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Point Horror Collection #1: Mother's helper, Invitation, Beach party
"Mother's Helper", "Invitation", "Beach Party"
- GenresYoung AdultHorror
504 pages, Paperback
First published October 15, 1993
4 people are currently reading
199 people want to read
About the author
Diane Hoh
83 books286 followersDiane Hoh is the author of fifty-seven novels for young adults. She grew up in Warren, Pennsylvania but currently resides in Austin, Texas. Reading and writing are her favorite things, alongside gardening and grandchildren.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
October 30, 2017
For all the stories they could have collected into the first volume, I felt that these were weak choices.
I could have understood if they were the first three published in the series, but they just seemed to have been randomly selected.
It did serve as a great piece of nostalgic reading though!
My favorite of the trio was Beach Party, which isn't really a surprise as original discovered these books due to having read R. L. Stine's Goosebumps series first.
I could have understood if they were the first three published in the series, but they just seemed to have been randomly selected.
It did serve as a great piece of nostalgic reading though!
My favorite of the trio was Beach Party, which isn't really a surprise as original discovered these books due to having read R. L. Stine's Goosebumps series first.
April 3, 2022
For the plot I'm going to give this collection of horror stories 2 stars but for nostalgia it gets a big fat 5 star review.
I used to take these on holiday as a teenager and loved them. It was fantastic revisiting my youth and I would definitely recommend them to anyone with teenagers. They contain the right amount of teenage angst and are suspenseful, quick reads.
I used to take these on holiday as a teenager and loved them. It was fantastic revisiting my youth and I would definitely recommend them to anyone with teenagers. They contain the right amount of teenage angst and are suspenseful, quick reads.
September 25, 2021
Mother’s Helper by A. Bates
An interesting choice for the first story in this collection. I spent my early teens devouring Point Horror Books. I borrowed as many as I could lay my hands on from the library and incurred endless late fees because I couldn’t bear to give them back. All this is to say that my expectations were pretty darned high when I picked up this book.
Mother’s Helper is a complete story (beginning, middle and end) with some twists and turns that would have, I’m sure, surprised me when I was younger. Whether I actually read this one when I was thirteen, I can’t be sure. That was a lot of years ago. As such, I can’t really be surprised that the main character’s internal monologue doesn’t take place in italics. It might have been a nice formatting choice, just to give the reader a chance to understand who’s speaking, or whether or not they’re speaking to the reader. But maybe I was just smarter when I was a kid and didn’t need all that explaining through the use of slanted letters?
There are moments in the story where I’m sure my young self would have thought the teenager had outwitted the adult, where now I can see that although the adult absolutely underestimates the teenager, they are firmly in control. The story might be a little bit 'soap opera', but it ticks the boxes for a 1990s teenage horror. Anything with a doll collection is immediately terrifying to me so I’m cautiously optimistic about the rest of the book.
The Invitation by Diane Hoh
Now, this is more like it. When Sarah and the rest of her unpopular friends are miraculously invited to the fanciest house in town for the party event of the year, they experience all kinds of reactions from desperate, clawing excitement to outright scepticism. But as their siblings become jealous, and some of the mothers are almost more excited than the invitees, Sarah Drew is sure something else is happening. Cass Rockham just doesn’t spend time with her and probably couldn’t pick her out of a crowd.
“'I said I was invited, Ellie. I never said I was going.'
"Sarah heard nothing but a shocked silence at the other end of the telephone line.
"Envisioning the horrified expression on Ellie’s face, Sarah laughed. ‘Look,’ she said, sinking into a wooden chair at the round kitchen table, ‘it’s probably a mistake. One of Mr. Rockham’s secretaries must have goofed and invited the whole junior class by mistake. Cass will probably have her fired. Maybe killed.’"
P 174, Chapter Two, The Invitation by Diane Hoh
But when the magical night arrives and Sarah and her friends appear in all their finery, they can’t possibly know that what’s in store for them might seem like a childish game, but it’ll soon have deadly consequences.
A brilliant story, really well-told. I loved the characters and their angst; seemingly something went wrong at every turn and that really appealed to me.
Beach Party by R. L. Stine
And this is where memory has let me down. There is no doubt that R. L. Stine is one of the great storytellers of our time. His is the name I always associate with Point Horror and he’s long been one of my favourite authors.
But this was a proper let-down.
Karen is spending the summer in her father’s beach house with her pal, Ann-Marie who is visiting from New York. They meet a whole bunch of young people on the boardwalk and on the sand, and it isn’t long before Karen - trying to put ex Mike behind her when he won’t let her go, and toying with the idea of gang leader Vince, before falling for “good guy” Jerry.
My problem is this: Mike is clearly a stalker. During their first encounter, Vince backed up by his gang, threatens Karen and her friend with sexual assault - whereupon, “She realized that she was attracted to him, the way she was always attracted to danger, to excitement, the way she often was driven to pursue things she knew might not be good for her.”
P 357, Chapter Three, Beach Party by R. L. Stine
And, lest we forget, “good guy” Jerry has a girlfriend. A mean one called Renee, who might have had a crack at drowning Karen but frankly, I’m with Renee on this one.
Are you kidding me?
All in all, this collection contains some big names and a very good example of the style of writing contained in Point Horror Books, and although I was a little let down by some of the character’s attitudes, I still plan to continue with these collections. There’s nothing quite like a healthy dose of nostalgia.
An interesting choice for the first story in this collection. I spent my early teens devouring Point Horror Books. I borrowed as many as I could lay my hands on from the library and incurred endless late fees because I couldn’t bear to give them back. All this is to say that my expectations were pretty darned high when I picked up this book.
Mother’s Helper is a complete story (beginning, middle and end) with some twists and turns that would have, I’m sure, surprised me when I was younger. Whether I actually read this one when I was thirteen, I can’t be sure. That was a lot of years ago. As such, I can’t really be surprised that the main character’s internal monologue doesn’t take place in italics. It might have been a nice formatting choice, just to give the reader a chance to understand who’s speaking, or whether or not they’re speaking to the reader. But maybe I was just smarter when I was a kid and didn’t need all that explaining through the use of slanted letters?
There are moments in the story where I’m sure my young self would have thought the teenager had outwitted the adult, where now I can see that although the adult absolutely underestimates the teenager, they are firmly in control. The story might be a little bit 'soap opera', but it ticks the boxes for a 1990s teenage horror. Anything with a doll collection is immediately terrifying to me so I’m cautiously optimistic about the rest of the book.
The Invitation by Diane Hoh
Now, this is more like it. When Sarah and the rest of her unpopular friends are miraculously invited to the fanciest house in town for the party event of the year, they experience all kinds of reactions from desperate, clawing excitement to outright scepticism. But as their siblings become jealous, and some of the mothers are almost more excited than the invitees, Sarah Drew is sure something else is happening. Cass Rockham just doesn’t spend time with her and probably couldn’t pick her out of a crowd.
“'I said I was invited, Ellie. I never said I was going.'
"Sarah heard nothing but a shocked silence at the other end of the telephone line.
"Envisioning the horrified expression on Ellie’s face, Sarah laughed. ‘Look,’ she said, sinking into a wooden chair at the round kitchen table, ‘it’s probably a mistake. One of Mr. Rockham’s secretaries must have goofed and invited the whole junior class by mistake. Cass will probably have her fired. Maybe killed.’"
P 174, Chapter Two, The Invitation by Diane Hoh
But when the magical night arrives and Sarah and her friends appear in all their finery, they can’t possibly know that what’s in store for them might seem like a childish game, but it’ll soon have deadly consequences.
A brilliant story, really well-told. I loved the characters and their angst; seemingly something went wrong at every turn and that really appealed to me.
Beach Party by R. L. Stine
And this is where memory has let me down. There is no doubt that R. L. Stine is one of the great storytellers of our time. His is the name I always associate with Point Horror and he’s long been one of my favourite authors.
But this was a proper let-down.
Karen is spending the summer in her father’s beach house with her pal, Ann-Marie who is visiting from New York. They meet a whole bunch of young people on the boardwalk and on the sand, and it isn’t long before Karen - trying to put ex Mike behind her when he won’t let her go, and toying with the idea of gang leader Vince, before falling for “good guy” Jerry.
My problem is this: Mike is clearly a stalker. During their first encounter, Vince backed up by his gang, threatens Karen and her friend with sexual assault - whereupon, “She realized that she was attracted to him, the way she was always attracted to danger, to excitement, the way she often was driven to pursue things she knew might not be good for her.”
P 357, Chapter Three, Beach Party by R. L. Stine
And, lest we forget, “good guy” Jerry has a girlfriend. A mean one called Renee, who might have had a crack at drowning Karen but frankly, I’m with Renee on this one.
Are you kidding me?
All in all, this collection contains some big names and a very good example of the style of writing contained in Point Horror Books, and although I was a little let down by some of the character’s attitudes, I still plan to continue with these collections. There’s nothing quite like a healthy dose of nostalgia.
May 2, 2020
A complete shot of nostalgia. They really need editing properly but I don't really care I felt like I was 13 all over again. Need to try and track down some of the others.
October 13, 2022
As gripping now as it was when I read it as a teenager. Three great thrillers that'll keep you guessing and questioning who you can trust.
January 2, 2025
Took a trip down memory lane with this. Absolutely loved point horror as a teenager and still love them as an adult!
May 9, 2017
Yay! Oxfam came up trumps with some suitable Halloween reading. I don't remember reading these particular stories before either.
1. Mother's Helper
The plot of this one was basically very obvious. But it was a good, fun read.
2. The Invitation
I don't quite see the point of a party However the book was still rather enjoyable.
3. Beach Party
It was okay. My enjoyment was somewhat hindered by the fact that I did not like any of the characters.
1. Mother's Helper
The plot of this one was basically very obvious. But it was a good, fun read.
2. The Invitation
I don't quite see the point of a party However the book was still rather enjoyable.
3. Beach Party
It was okay. My enjoyment was somewhat hindered by the fact that I did not like any of the characters.
September 28, 2014
The first story, Mother's Helper was actually quite good. I didn't predict the ending and was quite interested to find out what was happening.
The Invitation was okay. It was a bit too long though.
Beach Party wasn't good. The beach party itself lasted about two pages and wasn't much of a party. Karen was an awful character, so unbelievable and unlikeable.
It was strange to read how obsessed these stories are about being rich and beautiful. All of the characters are described in detail on how beautiful/handsome they are/aren't. Which is a shame but I guess that's what the audience that these books are aimed at think about.
I devoured these stories when I was younger. I wonder how much they subconsciously affected my self confidence?!
The Invitation was okay. It was a bit too long though.
Beach Party wasn't good. The beach party itself lasted about two pages and wasn't much of a party. Karen was an awful character, so unbelievable and unlikeable.
It was strange to read how obsessed these stories are about being rich and beautiful. All of the characters are described in detail on how beautiful/handsome they are/aren't. Which is a shame but I guess that's what the audience that these books are aimed at think about.
I devoured these stories when I was younger. I wonder how much they subconsciously affected my self confidence?!
March 6, 2019
See my reviews for each story here:
Mother's Helper, https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Invitation, https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Beach Party, https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews