What do you think?
Rate this book
BEACH HOUSE
A killer has found a very special place in the sun in this horror story which is part of the Point Horror series.
224 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 1992
64 people are currently reading
2516 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 260 reviews
September 7, 2021
You know your reading a nostalgic 90’s book when one of the characters is compared to Vanilla Ice!
I had so many Point Horror’s as a teen, that I’m not entirely sure what ones I’ve read before. It’s nice to revisit and add reviews to them all!
Stine lead me to this range having enjoyed the Goosebumps books as a kid.
The story is told over two time frames in both the 1950’s and 1990’s, it was such an interesting concept that hasn’t really been done in Point Horror before.
I liked how the two time periods connect together, but it felt it was more like something he would write for the Fear Street series...
I’ve been a little disappointed with Stine’s Point Horror output on a revisit, but I’m still glad that he lead me to this series in the first place.
I had so many Point Horror’s as a teen, that I’m not entirely sure what ones I’ve read before. It’s nice to revisit and add reviews to them all!
Stine lead me to this range having enjoyed the Goosebumps books as a kid.
The story is told over two time frames in both the 1950’s and 1990’s, it was such an interesting concept that hasn’t really been done in Point Horror before.
I liked how the two time periods connect together, but it felt it was more like something he would write for the Fear Street series...
I’ve been a little disappointed with Stine’s Point Horror output on a revisit, but I’m still glad that he lead me to this series in the first place.
July 1, 2015
R.L. Stine YA books disturb me. No, not for the reason you’re thinking. They’re not “scary”. At best, they’re mildly entertaining. At worst, they’re ludicrously moronic. I find a significant number of R.L. Stine books disturbing because half of his teenage female protagonists are in obviously abusive relationships.
I don’t know. Maybe it’s an eighties thing. But it seems like at least half his books, including this one, feature a main female character, high-school age, who is in a steady relationship with a boy she is terrified of. The girls specifically state being frightened by their boyfriends’ raging tempers, possessive jealousy, threats and displays of violence.
And then, almost invariably, the next sentence will say that it makes them feel special.
Huh? Your abusive piece of shit boyfriend makes you feel special when he screams at the top of his lungs, breaks your things, and threatens you because you spoke to another male? You need your heads examined, R.L. Stine protagonists. Does R.L. Stine land have no healthy egos? No healthy relationships? No therapists? No parents who care if their daughter's abused? Nothing? Wow. I feel horrible for you, fictional late eighties/early nineties women. Like whoa.
For added fun, he doesn’t seem to know how sharks work. Buddy and Maria swim within a few feet of a recently-moved-in school of sharks, and the sharks show no interest in their presence. “They won’t attack until they smell blood,” Buddy explains.
lolwut? No. Just no. First of all, most shark species don’t live in schools, and none of the three most dangerous species do. Tiger sharks, perhaps the most dangerous (being considered the “garbage cans” of the sea) feed in schools, however, so I suppose I’ll ignore the fact Beach House implies that an entire school of man-eating sharks moves to a beach with heavy human traffic just for lulz. I’ll just assume an entire ecosystem of fish spawned off this beach a few days prior to the story, which is the only explanation I can think of for a ton of sharks deciding to show up and stick around.
But even that’s a minor problem when we get to, “They won’t attack until they smell blood.” What universe do you live in? Most shark attacks on humans aren’t about food/hunting/blood. They’re the result of a torpedo with fangs spotting a weird, gangly, too-scrawny-to-make-a-good-meal animal--one it may or may not ever have seen before--thrashing around like a dying fish. And, well, here’s the thing… sharks don’t have hands. They can’t grab your ankle and go, “Hey, what are you?” They grab you with their teeth and go, “Mind if I find out if you’re yummy?” It’s just too bad that by the time they’ve realized you’re not yummy, whatever limb they grabbed is probably mangled, severed, or swallowed.
So, yeah.
But I suppose I have to be fair. This had the typical R.L. Stine YA bullshit with some extra time-travel bullshit just for flavor, but it wasn’t horrible. I seem to recall enjoying it when I read it in middle school, so I suppose it’s fair to say that middle- or elementary-school children might have fun with this one.
Posted June 2012. Edited for minor typos 6/30/15.
I don’t know. Maybe it’s an eighties thing. But it seems like at least half his books, including this one, feature a main female character, high-school age, who is in a steady relationship with a boy she is terrified of. The girls specifically state being frightened by their boyfriends’ raging tempers, possessive jealousy, threats and displays of violence.
And then, almost invariably, the next sentence will say that it makes them feel special.
Huh? Your abusive piece of shit boyfriend makes you feel special when he screams at the top of his lungs, breaks your things, and threatens you because you spoke to another male? You need your heads examined, R.L. Stine protagonists. Does R.L. Stine land have no healthy egos? No healthy relationships? No therapists? No parents who care if their daughter's abused? Nothing? Wow. I feel horrible for you, fictional late eighties/early nineties women. Like whoa.
For added fun, he doesn’t seem to know how sharks work. Buddy and Maria swim within a few feet of a recently-moved-in school of sharks, and the sharks show no interest in their presence. “They won’t attack until they smell blood,” Buddy explains.
lolwut? No. Just no. First of all, most shark species don’t live in schools, and none of the three most dangerous species do. Tiger sharks, perhaps the most dangerous (being considered the “garbage cans” of the sea) feed in schools, however, so I suppose I’ll ignore the fact Beach House implies that an entire school of man-eating sharks moves to a beach with heavy human traffic just for lulz. I’ll just assume an entire ecosystem of fish spawned off this beach a few days prior to the story, which is the only explanation I can think of for a ton of sharks deciding to show up and stick around.
But even that’s a minor problem when we get to, “They won’t attack until they smell blood.” What universe do you live in? Most shark attacks on humans aren’t about food/hunting/blood. They’re the result of a torpedo with fangs spotting a weird, gangly, too-scrawny-to-make-a-good-meal animal--one it may or may not ever have seen before--thrashing around like a dying fish. And, well, here’s the thing… sharks don’t have hands. They can’t grab your ankle and go, “Hey, what are you?” They grab you with their teeth and go, “Mind if I find out if you’re yummy?” It’s just too bad that by the time they’ve realized you’re not yummy, whatever limb they grabbed is probably mangled, severed, or swallowed.
So, yeah.
But I suppose I have to be fair. This had the typical R.L. Stine YA bullshit with some extra time-travel bullshit just for flavor, but it wasn’t horrible. I seem to recall enjoying it when I read it in middle school, so I suppose it’s fair to say that middle- or elementary-school children might have fun with this one.
Posted June 2012. Edited for minor typos 6/30/15.
August 7, 2020
This Point Horror story has a unique angle in that it is told over two different time periods. It starts off in the summer of 1956 and we meet a group of teenagers spending their summer on the coast. They meet a guy called Buddy who seems nice enough but things take a turn for the worse after they pull a prank on him. The story then picks up in the present day and we follow another group of teenagers who find an ominous beach house which has been abandoned for years.
I really enjoyed revisiting this one. I remember it being one of my favourites of the Point Horror series when I was younger and while I did remember part of the story I definitely didn't remember all of the details so it was still gripping and entertaining. Perfect for summer!
I really enjoyed revisiting this one. I remember it being one of my favourites of the Point Horror series when I was younger and while I did remember part of the story I definitely didn't remember all of the details so it was still gripping and entertaining. Perfect for summer!
April 12, 2024
This was a really fun book! It was a bit confusing at first as we jump back and forth from the 50's to the 90's every few chapters or so, following a group of teenagers in each generation as they disappear/die-off one by one. It was a little hard to keep track of who was who, but I was able to follow along pretty well by the halfway mark.
This book was kind of funny and I wasn't expecting the humor in it. Most of it is pretty subtle, and some of it lies within the ridiculousness and cheesiness of the story. It's all in good fun, though. The story does get a bit dark at times and doesn't fail to deliver some good thrills.
The twists at the end weren't bad, though there was one aspect to the explanation of everything that I'm not sure worked well.
There were also a couple of loose ends that didn't get tied up, which is slightly annoying, but not uncommon for these books.
Overall a really fun, cheesy thriller by the master, Mr. Stine. This is one of my favorite Point Horror books so far, even if the story has its flaws. I recommend this one to other fans of Stine or YA Thrillers/Horror in general.
3.5 / 5
This book was kind of funny and I wasn't expecting the humor in it. Most of it is pretty subtle, and some of it lies within the ridiculousness and cheesiness of the story. It's all in good fun, though. The story does get a bit dark at times and doesn't fail to deliver some good thrills.
The twists at the end weren't bad, though there was one aspect to the explanation of everything that I'm not sure worked well.
There were also a couple of loose ends that didn't get tied up, which is slightly annoying, but not uncommon for these books.
Overall a really fun, cheesy thriller by the master, Mr. Stine. This is one of my favorite Point Horror books so far, even if the story has its flaws. I recommend this one to other fans of Stine or YA Thrillers/Horror in general.
3.5 / 5
April 16, 2023
3 stars
Nice set up with the going back and forth between the two summers, mysterious and oppressive atmosphere but oh boy, those characters were so obnoxious that I didn’t mind if they got all murdered!
Characters 6
Atmosphere 7
Writing Style 5
Setup 7
Plot 7
Intrigue 7
Logic 5
Enjoyment 7
Nice set up with the going back and forth between the two summers, mysterious and oppressive atmosphere but oh boy, those characters were so obnoxious that I didn’t mind if they got all murdered!
Characters 6
Atmosphere 7
Writing Style 5
Setup 7
Plot 7
Intrigue 7
Logic 5
Enjoyment 7
February 23, 2019
Words fucking fail me, they really do.
I read this for our podcast Teenage Scream, which dissects the best (and worst) of 90s Teen Horror.
https://soundcloud.com/teenagescream
I read this for our podcast Teenage Scream, which dissects the best (and worst) of 90s Teen Horror.
https://soundcloud.com/teenagescream
August 5, 2024
A fun summer re-read. I knew about the twist from my original read but I still couldn't remember all the specific details. Because of that, I spent most of the book just dying to get to the end so I could recall how it all unfolded. Dare I say, a Stine classic?
December 2, 2016
One of my favourite Point Horrors, and one of my favourite R.L. Stine books! Sure, the plot twist that reveals the connection between the 50s and 90s is totally arbitrary and off-the-wall, but it doesn't stop the book being a hoot! There were actual deaths in this book, many of them quite mean-spirited. It made my young eyes widen in surprise and a little bit of glee! The 50s segment is definitely the most fun and suspenseful. Ashley in the present and her borderline abusive boyfriend were not so interesting!
May 10, 2022
A perfect poolside read while on vacation at the beach. I loved the time period change in narratives throughout the story and how it all came together at the end. And I totally did not expect THAT at the end?! You go, R.L. Stine!
July 14, 2020
I remember reading this when I was in junior high for the first time and I was completely sucked into it, unfortunately it took quite a few years for me to find my way back to the “horror” genre (quotation marks are there because this is way more of a fun horror read). For this book in particular it stuck with me over all the other Point Horror novels I read at the time. So initially based on that I gave it 5 stars, but upon rereading it it’s not so groundbreakingly good! Lol it’s more just good. I enjoyed the two storylines, the light gore, and the suspense to find out what exactly was happening in both timelines!
December 12, 2020
I found this in the clearance section at a used book store and figured I would take a trip down memory lane as I loved reading these when I was a kid. Wow! How could this be more terrible and enjoyable at the same time. It made me laugh from the description (Swim. Sunbathe. Die.) right to the very end at the RIDICULOUS explanation of why the kids were getting murdered. Thanks RL Stine for starting my love of thrillers and for the laughs. 4 stars for enjoyment and Vanilla Ice and Madonna references circa 1992.
August 30, 2024
-loved the dual timeline shifts from the 50's to the 90's
-90's pop culture references abound; vanilla ice, coca-cola and MTV beach towels, etc
-50's ones too, like marilyn monroe and elvis presley, but those are classics
-R. L. Stine shows us even back in 1992 why you should be vigilant and afraid of men, i def feel like he would encourage us all to choose the bear
-one star off bc that ending came out of N O W H E R E. i think i would have liked it more if there were at least one or two hints dropped in the book to allude to
-90's pop culture references abound; vanilla ice, coca-cola and MTV beach towels, etc
-50's ones too, like marilyn monroe and elvis presley, but those are classics
-R. L. Stine shows us even back in 1992 why you should be vigilant and afraid of men, i def feel like he would encourage us all to choose the bear
-one star off bc that ending came out of N O W H E R E. i think i would have liked it more if there were at least one or two hints dropped in the book to allude to
June 21, 2022
What a ride. I actually didn't guess the ending until right before the reveal
August 4, 2022
Summer 1956, a bunch of teens are hanging out at the beach: Maria, Amy, Stuart, Ronnie, and Buddy. They all decide to prank Buddy by stealing his trunks when he's in the water and forcing him to come out to the beach naked. Later Maria stands him up on their date for Stuart. Buddy is pissed and bad things happen.
In the "this summer" timeline, there's Ashley, Ross, Kip, Lucy, and Brad. All of them are summer visitors to the beach, except for Kip and Brad who live there. Lucy and Kip are together. Ashley and Ross are together.
The cool part of this story is there were things that are revealed that I had a hard time believing if they were made up, a dream, or if it was actually happening. I’m not sure that was the intent, but it added to my personal reading experience.
(Copied from another reader’s review) – what you can expect from Beach House
🏖 Some silly beach pranks
👫 MANY teenagers and the drama that goes with it
😦 A few creepy characters
👙 Many stylish (or not) summer outfits
🦈 SHARKS
🌫 Fog that’s coming out of nowhere
🩸 A couple of graphic scenes
In the "this summer" timeline, there's Ashley, Ross, Kip, Lucy, and Brad. All of them are summer visitors to the beach, except for Kip and Brad who live there. Lucy and Kip are together. Ashley and Ross are together.
The cool part of this story is there were things that are revealed that I had a hard time believing if they were made up, a dream, or if it was actually happening. I’m not sure that was the intent, but it added to my personal reading experience.
(Copied from another reader’s review) – what you can expect from Beach House
🏖 Some silly beach pranks
👫 MANY teenagers and the drama that goes with it
😦 A few creepy characters
👙 Many stylish (or not) summer outfits
🦈 SHARKS
🌫 Fog that’s coming out of nowhere
🩸 A couple of graphic scenes
April 26, 2025
I read this with my book club that I run on Instagram where we revisit Point Horror and other books from our childhood - @talespointhorrorbookclub
Tagline - Don’t go near the water.
Memorable For – Time travel and murder!
Blurb -
It’s 1956 and four kids are hanging out on the beach. Little do they know that a killer has begun to stalk them, one by one. Now, on the same golden sands nearly 40 years later, Ashley, Ross, Lucy and Kip are enjoying the same beach. Until history starts to repeat itself.
Some Thoughts -
We get two Point Horrors with lots of characters for the price of one with the Beach House! One half set in 1956 and one in present day with Mickey Mouse blankets in 1956, MTV blankets in the present day, swimsuits and burmuda shorts in 1956 and very tight blue spandex trunks and bikinis in present day..you get the picture!
Basically the gang in both 1956 and present day just want a relaxing holiday on the beach, but what they get is murdered! Some one is set on murdering the group of friends in 1956 and questionable goings on echoing the 1956 murders in the present day bear a spooky resemblance to the unsolved mystery! Mind twirls! And in both 1956 and present day there is a Beach House!
Other highlights include sea, sharks, wooden logs, a time travelling closet in a beach house, a character called Denny Drake who seemed to be in the wrong Point Horror and knives being pulled out of very tight shorts! And not forgetting the chapter headings (a point horror first?!)
Tagline - Don’t go near the water.
Memorable For – Time travel and murder!
Blurb -
It’s 1956 and four kids are hanging out on the beach. Little do they know that a killer has begun to stalk them, one by one. Now, on the same golden sands nearly 40 years later, Ashley, Ross, Lucy and Kip are enjoying the same beach. Until history starts to repeat itself.
Some Thoughts -
We get two Point Horrors with lots of characters for the price of one with the Beach House! One half set in 1956 and one in present day with Mickey Mouse blankets in 1956, MTV blankets in the present day, swimsuits and burmuda shorts in 1956 and very tight blue spandex trunks and bikinis in present day..you get the picture!
Basically the gang in both 1956 and present day just want a relaxing holiday on the beach, but what they get is murdered! Some one is set on murdering the group of friends in 1956 and questionable goings on echoing the 1956 murders in the present day bear a spooky resemblance to the unsolved mystery! Mind twirls! And in both 1956 and present day there is a Beach House!
Other highlights include sea, sharks, wooden logs, a time travelling closet in a beach house, a character called Denny Drake who seemed to be in the wrong Point Horror and knives being pulled out of very tight shorts! And not forgetting the chapter headings (a point horror first?!)
July 20, 2022
Time travel with a side of revenge. And sharks.
I don’t know what I was expecting, but it wasn’t THAT. Truly weird and wild and doesn’t make a lick of sense, but entertaining nonetheless. Surprised at the gorey kills (not typical for Stine). And I did love that crazy shark scene.
I don’t know what I was expecting, but it wasn’t THAT. Truly weird and wild and doesn’t make a lick of sense, but entertaining nonetheless. Surprised at the gorey kills (not typical for Stine). And I did love that crazy shark scene.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 29, 2024
♡ Beach Read
♡ Insecure Boys
♡ Accidental Time Travel
I liked the nostalgic vibe of this book. While the book obviously is quite dated with its references, it was still an entertaining read. Having said that it wasn’t a very good read. The characters were dull and the dialogue felt so forced and fast paced. If insecure men and people pleasing women are your thing then you’ll probably love this. 100% of the problems would I have been solved if the guys in this weren’t so pathetically insecure about themselves and if the women had better survival skills of saying no when asked to go somewhere alone with the dude they have bad feelings about.
Also Amy not being a girls girl was annoying. Like, bestie you left your best friend there with some creep? Make an excuse for the BOTH you! Also she acted as if someone showing their belly button (in a bikini) was causing too much attention. Just say you want a bikini and stop being jealous. Don’t even get me started on how insecure and annoying Ross was. Dude got jealous his girlfriend talked to another guy… I’m not even joking. She just met the other dude and was keeping polite conversation meanwhile Ross was storming off like a pathetic little man.
The plot summary:
Buddy: someone hurt my feelings 😢😡 so I murdered them.
Brad (also Buddy): tells his life story (no one asked) then tries to kill the girl he “likes” because she didn’t feel the same way??
Spice Level: n/a
Angst Level: n/a
POV: Third Person
Release Date: 01, August 1992
Rep: BIPOC (background characters)
⚠️ Content Warnings:
Graphic: Murder, Death, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Blood, Body horror, Misogyny, Violence, Stalking, Injury/Injury detail, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Classism
June 19, 2021
I’m a big fan of R.L. Stine - and this book didn’t disappoint! We navigate between 1956 and 30+ years later, with a similar group of friends and a mysterious beach house… Again, I had a lot of fun reading this one, and it’s the perfect season for that!
What you will find in ‘Beach House’...
🏖 Some silly beach pranks
👫 MANY teenagers and the drama that goes with it
😦 A few creepy characters
👙 Many stylish (or not) summer outfits
🦈 SHARKS
🌫 Fog that’s coming out of nowhere
🩸 A couple of graphic scenes
In short, a perfect summer time point horror book!
https://www.instagram.com/reel/CQTQUH...
What you will find in ‘Beach House’...
🏖 Some silly beach pranks
👫 MANY teenagers and the drama that goes with it
😦 A few creepy characters
👙 Many stylish (or not) summer outfits
🦈 SHARKS
🌫 Fog that’s coming out of nowhere
🩸 A couple of graphic scenes
In short, a perfect summer time point horror book!
https://www.instagram.com/reel/CQTQUH...
April 11, 2018
My journey through rereading my Point Horror collection continues. This one is about two lots of high school teen disappearances, one in 1956 and one in present day. It was ok, I thought the ending could have been better. I've noticed in these books that many of the characters in these books have weird personal habits, always whistling or clicking their fingers, or playing mean 'jokes' on people. All I could think was how annoying it would be in real life.
February 16, 2021
R.L. Stine is just such a master. This book was easy to read, but such a great read! I never knew what would happen next and I loved that. The ending was such a cool twist and I would definitely recommend this book to others!
November 27, 2019
Disappointingly, Ross was not the murderer. But, I did get time travel. For some reason. I mean, when the book was sectioned into 1956 and "this summer" (which I assure you is not the summer of 2019), I was kinda thinking that it would be kept in those time frames. But no. There's time travel. None of the main characters go through time travel, but it happens.
I would complain that it's formulaic, with the set-up being around 4 teens that are more or less hip and with it going to a place that isn't really close to their homes. At least two of the people are in a relationship, either with someone that is mentioned once and never again, or with someone in the group. If it's the former, then the relationship might be pretty good, and there's a chance that the person could be 1) the murderer and/or the main antagonist of the story, 2) the person that saves them all, or 3) generally isn't there for the entire story.
But if it's the latter, then it's probably a bad relationship, full of toxic bad stuff because PSAs are boring but "super thriller"s definitely aren't.
I guess it has to be formulaic with how many of these there are. But I just really wish Ross was the murderer, even though there wasn't anything pointing toward it. He's just such a raging asshole, jealous, overly-possessive, toxic. Just bad. And then when Ashley breaks up with him, he fuckin stalks her on her dates with Brad! Who cares if it might have ended up okay? I still fiercely despise him.
Fuck you Ross. Also I thought the book was gonna talk more about Denny, who definitely isn't okay, or how Ronnie died. That wasn't even touched on. It was like a "by-the-way" thing, so it's a very real possibility that Buddy/Brad just made it up. I mean with that train of thought it's also possible that Brud/Baddy just made up that tragic story about his younger brother Johnny. We'll never know how much truth Bruddy/Bad was telling. And honestly I'm completely fine with that.
I would complain that it's formulaic, with the set-up being around 4 teens that are more or less hip and with it going to a place that isn't really close to their homes. At least two of the people are in a relationship, either with someone that is mentioned once and never again, or with someone in the group. If it's the former, then the relationship might be pretty good, and there's a chance that the person could be 1) the murderer and/or the main antagonist of the story, 2) the person that saves them all, or 3) generally isn't there for the entire story.
But if it's the latter, then it's probably a bad relationship, full of toxic bad stuff because PSAs are boring but "super thriller"s definitely aren't.
I guess it has to be formulaic with how many of these there are. But I just really wish Ross was the murderer, even though there wasn't anything pointing toward it. He's just such a raging asshole, jealous, overly-possessive, toxic. Just bad. And then when Ashley breaks up with him, he fuckin stalks her on her dates with Brad! Who cares if it might have ended up okay? I still fiercely despise him.
Fuck you Ross. Also I thought the book was gonna talk more about Denny, who definitely isn't okay, or how Ronnie died. That wasn't even touched on. It was like a "by-the-way" thing, so it's a very real possibility that Buddy/Brad just made it up. I mean with that train of thought it's also possible that Brud/Baddy just made up that tragic story about his younger brother Johnny. We'll never know how much truth Bruddy/Bad was telling. And honestly I'm completely fine with that.
June 28, 2023
This is another good novel by R.L Stine. This novel was intriguing from beginning to end. I clearly never saw the ending coming. I appreciate this author's writing style. Despite the fact that it's a horror book, it's still a light read. The ending blew me away; we understand the entire novel in the last few chapters.
Il s'agit d'un autre bon roman de R.L Stine. Ce roman était intriguant du début à la fin. Je n'ai clairement jamais vue venir la finale de ce roman. J'apprécie le style d'écriture de cet auteur. Malgré le fait que ce soit un livre d'horreur c'est quand même une lecture légère. La fin m'a estomaqué, Nous comprenons l'entièreté du roman dans les derniers chapitres.
Il s'agit d'un autre bon roman de R.L Stine. Ce roman était intriguant du début à la fin. Je n'ai clairement jamais vue venir la finale de ce roman. J'apprécie le style d'écriture de cet auteur. Malgré le fait que ce soit un livre d'horreur c'est quand même une lecture légère. La fin m'a estomaqué, Nous comprenons l'entièreté du roman dans les derniers chapitres.
Read
April 7, 2019This was an R.L. Stine book that I don't think I had read back in the 90's. When I saw a copy at Goodwill, I had to snag it. But wow was this one outdated...
In part one, I immediately couldn’t stand the main characters and their relationships with one another. Luckily the story took a dark turn on page 29. But that didn't last long...
In part two, we were right back where we started with the cringe-worthy teen relationships.
Hard pass.
In part one, I immediately couldn’t stand the main characters and their relationships with one another. Luckily the story took a dark turn on page 29. But that didn't last long...
In part two, we were right back where we started with the cringe-worthy teen relationships.
Hard pass.
January 21, 2024
The time travel mechanics don’t really make sense, and to be honest, they don’t really have to. This book is aimed at tweens, specifically tweens from the early 90’s, and is only 200 pages. It has a lot to pack into it so I don’t expect much. I remember the twist shocking me as a kid and I remember being hooked, and as an adult some of the scene are still gruesome enough to build suspense. A nostalgia classic.
June 16, 2017
Well, this one was pretty good! The twist at the end was actually great. So if you go and read my review of the Fear Street book New Year's Party (Super Chiller), you will see it's similar to this one. It takes place in two time periods, and this one does too. Beach House takes place in 1956 and "this summer," which meant 1990-whatever back then. It's hilarious how dated the references are. Matt Dillon, MTV, Vanilla Ice, Coke towel... the list goes on. I love the 90s, though, so I'm not complaining.
Okay, so, I know you only came here for the deaths, so I won't delay!
Let me see if I can remember all the characters in both time periods. Well, the relevant ones. In 1956 we have Maria, Amy, Buddy, Stuart... I think that's it. In the 90s we have Ashley, Brad, Ross, Kip, and Lucy. You can see some parallels in the names. The killer in 1956 is not a mystery. We find out right away that it's Buddy, because he LOVES killing, and he tells the reader that. "It's so easy," he says. What happens is Buddy gets caught in the ocean one day, and Stuart and a friend (don't remember his name) steal his swim trunks. Maria and Amy laugh at him. Buddy takes his anger at this to the extreme. He decides his "friends" need to PAY.
First is Maria. Buddy lures her out in the water in the middle of the night. He's a strong swimmer, but she isn't. He swims with her very far out, and then he takes a knife and cuts her to lure the sharks that are nearby. Buddy swims back and leaves her for the sharks. A few days later Amy finds Stuart dead on the beach with his head bashed in from a tree trunk (how Buddy managed that one on his own, we may never know). Finally, there's Amy. She almost makes it... but Buddy traps her in the Beach House one day. There is a secret to it that Amy never gets to find out. What she does find out is that she's about to drown soon, because Buddy hits her over the head with a shovel and ties her under the Beach House to drown (it's raised on stilts, so the ocean's tide comes up under the house).
Back in the 90s, there isn't a killer... yet. But there is a mysterious, handsome guy named Brad. He has a thing for Ashley, which is a problem for Ross, her current boyfriend. They are all out in Dunehampton (where the book is set) for the summer. They discover the beach house one day as Ross and Ashley use it to make out. Turns out Kip and Lucy have the same idea. But one day Kip and Lucy go missing. Ashley finds her scarf in the closet of the beach house and is thoroughly freaked. Meanwhile, Brad hosts a soiree in his incredible mansion and Ross grows more and more jealous of the time Brad is spending with her. Ashley, as an independent 90s woman, is having none of it. She breaks up with Ross - for good, she says. She and Brad continue to go out while Ross spies on them from afar. Then one night Brad wants to show her a "secret" in the beach house. But first, on the steps of the beach house, he launches into a speech about his family history and why he is so rich. He talks about his brother, Johnny, and how he always loved to explore houses. Brad wanted to be just like Johnny, so he went exploring too. And he explored the Beach House. He wants to show it to Ashley. She's a little perplexed, because she's already been there, but Brad leads her inside into the closet of a bedroom. Well, he forces her in, because she protests the whole way. As soon as they are in the closet a mysterious orange and yellow light flashes in front of Ashley's face. It turns out it's Mary, the maid of Brad's family. But something's wrong, because Mary is calling Brad Buddy. This part wasn't surprising since I had read New Year's Party recently. Ashley demands an explanation, and the truth comes out. Mary is - no shocker - Maria from 1956.
Honestly, the most shocking thing is how she survived that shark attack. She tells Ashley that Brad is really named Buddy and in 1956 he killed (or thought he killed) her and her friends one by one. Apparently Maria was rescued by some fishermen, but her skin took years to heal. She pulls off her maid uniform to reveal the ugly purple and yellow scars on her chest. (Stine mentions her BRA- scandalous!). Then the twist comes - the secret of the Beach House is that a time travel tunnel exists in the closet they are standing in!! That's how Buddy literally got away with murder. He traveled to the 90s and became rich Brad. Maria finally figured out his secret one day, and she, too, came to the 90s to seek her revenge. This time she refuses to let Brad leave the closet. She wants him to go back to 1956 and face up to what he's done. Obviously there's no way Brad/Buddy is going to do that, but luckily Maria came prepared this time. She has doused the house in gasoline, and she is carrying a torch (very convenient). She lights Buddy on fire and then lights the house on fire, right at the time Ashley realizes she may die too. Luckily, the beach house explosion just sends her flying onto the deck but otherwise unharmed. Of course creeper Ross is there waiting for her.
Methinks Ross and Ashley still need to work out his stage-five clinger issues. And now Ashley has a burning hatred for oldies music. But otherwise, all's well that ends well! (Unless you are Buddy, Maria, Kip, Lucy, Amy, or Stuart).
Okay, so, I know you only came here for the deaths, so I won't delay!
Let me see if I can remember all the characters in both time periods. Well, the relevant ones. In 1956 we have Maria, Amy, Buddy, Stuart... I think that's it. In the 90s we have Ashley, Brad, Ross, Kip, and Lucy. You can see some parallels in the names. The killer in 1956 is not a mystery. We find out right away that it's Buddy, because he LOVES killing, and he tells the reader that. "It's so easy," he says. What happens is Buddy gets caught in the ocean one day, and Stuart and a friend (don't remember his name) steal his swim trunks. Maria and Amy laugh at him. Buddy takes his anger at this to the extreme. He decides his "friends" need to PAY.
First is Maria. Buddy lures her out in the water in the middle of the night. He's a strong swimmer, but she isn't. He swims with her very far out, and then he takes a knife and cuts her to lure the sharks that are nearby. Buddy swims back and leaves her for the sharks. A few days later Amy finds Stuart dead on the beach with his head bashed in from a tree trunk (how Buddy managed that one on his own, we may never know). Finally, there's Amy. She almost makes it... but Buddy traps her in the Beach House one day. There is a secret to it that Amy never gets to find out. What she does find out is that she's about to drown soon, because Buddy hits her over the head with a shovel and ties her under the Beach House to drown (it's raised on stilts, so the ocean's tide comes up under the house).
Back in the 90s, there isn't a killer... yet. But there is a mysterious, handsome guy named Brad. He has a thing for Ashley, which is a problem for Ross, her current boyfriend. They are all out in Dunehampton (where the book is set) for the summer. They discover the beach house one day as Ross and Ashley use it to make out. Turns out Kip and Lucy have the same idea. But one day Kip and Lucy go missing. Ashley finds her scarf in the closet of the beach house and is thoroughly freaked. Meanwhile, Brad hosts a soiree in his incredible mansion and Ross grows more and more jealous of the time Brad is spending with her. Ashley, as an independent 90s woman, is having none of it. She breaks up with Ross - for good, she says. She and Brad continue to go out while Ross spies on them from afar. Then one night Brad wants to show her a "secret" in the beach house. But first, on the steps of the beach house, he launches into a speech about his family history and why he is so rich. He talks about his brother, Johnny, and how he always loved to explore houses. Brad wanted to be just like Johnny, so he went exploring too. And he explored the Beach House. He wants to show it to Ashley. She's a little perplexed, because she's already been there, but Brad leads her inside into the closet of a bedroom. Well, he forces her in, because she protests the whole way. As soon as they are in the closet a mysterious orange and yellow light flashes in front of Ashley's face. It turns out it's Mary, the maid of Brad's family. But something's wrong, because Mary is calling Brad Buddy. This part wasn't surprising since I had read New Year's Party recently. Ashley demands an explanation, and the truth comes out. Mary is - no shocker - Maria from 1956.
Honestly, the most shocking thing is how she survived that shark attack. She tells Ashley that Brad is really named Buddy and in 1956 he killed (or thought he killed) her and her friends one by one. Apparently Maria was rescued by some fishermen, but her skin took years to heal. She pulls off her maid uniform to reveal the ugly purple and yellow scars on her chest. (Stine mentions her BRA- scandalous!). Then the twist comes - the secret of the Beach House is that a time travel tunnel exists in the closet they are standing in!! That's how Buddy literally got away with murder. He traveled to the 90s and became rich Brad. Maria finally figured out his secret one day, and she, too, came to the 90s to seek her revenge. This time she refuses to let Brad leave the closet. She wants him to go back to 1956 and face up to what he's done. Obviously there's no way Brad/Buddy is going to do that, but luckily Maria came prepared this time. She has doused the house in gasoline, and she is carrying a torch (very convenient). She lights Buddy on fire and then lights the house on fire, right at the time Ashley realizes she may die too. Luckily, the beach house explosion just sends her flying onto the deck but otherwise unharmed. Of course creeper Ross is there waiting for her.
Methinks Ross and Ashley still need to work out his stage-five clinger issues. And now Ashley has a burning hatred for oldies music. But otherwise, all's well that ends well! (Unless you are Buddy, Maria, Kip, Lucy, Amy, or Stuart).
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 7, 2025
It felt somewhat appropriate to follow R.L. Stine's Goosebumps book
Ghost Beach
with R.L. Stine's Point Horror book Beach House. Of course, this isn't the first Stine Point Horror book I've read that takes place at the beach, with
Beach Party
also promising to offer sun, sand, and scares. Except I found
Beach Party
to be terribly dull, and is currently my least favourite Point Horror book I've read so far. So I was optimistic that Beach House couldn't be any worse, and thankfully it isn't.
However, Beach House also isn't great. I do think that there's a good concept here, but I also think Stine somewhat squanders it. The book opens during the summer of 1956 with a group of kids trying to enjoy some sun, and allows for Stine to have a little bit of fun making 'wry' observations of the time, with characters commenting about how bikinis will never catch on and so on. Then someone starts attacking this group of kids. The book alternates between 1956 and 'this' summer, which appears to be a summer in the early '90s what with references to MTV blankets and so on. Sidenote - R.L. Stine is down with the kids, and there's a passage early in the book which unreservedly proves this when he describes the kids from 1956 as having "so much fun" when a group of guys start singing 'Shake, Rattle & Roll' and "dancing like wild men". So whilst I'd say it's fair to criticise Stine for many many things, his fingers are very firmly on the pulse of what kids find fun. Evidently.
Anyway I digress. Switching between the two time periods is a pretty effective choice which I think Stine handles well, for the most part. Although there isn't a great deal of effort put into distinguishing between the two groups of kids, I found it wasn't too difficult to differentiate between them. Beach House is a somewhat enjoyable book... until the climax. I won't give anything away, but I found a certain reveal towards the end to be utterly ludicrous. Also, following Hit and Run , I both love and dread Stine introducing wild animals into these books - love because it's usually so unexpected, and dread because it's often utterly nonsensical. Beach House took me on a wild ride and it's certainly memorable, but I couldn't honestly say it's particularly good. I'm finding Stine's Point Horror offerings to be erratic, to say the least.
2.5/5
Point Horror Ranked
1) The Girlfriend - 4/5
2) Trick or Treat - 3.5/5
3) Fatal Secrets - 3.5/5
4) Teacher's Pet - 3.5/5
5) The Baby-Sitter II - 3.5/5
6) The Cheerleader - 3.5/5
7) The Hitchhiker - 3.5/5
8) April Fools - 3.5/5
9) My Secret Admirer - 3.5/5
10) The Lifeguard - 3.5/5
11) Freeze Tag - 3/5
12) Thirteen Tales of Horror - 3/5
13) The Accident - 3/5
14) Funhouse - 3/5
15) The Window - 3/5
16) The Invitation - 2.5/5
17) The Train - 2.5/5
18) The Waitress - 2.5/5
19) The Snowman - 2.5/5
20) Beach House - 2.5/5
21) The Mall - 2.5/5
22) The Boyfriend - 2/5
23) The Cemetery - 2/5
24) Mother's Helper - 2/5
25) The Baby-Sitter - 1.5/5
26) Hit and Run - 1.5/5
27) The Return of the Vampire - 1/5
28) Beach Party - 1/5
However, Beach House also isn't great. I do think that there's a good concept here, but I also think Stine somewhat squanders it. The book opens during the summer of 1956 with a group of kids trying to enjoy some sun, and allows for Stine to have a little bit of fun making 'wry' observations of the time, with characters commenting about how bikinis will never catch on and so on. Then someone starts attacking this group of kids. The book alternates between 1956 and 'this' summer, which appears to be a summer in the early '90s what with references to MTV blankets and so on. Sidenote - R.L. Stine is down with the kids, and there's a passage early in the book which unreservedly proves this when he describes the kids from 1956 as having "so much fun" when a group of guys start singing 'Shake, Rattle & Roll' and "dancing like wild men". So whilst I'd say it's fair to criticise Stine for many many things, his fingers are very firmly on the pulse of what kids find fun. Evidently.
Anyway I digress. Switching between the two time periods is a pretty effective choice which I think Stine handles well, for the most part. Although there isn't a great deal of effort put into distinguishing between the two groups of kids, I found it wasn't too difficult to differentiate between them. Beach House is a somewhat enjoyable book... until the climax. I won't give anything away, but I found a certain reveal towards the end to be utterly ludicrous. Also, following Hit and Run , I both love and dread Stine introducing wild animals into these books - love because it's usually so unexpected, and dread because it's often utterly nonsensical. Beach House took me on a wild ride and it's certainly memorable, but I couldn't honestly say it's particularly good. I'm finding Stine's Point Horror offerings to be erratic, to say the least.
2.5/5
Point Horror Ranked
1) The Girlfriend - 4/5
2) Trick or Treat - 3.5/5
3) Fatal Secrets - 3.5/5
4) Teacher's Pet - 3.5/5
5) The Baby-Sitter II - 3.5/5
6) The Cheerleader - 3.5/5
7) The Hitchhiker - 3.5/5
8) April Fools - 3.5/5
9) My Secret Admirer - 3.5/5
10) The Lifeguard - 3.5/5
11) Freeze Tag - 3/5
12) Thirteen Tales of Horror - 3/5
13) The Accident - 3/5
14) Funhouse - 3/5
15) The Window - 3/5
16) The Invitation - 2.5/5
17) The Train - 2.5/5
18) The Waitress - 2.5/5
19) The Snowman - 2.5/5
20) Beach House - 2.5/5
21) The Mall - 2.5/5
22) The Boyfriend - 2/5
23) The Cemetery - 2/5
24) Mother's Helper - 2/5
25) The Baby-Sitter - 1.5/5
26) Hit and Run - 1.5/5
27) The Return of the Vampire - 1/5
28) Beach Party - 1/5
July 21, 2022
Giving this three stars is generous. The writing isn’t great, the characters aren’t well developed, or in some cases even believable, and there are some problematic themes. But having said that, I didn’t pick up this book to read a fantastic work of literature. It was a fun cheesy beach read which was just what I was looking for, and I would definitely read more of these when in the mood for something fun and cheesy.
November 23, 2020
As per usual Rl Stine wrote an entertaining albeit predictable YA Point horror book. I really enjoyed it and for the most it was a great read. I will say that the characters are always so freaking awful. They are almost always some type of bully so when they get murdered I do not feel sorry for them. I would like a character that is just nice and likeable that I do not cheer inside when they are murdered. Nevertheless it is a good book.
October 10, 2023
This was just okay. While I did love the sheer volume of 80's and 90's pop culture references I found it not enough to hold my attention.
That said, the ending flips the whole world on its head which was fun!
That said, the ending flips the whole world on its head which was fun!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 260 reviews