The Witness

by R.L. Stine

This summer's going to be a real killer...

Sand, surf, sun...Roxie lives for the summer. But this year things aren't going the way she planned.

Because when she breaks into Lee Blume's house just to win a stupid bet, she saw something she shouldn't have seen. And now she's the only witness to something she can't forget.

But someone's looking for Roxie. Someone who wants to spoil her summer. Someone who wants her...dead.

Genres: Horror, Young Adult, Thriller, Mystery, Fiction, Teen, Literature

179 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1994

About the author

Robert 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...

Reviews

[Monica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una de mis historias favoritas.
Lee, este chico es una mezcla entre persona acosadora terrible y chico lindo y gracioso.
Sé que tal revoltura suena muy pero muy extraña, pero es justo la forma perfecta de describir a este personaje, el más complejo de toda la serie.
Es ahí cuando historias como estas nos ponen a pensar que caras vemos.. secretos, locuras y lo que sean capaces de hacer no sabemos.
Las apariencias engañan y para muestra esta historia.

[Ken · Rating 3 out of 5]

Relatively short for a Point Horror, Stine turns a simple idea into an enjoyable fast paced read.

Roxie believes she’s witnessed a murder having hid in Lee Blume’s house as part of a dare.
She soon becomes convinced that he knew she was there.

There’s a real sense of Roxie’s paranoia slowly making her lose control. The story moved along really quickly.
It might not be the best in the series, but I found it highly entertaining.

[Tyler Gray · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

Average fun R.L. Stine book. I thought "this is so predictable, but i'm still enjoying it" and then it had one more plot twist up it's sleeve I didn't see coming.

[Latasha · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oh come on Bob, you can do better than this.

[Jason Harlow · Rating 2 out of 5]

I never really got into this at all. From the very beginning until the end, this was weak and I feel like I wasted my time. The Roxie and Ursula characters had no development whatsoever, other than engaging in cheesy dialog about guys. I normally enjoy the lack of character development with the Stine books (as crazy as that sounds) but these characters were cliché, lame and entirely boring. I'll give this a 2/5 instead of a 1 because I was somewhat entertained during the first half, but this got progressively worse as it went on. Like other Point Horror entries, this would've been an enjoyable read if I went into this expecting a fourth grade-level mystery, but there is no "horror" here. This was one false scare sequence away from being a 1/5.

[Alex (The Bookubus) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Weathervane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun little story, if light on logic. (Fear Street style thrillers must always be allowed a bit of leeway.) The central premise, that an otherwise wholesome, if flighty and capricious, girl would break-and-enter to win a 50-dollar bet strains credulity -- even if we're talking 1994 dollars. In another Stine thriller, Fear Street: The Knife, the protagonist also commits burglary, but at least with the intention of helping a little boy she believes to be in danger. Here the girl is just crazy; and rather a shame, too, since her other acts of silliness are much more realistic and make her feel like an actual -- contemptible -- person. (Really, she treats her boyfriend with such disdain, as if he were utterly replaceable -- cheats on him -- and then he's the one who rushes to save her and gets a Phillips head to the trachea for his trouble. Very disappointed he didn't get a happier ending.) Other lapses in logic: the police would have quizzed her on exactly what house she entered, no way she would be fooled into thinking she had gone into the wrong one. Near the end with the ocean swim, the text makes you believe she's further from the shore than she is, and it's rather a surprise when she pops up near the dock in the next chapter.

Finally, I congratulate Stine on the fun banter at the beginning of the book. Ursula especially was a great side character. Many nice atmospheric details as well, with Roxie's dad at breakfast, the small town, the weather; and I have to mention the middle fake-out "twist," which did fool me a bit, even if it was logically impossible.

Nice pacing, enjoyable characters, good read.

[Brandon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've owned The Witness from R.L.Stine for quite a few years.I actually won the book in a give away from a very popular booktuber named Alex.Back then she was called Hey Little Thrifter. Now she goes by The Bookubus. I've owned the book for years and never really attempted at reading it, until now .I actually found a hardcover edition renamed I Saw You That Night ,which is the American version and that's the version that actually read. The story starts off with a prologue, which is basically a scene from the book later on. The actual story starts with Ursula and Roxy playing tennis. Ursula tries to make a bet with Roxy about winning and Ursula never loses a bet. Their game gets interrupted by a local girl named Shawna and she's bleeding and she tells the two girls to help her turns out.It turns out Shawna broke up with this guy named Lee and she ended up getting into a fight with him and she cut herself somehow. We learn that Roxy is dating a guy named Terry but she also kind of has a thing for Lee .Ursula ends up making a bet that she can get a date with him before Roxy can and Ursula is very tall and blonde and Roxy's more tomboyish and reserved.So Roxy thinks that she has no chance in getting a date with Lee. But she does try. She's actually out swimming one day with Terry and she ends up seeing Lee and Ursula together. And then one of the most cringiest scenes. She leaves Terry, swims up shore and gets on the dock and tries to talk to Lee about going for a boat ride. Lee is always wearing this sharks cap thing and part of the bet is that the two girls have to get his hat from him .So Roxy thinks about cheating because she thinks that she has no chance of getting his attention so what she does one night it sneaks in to Lee's house to steal the shark's cap and just wear it to school. As she sneaking in upstairs ,she takes pictures of his house and different things like that for proof ,but she hears two people coming inside she panics, but also hears a fight that ensues. She hears some slaps and different things like that.So she darts out in front of everybody and leaves. The next day on the radio she hears that there's been a murder.And a body has been found. She thinks this has something to do with Lee she ends up leaving to go to where the body was found.And and she sees the body with a bunch of police officers around her and in one of the more disturbing scenes, the body falls halfway out of the body bag.I swore this was going to be a dream sequence ,but no it was the real deal .She ends up telling her dad about what went on and they end up going to the police station. Her dad is a lawyer so he knows all the cops and all that stuff .They end up arresting Lee but turn him loose because he had an alibi for where he was. The book does this weird twist angle where Roxy thinks that she has the wrong house and that's where I'm going to leave this.We do get a very disturbing scene with a turtle.And a pretty fun climax, along with some pretty creepy scenes with Lee.But this book was really slow. the pacing was all over the place. The book really doesn't get super interesting until about page 130. I just wasn't know huge fan of this one, but I thought it was okay. Ut was very early in Stin's writing career .I give I saw you that night a three out of five stars.

[Melanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I quite liked this one, our MC was not the usual 'good girl', a bit of a hot mess and reading her was a bit like watching a train crash in slow motion, not unlike my own life choices as a teenager. I liked the red herring and the twist toward the end.

[Austin Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

In this book, our protagonist makes a bet with her best friend (Of 50 dollars, yikes!) to see who can go out on a date first with the handsome Lee... and get him to give her his Sharks Hat.
To win the bet, our main character, Roxie, decides to break into his house and *steal* his cap for proof. Oh boy.
While inside, she witnesses a heated argument going on between two young people, and then hears some violence taking place, and she decides to bolt. The next day, a murder is reported on the radio, and she assumes it's Lee that killed the young girl in question.... but is it really him? It must be, when he menacingly approaches Roxie one day and says to her... "Roxie, I saw you..."
And... *cue credits*

This was just an okay read. Still fun, as any Stine book is, but this one the characters are especially stupid, it's filled with obviously forced decisions to drive the plot forward, and it's loaded with extra sharp cheddar cheese. It is kind of funny for how ridiculous it is at time. Like, I couldn't take this book seriously and I was just sort of laughing along with it (as well as at). The twists were predictable, although the ending was a bit more shocking and violent than I expected it to be. Almost reminded me of something out of a B grade slasher flick. It was pretty fun and surprisingly violent for a point horror. (At least of the ones I've read so far)
The last line of the story made me chuckle as well, so +o.1 points for that.

Overall, this is definitely not one of the GOOD YA thrillers by Stine. There are far better ones out there I would recommend, but I still got some enjoyment out of it (I think any R.L. Stine fan would) and managed to finish it in two days. (It is fairly short and fast paced)
I think I'll have to give this one a 2.5 / 5

[Carmen Tudor · Rating 3 out of 5]

As much as I adore R. L. Stine, this one didn't work too well for me. With all the huh?s, faded denim cutoffs and the blue Honda Civic I could've sworn I was in Shadyside 2.0. Jokes aside, unfortunately, I didn't empathise with Roxie and couldn't suspend my disbelief when she chose to go on a date with a new beau mere hours after suspecting someone very close to her was a murderer, and after she herself glimpsed the corpse. The relationship between Roxie and Ursula was a bit weird too. Why were they friends? What's up with Terry? Was Roxie mocking Terry (so mean)? How did all that time pass (half-hour) on Ursula's break when she only ate her blueberry yogurt? How did all that time pass (hours) when Roxie skated a while and walked home? <-- No, not important, but my inner commentary was just too distracting for me to get around the hurdles.

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

R.L. Stine absolutely phoning this one in. No plot, unlikeable characters, a jump-scare/oh-no-its-just-something-else every four pages and someone mistaking a mop for a corpse. 2/10 must try harder.

We reviewed this on Teenage Scream, the podcast that fondly dissects the best (and worst) of 90s teen horror). Listen here, or subscribe on your podcast app:

https://soundcloud.com/teenagescream

[Pedro Plasencia Martínez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Una novela corta y veraniega bastante estándar que sirve para pasar el tiempo, pero que sigue todos los puntos comunes de Stine sin destacar demasiado. Dos amigas muy dadas a competir por cualquier cosa hacen una apuesta sobre un chico rico y guapo que tiene muy mal carácter cuando se enfada. La protagonista no está dispuesta a perder, así que recurre a métodos un poco tramposos e ilegales y se cuela en una casa que no es la suya para ganar los 50 dólares y evitarse la humillación de una perdedora. Durante el allanamiento verá una escena terrible, un supuesto crimen que le producirá pesadillas. Así que ya véis, un thriller típico donde una mujer sabe demasiado y por ello tratan de silenciarla. Cambian los nombres, pero las situaciones, los comportamientos y hasta las frases son iguales que los de varios títulos de Fear Street, de hecho es prácticamente idéntico a uno donde realizan una broma telefónica y al otro lado de la línea escuchan también un posible asesinato. Le falta originalidad.

ENGLISH
A fairly standard short and summer novel that serves to pass the time, but that follows all the common points without standing out too much. Two friends who are very prone to competing for anything make a bet about a rich and handsome boy who has a very bad temper when he gets angry. The protagonist is not willing to lose, so she resorts to somewhat deceitful and illegal methods and sneaks into a house that is not hers to win the 50$ and avoid the humiliation of a loser. During the intrusion she will see a terrible scene, an alleged crime that will give her nightmares. And that's all, a typical thriller where a woman knows too much and that is why they try to silence her. The names change, but the situations, behaviors and even phrases are the same as several Fear Street titles, in fact this book it is practically identical to one where they make a prank call and on the other end of the line they also hear a possible murder. Lacks originality.

[Erica Leigh · Rating 2 out of 5]

“She’ll never believe we made a bet to go out with a murderer.”

Spoiler: everyone loses here.

A standard goofy Stine thriller with beachy summer boat vibes, complete with a side of roller skating and murder.

It gets surprisingly gruesome (tw: disturbing animal death 😭).

It is one of my favorite covers though. Coolest skelly around.

[Hew La France · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read our spoiler free review on our website here: https://pagesinthecorner.com/f/spoile...

And our spoiler filled review on our website here: https://pagesinthecorner.com/f/spoile...

[Jade Dove · Rating 3 out of 5]

In typical Stine fashion, we get a fast-paced thriller that’s heavy with pseudo-suspense and light on plot. All the trademarks of his writing are on display—unrealistic story, two dimensional characters and dialogue that feels more like the sanitized version of what teens talk like than their actual speech. Usually, his novels have a typical structure of introduction, immediately introducing a threat, a twist and a happy ending. All those aspects are here, if the twist isn’t really a twist at all and the story feels a little lighter than usual.
The things Stine gets right, he nails with precision. Atmosphere, little details of small towns, certain side characters that feel believable (and even likable), the pacing of certain sections. And even if all of his work is inconsistent with real-life touches juxtaposed with incredibly unrealistic and cheesy characters and situations, if you like the cheese, you’ll like this one.
If you don’t like anything else he’s done, you’re not gonna like this.

[Liam Underwood · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've found R.L. Stine's Point Horror books to be all over the place - some I really enjoyed, with The Girlfriend being my favourite Point Horror book that I've read so far, and some I've really not enjoyed, with Beach Party being my least favourite Point Horror book that I've read so far. More often than not, Stine's Point Horror books tend to underwhelm more than they impress. The Witness is no exception.

There's just nothing particularly unique or notable about this story. Our protagonist, Roxie, isn't quite as unlikeable as some of Stine's other lead characters, but she still makes several questionable choices throughout this which makes it hard to really root for her. She also reminded me of Jenny from The Baby-Sitter at times, as Stine also gives Roxie an overactive imagination for the excuse to include a whole bunch of silliness. In addition to this we have familiar tropes of murder suspects and threatening notes and pranks. There's perhaps one stand out moment which features some surprising animal cruelty, but the rest of the narrative plays out like it's ticking off standard Point Horror tropes.

I didn't find the mystery particularly strong and I can't say I was a big fan of any of the supporting characters, with the exception of Roxie's father. It's unusual to have a Point Horror parent who is not only there for their child but also willing to listen and is supportive. It's a nice inclusion, bucking the absent parents trend. However, The Witness can't help but succumb to one of Stine's most fatal flaws - the ridiculous cliffhanger chapter endings. There is one chapter ending here (involving a mop) which is so bafflingly nonsensical I almost threw the book across the room. Usually, even if the book is average, Stine can write a compelling story, but I never found myself particularly eager to find out what happened next. It's all just so terribly bland.

2/5

Point Horror Ranked
1) The Girlfriend - 4/5
2) Thirteen More Tales of Horror - 4/5
3) The Dead Game - 4/5
4) Trick or Treat - 3.5/5
5) Camp Fear - 3.5/5
6) Nightmare Hall - The Silent Scream - 3.5/5
7) Dream Date - 3.5/5
8) Fatal Secrets - 3.5/5
9) Teacher's Pet - 3.5/5
10) The Baby-Sitter II - 3.5/5
11) The Cheerleader - 3.5/5
12) The Hitchhiker - 3.5/5
13) Nightmare Hall - The Scream Team - 3.5/5
14) April Fools - 3.5/5
15) My Secret Admirer - 3.5/5
16) The Lifeguard - 3.5/5
17) Freeze Tag - 3/5
18) Thirteen Tales of Horror - 3/5
19) The Accident - 3/5
20) The Vampire's Promise - 3/5
21) Funhouse - 3/5
22) Nightmare Hall - The Nightwalker - 3/5
23) Nightmare Hall - Pretty Please - 3/5
24) The Stranger - 3/5
25) Nightmare Hall - Deadly Attraction - 3/5
26) The Window - 3/5
27) Nightmare Hall - Guilty - 3/5
28) The Invitation - 2.5/5
29) Nightmare Hall - The Wish - 2.5/5
30) Help Wanted - 2.5/5
31) The Perfume - 2.5/5
32) The Train - 2.5/5
33) The Waitress - 2.5/5
34) The Snowman - 2.5/5
35) Nightmare Hall - The Roommate - 2.5/5
36) The Yearbook - 2.5/5
37) Silent Witness - 2.5/5
38) Halloween Night - 2.5/5
39) Beach House - 2.5/5
40) The Mall - 2.5/5
41) Nightmare Hall - The Experiment - 2.5/5
42) The Boyfriend - 2/5
43) The Fever - 2/5
44) The Cemetery - 2/5
45) Mother's Helper - 2/5
46) The Baby-Sitter III - 2/5
47) The Phantom - 2/5
48) The Witness - 2/5
49) The Dead Girlfriend - 2/5
50) The Baby-Sitter - 1.5/5
51) Hit and Run - 1.5/5
52) The Return of the Vampire - 1/5
53) Beach Party - 1/5

[Tom Garback · Rating 2 out of 5]

⭐️ ⭐️ 💫
Critical Score: C-
Personal Score: B-

I enjoyed it because it’s typical Fear Street aesthetic and I read it in less than 2 hours, but it’s a pretty weak R. L. Stine thriller. Cheap and predictable, low on thrills.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Youtube

[Halena · Rating 1 out of 5]

1.5 stars. Not a lot of plot and the characters weren't very believable.

[Hannah Schuelke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Personal Response
I liked I Saw You That Night because of the idea of the story, along with the many surprise twist. This was not my favorite R.L. Stine book, but it was still a pretty good book. One reason why I did not like it as much, was the fact that it got kind of boring in the middle. As I got closer to the end, the book turned completely around, it became more intriguing.

Plot Summary
This book about a girl named Roxie, who loves the beach and a boy named Lee. Lee was shy, but had a bad temper. The book started with a bet, a real stupid bet. Roxie and Ursula(Roxie's best friend) made a bet, who could go out with Lee first. Roxie has never won a bet against Ursula and she still agreed. Roxie made the bet even harder, Roxie added that you have to wear Lee´s hat(he always wore it). This bet was going to be difficult for Roxie considering she already has a boyfriend and Ursula is really pretty. Ursula hang out with Lee and was obviously winning. So Roxie had to something because she did not want to lose another bet. One night Roxie decide to cheat by breaking into Lee´s house and taking his hat. Roxie broke into Lee´s house and went into his room to search for his shark hat. Roxie thought that since she was in his room why not take pictures to make Ursula mad. As Roxie was about to leave Lee´s room, she heard a girl´s scream. She realized someone was home. She did not know what to do so she ran through the house to escape. Roxie realized that the people were fighting. As Roxie ran to the door, she caught a glimpse of the people and realized it was Lee and a girl. Roxie kept running, wondering if anyone saw her. A girl was found dead near Lee´s house and Roxie recognized the girl. It was the girl from Lee´s house that night. After that night she got a call saying ¨I saw you that night¨ and she tried avoiding Lee. Lee kept asking her to hang out, but one night Roxie was skating with her friends. She walked home, and Lee followed her. He offered to walk with her, Roxie did not want to, but Lee would not leave her alone. They passed Lee´s house and she asked why he passed it. Lee told her that it was not his house. Roxie was relieved and agreed to hang out with Lee the next day. The next day Lee and Roxie were going to go for a boat ride. Roxie had to grab a screwdriver to help fix the boat, as she handed the screwdriver to Lee, he stabbed her in the back of the neck. Roxie´s boyfriend, Terry, saw this and tried to fight Lee. Lee stabbed him in the head and throat. Terry was down. Lee grabbed Roxie and threw her in the boat. The boat moved, Lee´s plan was to throw Roxie in the water miles from the beach. Roxie had to make a plan, she decided to jump in the water. Lee chased her with his boat in attempt to hit her, but Roxie went deep enough. Roxie was getting tired and giving up. She grabbed onto the boat in attempt to tip the boat over. Lee stabbed Roxie hand with the screwdriver. Roxie fell off in pain, and then she saw the cops and Ursula. The cops arrested Lee for murder of Matty Andrews, and attempt of murdering Roxie. Ursula helped Roxie to the dock, and saw that Terry was on a stretcher. Ursula saw Lee´s hat and grabbed it. She put it on and said ¨I win¨.

Recommendation
I would recommend this book to tweens and teens because it has some violence. I would also recommend it to people who enjoy thrillers and surprise twists. The book is not for a specific gender. If you like other R.L. Stine books, I recommend reading this one.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read all of R.L. Stine's Fear Street books as a kid, but read very few of his stand-alone books. (Probably because my library didn't carry many of them except for the Babysitter ones.) I had never even heard of this book, but I saw it at Half Price Books and it was cheap so I picked it up.

This was classic R.L. Stine, with twists at every turn. I thought I had the ending solved, but got thrown for a loop about halfway through. I like being surprised!

I am still confused about Lee, though. Unless I missed something, there was no explanation on how he made it home from the charity event to commit the murder. We know he was there, because he had witnesses and an alibi, so how did he do it!?

[Strawberri Mystery · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought I read all of Stines but I guess I missed this one.....actually I saw this once on a book shelf but walked past it because it looked dumb. Years later I was browsing the internet and came across a site that had this book on audio. I decided to listen......WOW!!!! The people who acted this book out did a good job, they had sound effects and everything. This book was good!

[Kristin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cover: 5/5 stars. Story: 2/5 stars. I *wish* there had been a skeleton in this story. Plot holes and Stine’s trademark fake outs abound in this one. Lots of silliness like a mop masquerading as a dead body and a screwdriver for a weapon. I also didn’t like how the main character already had a boyfriend but made a bet with her friend to see who could date this other boy first.

[Sally · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was good and got me wondering what I would do if i was stuck in a similar situation, and then it made me realise how glad I am that I'm not in a similar situation, but that i can feel like I am just from reading a book...!

[Kirsty · Rating 2 out of 5]

Re-read this for Episode 2 of the Teenage Scream podcast (lovingly dissecting the best and worst of 90s teen horror). Listen here, or subscribe on your podcast app:

https://soundcloud.com/teenagescream

[Owen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Boring read. It was a good book, but the story was typical. The kid you know throughout is your suspect. The only thing I liked was the fact that she went to his house. She has balls lol, also the vibes of the beach were good.

[Jodi-Lee Kaemingk · Rating 3 out of 5]

My first (an only) R.L Stine Book. Yeah, yeah I know, that makes me a bad child of the 90s.

[Trisha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay, so this wasn't one of my all-time favourite Point reads, but it wasn't amongst the absolute worst either. It had some twists and turns to keep me intrigued and wondering. It also wasn't the absolute worst writing quality, unlike some of those I've read. ;)

The thing I liked least about it was that I didn't really like any of the characters. Roxie has a boyfriend but doesn't mind competing with her best friend to see who can go on a date with a different guy. Then she suddenly isn't keen on her current guy anymore, and is planning dates with the new guy. Ursula isn't the greatest best friend at least some of the time, but then again, neither is her best friend Roxie! And in any case, I guess Ursula makes up for her bitchy moments in the end.

This was one of those books where someone actually died - in some of them, nobody does, even secondary characters who are barely a blip on the plot's radar. In this case, somebody did, so it was a little more serious than some of the other Point nbooks I've read in that regard.

There were a few fun moments with fashion, but as the book was published in 1994 it was already past the best of the late 80s/early 90s fashion horror show. One thing I did notice was that it seemed that EVERYONE wore something that was faded in some way. Faded muscle shirt; faded denim cutoffs (and there were a lot of denim cutoffs going around), faded blue shirt. Doesn't anybody have any new clothes around here? Or were these clothes ahead of their time in having that 'intentionally faded' look?

That's it for this review - and as usual, you can find my page-by-page notes in the spoiler tag below:

I Saw You That Night!

p.7 - aww, they're moving from paper based to computer tiles at the school 😊
Ursula: "I'm helping keyboard the stuff."
p.158 - Roxie would like to see Lee's temper tantrums, ay? Great message!
p.16 - not bad fashion examples
p.17 - Terry is the wisest of them all: he won't get skin cancer.
p.24 - "there are three of us keyboarding the files."
p.26 - Roxie thinks saying that someone's hot for someone else's body is "crude"
Ursula's fave phrase: "lewd and crude"
p.27 - are you forgetting that you have a BOYFRENNNN, guuuuurl?
p.33 - Lee has a faded blue muscle shirt and baggy denim cutoffs on... And a baseball cap
p.37 - At this point I'm not a Roxie OR Ursula fan
p.46 - hahaha ha. She thought a wet mop was a dead body's head and hair?
p.49 - Lee has posters of "heavy metal rock groups". Which ones? I'd love to know.
Aww, he's got cassettes 😊 and a yellow Walkman
p.63 - everybody's wearing denim cutoffs!
p.70 - talk of how a film camera works. Might be educational for kids these days 😉
p.72 - Terry has a "faded Ren & Stumpy t shirt" - why does everyone's outfit have something that's "faded"? Faded blue muscle shirt, faded cutoffs, now a faded R&S shirt
p.75 - Roxie uses a pay phone 😊
p.78 - BladeRunners - name of a skating rink yaaaas
pp.108 - 109 - is Terry the murderer?
pp.115 - 117 - I know this is fiction, but the turtle thing is stressing me out. Put him back you fuckwits!!!!
p.129 - god damnit!!!!
p.134 - Terry "clowning around" for more who think "he's a riot"
p.148 - I was right. It was TERRY!!!
p.158-59 - Roxie needs to shut her pie hole holy SHIT
p.159 - now I’m thinking it must be Lee after all?
p.169 - Roxie falls to the boat floor
p.170 - Roxie tumbles to the floor. Wasn’t she already down there?!

[kylajaclyn · Rating 1 out of 5]

What a big pile of blah. So Roxie and Ursula are best friends. Well, sort of. Ursula has to turn everything into a competition - including winning the affections of the cute Lee Blume.

Roxie has a boyfriend, but she's learned from Sweet Valley and won't let that bother her one bit. The girls say the winner has to go on a date with Lee - and wear his Sharks cap to school the next day.

Roxie knows she can't beat Ursula by normal means, so she devises a plan. She will break into Lee's house, take pictures of his room, and steal the cap. Yep. Solid plan there, Rox. She manages to get pictures of his room, but as she's going down the stairs to leave she hears arguing. The fight seems to escalate into what Roxie thinks is murder. She sees in an accidental flash from her camera that it's Lee with a blonde girl!

Roxie hears on the radio that a girl was found dead. Roxie sees her - it was the same girl at Lee's house! She then learns the girl is named Maddy, from a different city. In fact, from the city both Terry, her boyfriend, and Lee are from.

Lee walks Roxie home one night... but passes the house she broke into. Roxie comes to the sick realization that Lee isn't the murderer- she had the wrong house!! Lee tells her the Metzgers live next door, and Ray Metzger is a friend of Terry's. Now Roxie walks around terrified of her boyfriend instead of Lee. So she takes Lee up on his offer to go boating. She arrives to join him and learns he dropped his screwdriver in the water. Roxie says she has one in her car, so Lee goes with her to get it. While there he notices pictures from a roll of film Roxie developed after that night in "Lee's" house. Lee is astonished and asks Roxie why she has pictures of his room. Ruh roh.

Realizing his foul up, he naturally concludes he will have to kill Roxie now too. Sounds reasonable. He holds the screwdriver to her throat and forces her on the boat. Terry shows up to save her, but Lee stabs him in the throat with the screwdriver. Gross. So Roxie is stuck on the boat with Lee and peril ensues. She falls in the water and tries to tip his boat to no avail. Then she decides she will swim to the shore if she can. But then she sees cops have arrived! They get Lee off the boat and arrest him and take Terry away on a stretcher. They say he will be fine. Ursula shows up and says she realized the truth but wasn't able to tell Roxie in time. Just then Lee's Sharks cap washes ashore and Ursula puts it on, triumphantly declaring herself the winner of the bet. Some girls never learn!

You know who didn't make it out of this mess okay? A turtle. STOP KILLING ANIMALS IN BOOKS!!!!!