax with confusing stuff going on wasnt enough to save it.
8/10
Zombie Halloween! A book that has a damn near perfect set up in the first half, and a disturbing way of advancing the plot to get to the actual zombies of the book. Besides that? Well…
Ill start here: the fake outs in the last 50 pages are pretty ridiculous with some of them being outright confusing Stine even wrote them in. If thats not bad enough one of the fake outs lasts for a few entire chapters! The last 20 pages also feels slightly tacky compared to most of the book and i wish it had a better climax and maybe even a little more zombie action. We seriously only get to see zombies for around 30 pages, so it feels like wasted potential.
I wish i could love this book given how it has incredible written all over the first three fourths of the story, but having a rough climax with confusing stuff going on wasnt enough to save it.
8/10
October 31, 2025
It drags much like a zombie does its own feet, but there was something very different in essence for this particular Goosebumps tale: the setting and tone in particular. The twist was one of my favorites to date.
February 20, 2025
This was awesome! Loved the ending!
October 28, 2025
I'm having a lot of fun revisiting these books (I never read a ton of them, but I definitely am at least somewhat familiar). The formula is really silly but also very fun and sort of comforting. Every chapter WILL end on a cliffhanger, and 90% of the time it will be undermined within the first sentence of the next chapter by a "just kidding" or "it was just a prank." And that's part of what makes it fun!!
September 24, 2024
The first of four Most Wanted Special Editions. Is it worth reading this extra-long book? Well, I argue that you should. The book has some amazing atmosphere and a very creepy vibe present. Its writing further invokes this. The zombie horror is awesome when we’re dealing with the real deal. And there’s a great mystery present, although it is somewhat predictable. I loved the big reveal of a certain characters name and also the hunted at return of anther character early on actually coming into fruition. That’s cool and not the usual plot beats in a Goosebumps story. The characters are good, it doesn’t exceed the needed page count (so yes, 174 pages is decently justified), and it’s a fun time with a nice story. Also, the opening segment in 1944 is easily the best part with the most disturbing moment in modern Goosebumps next a particular scene in Creep from the Deep. However, there’s so rough stuff. The pacing is iffy; it can be really slow and then really fast. The neighbors weren’t all bad in terms of plot and mystery but the reveal at very end of the book is pretty shit and makes it feel a little pointless on retrospective. Now for the biggest pile of rhino shit: the final chapter. OH. MY. FUCKING. GOD. Why do the certain and very obvious antagonistic characters have that as their weakness? Complete bullshit, and not to mention how rushed the entire Halloween ‘climax’ feels. Very rushed indeed. Shit final chapter in terms of reveals and just pacing and, like already stated, shitty twist with neighbors. I do like their excuse for why certain antagonistic characters appeared. But that’s it. Overall, 8.5/10. I really enjoyed this books and I’d recommend reading this before Halloween, but definitely not Halloween for that pretty shitty conclusion. Finna go watch The Walking Zombies now (gotta join the club!).
December 27, 2014
I received this book in exchange for a fair and honest review from the publisher via NetGalley
What I like: The idea for the book was something I was excited about, I was always a fan of the Goosebumps books ever since I picked up my first one, The Werewolf of Fever Swamp almost eight years ago. Time and time again R. L . Stine make me fear the dark with his stories.
What I didn’t like: Maybe it has to do with how I got a horribly uncorrected proof of the book, but I didn’t like it at all. The characters weren’t really working for me, the sentences and dialogues were choppy and unrealistic at times, and everything was predictable. By part two of the book, I was bored stiff with the book and forced myself to finish it just to see if it ever got better. The ending was also done horribly, and too unrealistic to believe that it was the actual end. I was horribly disappointed in this book.
Overall review: I hated this book, there was really no point in finishing something I was so angry with. With so much choppy structure and everything so bland and predictable and the characters acting like you KNOW they are going to, it was just something I ended up really not enjoying.
Recommend?: No. Not to anyone. I will try to obtain a corrected and published proof and will follow up on this review if it’s any better.
What I like: The idea for the book was something I was excited about, I was always a fan of the Goosebumps books ever since I picked up my first one, The Werewolf of Fever Swamp almost eight years ago. Time and time again R. L . Stine make me fear the dark with his stories.
What I didn’t like: Maybe it has to do with how I got a horribly uncorrected proof of the book, but I didn’t like it at all. The characters weren’t really working for me, the sentences and dialogues were choppy and unrealistic at times, and everything was predictable. By part two of the book, I was bored stiff with the book and forced myself to finish it just to see if it ever got better. The ending was also done horribly, and too unrealistic to believe that it was the actual end. I was horribly disappointed in this book.
Overall review: I hated this book, there was really no point in finishing something I was so angry with. With so much choppy structure and everything so bland and predictable and the characters acting like you KNOW they are going to, it was just something I ended up really not enjoying.
Recommend?: No. Not to anyone. I will try to obtain a corrected and published proof and will follow up on this review if it’s any better.
February 24, 2016
Zombies + Halloween + Scary Houses = yes yes please.
Sadly this one turned out to be utter crap. I really enjoyed the first part and I would have given that part 4 stars, however that one is cut of quite suddenly with a dramatic scene. What happens to the people there? What happens to the girl? We have no clue until the end of the book. *rolls eyes*
Then we have the second part that is about another kid, living in that house. And boy is that kid annoying. Typical teenager stuff, acting tough, acting like he is soooooo awesome. While in reality he is believing and he is scared out of his mind. I really dislike characters like that.
The rest of the cast is also pretty bleh, the only one I was interested in was Grandpa Mo. I wanted to know more about him, and I had some suspicions that were later confirmed.
However, the story in the second part just dragged on and on and on.
Then we have the ending. God, it was perfect if that hadn't happened. Come on, that is just a lame-ass ending and I hated it soooo much. Yeah we survived x and there comes y. Wait what?
So yeah, I wouldn't recommend this one. It is sad, I was really looking forward to this one. New Goosebumps? New scary stories? Yes, yes please! Too bad this one was not meant to be.
Review first posted at: http://twirlingbookprincess.com/
Sadly this one turned out to be utter crap. I really enjoyed the first part and I would have given that part 4 stars, however that one is cut of quite suddenly with a dramatic scene. What happens to the people there? What happens to the girl? We have no clue until the end of the book. *rolls eyes*
Then we have the second part that is about another kid, living in that house. And boy is that kid annoying. Typical teenager stuff, acting tough, acting like he is soooooo awesome. While in reality he is believing and he is scared out of his mind. I really dislike characters like that.
The rest of the cast is also pretty bleh, the only one I was interested in was Grandpa Mo. I wanted to know more about him, and I had some suspicions that were later confirmed.
However, the story in the second part just dragged on and on and on.
Then we have the ending. God, it was perfect if that hadn't happened. Come on, that is just a lame-ass ending and I hated it soooo much. Yeah we survived x and there comes y. Wait what?
So yeah, I wouldn't recommend this one. It is sad, I was really looking forward to this one. New Goosebumps? New scary stories? Yes, yes please! Too bad this one was not meant to be.
Review first posted at: http://twirlingbookprincess.com/
April 4, 2016
I genuinely do not know how he does it, generations of children have been spooked by R.L Stine and he shows no sign of slowing down, nor of diminishing quality. Both my daughter and I really enjoyed this Halloween special of the perennial 'Goosebumps' series, it's a classic which I can highly recommend to any fan! Okay, I'll admit it, part of the fun of reading to your children is the chance to revisit old favourites such as R.L Stine and see how they hold up as a grownup. So I requested this title on my daughter's behalf but really it was my own! And it just shows that where some authors are dialling it in and mass producing ghostwritten books, R.L Stine is the real deal. This is entry No 1 in a new series, special edition 'Most Wanteds' and focuses on halloween with added zombies. The usual mix of horror and humour abound, the new kid in town and the 'weird family next door,or are they?' tropes in less expert hands could be seen as hackneyed but here they are wielded with scalpel precision. Both myself, a R.L Stine reader from too many years ago to admit and my 10 year old daughter found much to enjoy here.
June 9, 2014
I have always loved R.L. Stine's books. I grew up loving the Goosebumps and Fear Street series. So I am very thankful for the opportunity to read and review this upcoming scary series.
So Zombie Halloween is set in a creepy house with a secret tunnel infested with hungry zombies. Part one was set in 1944 where three kids named Mario, Anthony, and Ivy discover a trapdoor that leads to a strange underground tunnel. It ends with a cliff hanger and the story fast forwards to the present where two boys named Kenny and Alec obsess over the new neighbors for having coffins in their delivered to their house. They think the new neighbors are zombies and are determined to find proof of it.
It was a creepy, exciting and humorous book. I liked it very much. Of course, now that I am older I can fairly predict some of the things that were likely to happen, such as Trevor's secret. But I still enjoy Stine's writing. So with that in mind I highly recommend this book for kids and other Stine fans :)
So Zombie Halloween is set in a creepy house with a secret tunnel infested with hungry zombies. Part one was set in 1944 where three kids named Mario, Anthony, and Ivy discover a trapdoor that leads to a strange underground tunnel. It ends with a cliff hanger and the story fast forwards to the present where two boys named Kenny and Alec obsess over the new neighbors for having coffins in their delivered to their house. They think the new neighbors are zombies and are determined to find proof of it.
It was a creepy, exciting and humorous book. I liked it very much. Of course, now that I am older I can fairly predict some of the things that were likely to happen, such as Trevor's secret. But I still enjoy Stine's writing. So with that in mind I highly recommend this book for kids and other Stine fans :)
June 14, 2014
**I received a free copy of this book in exhange for an honest review. My heartfelt thanks to Netgalley and Scholastic Paperbacks.
Oh, R.L. Stine! You still haven't lost your amazing storytelling skills! I loved this Goosebumps installment just as much as I loved the previous ones. I'll probably still be reading (and rereading) 'em even when I'm so old I have bad vision and rheumatism. (Whaaat? Don't give me that judgy look. It's Goosebumps!)
Everything in here was meant to send tingles down your spine. The creepy haunted house setting, the main character's weird neighbors, the exciting cliffhangers at the end of every chapter... it was fantastic! All the enthusiastic talk about zombies was also much appreciated. (Mark my words, people, the zombie apocalypse will happen and it will happen very soon.) I was always a step ahead of the characters but that didn't lessen the excitement I felt while reading.
A highly recommended read as always!
Oh, R.L. Stine! You still haven't lost your amazing storytelling skills! I loved this Goosebumps installment just as much as I loved the previous ones. I'll probably still be reading (and rereading) 'em even when I'm so old I have bad vision and rheumatism. (Whaaat? Don't give me that judgy look. It's Goosebumps!)
Everything in here was meant to send tingles down your spine. The creepy haunted house setting, the main character's weird neighbors, the exciting cliffhangers at the end of every chapter... it was fantastic! All the enthusiastic talk about zombies was also much appreciated. (Mark my words, people, the zombie apocalypse will happen and it will happen very soon.) I was always a step ahead of the characters but that didn't lessen the excitement I felt while reading.
A highly recommended read as always!
May 5, 2020
This book was another Goosebumps classic. R.L.Stine knows horror better than most and this book just reminds you of that fact. That being said, every Goosebumps book ends with a twist usually but sadly the twist in this one was maybe foreshadowed a bit too much and in the end it was easy to predict but still a five star read.
may/4/2020
As odd as it is I enjoyed the twist much more this time around and enjoyed the main story a little bit less. I don't know if its just the " walking dead " hat tips that bugged me or the fact that I felt like the story left a lot of loose ends but I found myself yearning for a 2nd book either with more details for this story or just a story based off the twist ending.
may/4/2020
As odd as it is I enjoyed the twist much more this time around and enjoyed the main story a little bit less. I don't know if its just the " walking dead " hat tips that bugged me or the fact that I felt like the story left a lot of loose ends but I found myself yearning for a 2nd book either with more details for this story or just a story based off the twist ending.
July 27, 2016
Gosh. So disappointing. Moving through the story, Zombie Halloween is almost a really good book. Instead, it's just something I kind of liked. The pacing of the story is pretty good. It's mainly about a kid named Kenny who thinks there are monsters in his neighborhood. Some cool misdirects here, but the book fizzles out near the end. And the very ending, I really don't like.
June 11, 2016
this book is scary if you read it before you go to bed but a brilliant book I recommend this book because you really want to know what happens I give it out of 5 star a 4 star because it sort of jumped to a different part but overall a brilliant book .
March 27, 2016
I loved it!! It's a good Special Edition book because it's scarier and it has flashback stuff in it. Awesome!
April 23, 2016
This one was boring
August 13, 2020
مرح قديم
July 25, 2022
Zombie Halloween is an intense and frightening story for children ages eight to twelve (grades three to seven). Graveyards have a timeless quality of spookiness for every generation of children which makes them a splendid setting for a scary story. I love the cover on the special edition of Zombie Halloween. The oranges, greens, and purples make the cover pop while rooting it firmly in the theme of Halloween. This story successful brought a thrill of fear to both my boys from the cover straight through the storyline. As an adult, I enjoyed the read as well.
R. L. Stine plays on the idea of imagination versus reality and adults versus children in determining which realm they are dealing with. There are some great twists in Zombie Halloween. The zombie part of the story has a satisfying ending. However, that doesn’t seem to be where the adventure ends…
R. L. Stine plays on the idea of imagination versus reality and adults versus children in determining which realm they are dealing with. There are some great twists in Zombie Halloween. The zombie part of the story has a satisfying ending. However, that doesn’t seem to be where the adventure ends…
October 27, 2022
Kenny and Alec love playing "The Walking Zombies" game. Alec really believes in Zombies, Kenny does not, but his grandpa does. Grandpa Mo is always telling his "true" zombie stories and says he dreams of them. One day the only house in the remote area by the graveyard where Kenny lives has a moving truck unloading the household items of new neighbors and the boys get anxious when three coffins are unloaded. The beginning thirty or so pages were really cheesy and had me wondering if
I'd just DNF, then the whole tone shifted and I enjoyed this fast-paced tale of zombie hunting. Each chapter ends on a cliffhanger and several reveals are planted until the very end the real reveal finishes the story. A quick, fun read for an afternoon.
I'd just DNF, then the whole tone shifted and I enjoyed this fast-paced tale of zombie hunting. Each chapter ends on a cliffhanger and several reveals are planted until the very end the real reveal finishes the story. A quick, fun read for an afternoon.
July 25, 2024
(٣.٣٦/٥)
[ظهر الكتاب]:
أنتقل كيني مع أسرتة للعيش مع جده في منزل يتمتع بإطلالة مخيفة ومفزعة على المقابر، ولكنه لا يعبأ بذلك فهو لا يؤمن بوجود الأشباح، على العكس من جده، ذلك الرجل العجوز الطاعن في السن الذي لا تزال تنتابة الكوابيس بشأن الزومبي، حتى أنه لا يكف عن الحديث عن مغامراته معهم مع كل شخص وأي شخص والتي يعتبرها كيني وأخته تريشيا حكايات من نسج الخيال. فهل ينجح كيني وأخته في إخراج الأوهام والخزعبلات من رأس الجد؟ أم هل يحدث ما يثبت لكيني وجود الزومبي بالفعل؟
...
[رأيي في القصة]:
قرأتها في (٣/٢/٢٠٢٤)
العدد مقسم لثلاثة أجزاء، الجزء الأول جيد .. الجزء الثاني جيد - عدا أخر ١٠ صفحات - .. الجزء الثالث ممل وسيء نوعًا ما.
...
[رأيي في الترجمة]:
الترجمة ليست فيها مشاكل من أستخدامات كلمات أعجمية أو عامية.
[ظهر الكتاب]:
أنتقل كيني مع أسرتة للعيش مع جده في منزل يتمتع بإطلالة مخيفة ومفزعة على المقابر، ولكنه لا يعبأ بذلك فهو لا يؤمن بوجود الأشباح، على العكس من جده، ذلك الرجل العجوز الطاعن في السن الذي لا تزال تنتابة الكوابيس بشأن الزومبي، حتى أنه لا يكف عن الحديث عن مغامراته معهم مع كل شخص وأي شخص والتي يعتبرها كيني وأخته تريشيا حكايات من نسج الخيال. فهل ينجح كيني وأخته في إخراج الأوهام والخزعبلات من رأس الجد؟ أم هل يحدث ما يثبت لكيني وجود الزومبي بالفعل؟
...
[رأيي في القصة]:
قرأتها في (٣/٢/٢٠٢٤)
العدد مقسم لثلاثة أجزاء، الجزء الأول جيد .. الجزء الثاني جيد - عدا أخر ١٠ صفحات - .. الجزء الثالث ممل وسيء نوعًا ما.
...
[رأيي في الترجمة]:
الترجمة ليست فيها مشاكل من أستخدامات كلمات أعجمية أو عامية.
September 20, 2019
With the second episode of the tenth season of The Walking Dead having been released but recently, Zombie Halloween seems to not be a bad novel to pick up to commemorate this.
Kenny and Alec love zombies.
Alec believes they are real but Kenny is sceptical.
But when strange events start happening, with their new neighbors moving in, shrouded in mystery, carrying three coffins, Kenny can't help but rethink his stance.
And why is his grandpa Mo scared so much.
And, whose is the story, which is told at the beginning? The storyline of the game The Walking Dead they were playing? Or is it something else? Something enough to give anyone nightmare for years?
Kenny and Alec love zombies.
Alec believes they are real but Kenny is sceptical.
But when strange events start happening, with their new neighbors moving in, shrouded in mystery, carrying three coffins, Kenny can't help but rethink his stance.
And why is his grandpa Mo scared so much.
And, whose is the story, which is told at the beginning? The storyline of the game The Walking Dead they were playing? Or is it something else? Something enough to give anyone nightmare for years?
Displaying 1 - 30 of 112 reviews