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The Baby-Sitter #3

The Baby-Sitter III

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The chilling sequel to The Babysitter I and Babysitter II, this is another in the point horror series.

192 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1993

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1514 people want to read

About the author

R.L. Stine

1,679 books18.6k followers
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...

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5 stars
447 (26%)
4 stars
473 (27%)
3 stars
577 (33%)
2 stars
167 (9%)
1 star
48 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 125 reviews
Profile Image for Ken.
2,564 reviews1,377 followers
September 7, 2021
Still effected by the events from 2 years ago, Jenny has swapped babysitting for working in The Doughnut Hole.

Whilst her mum having recently been laid off and the family could do with the money, it’s really very supportive of her to have noticing that Jenny is still traumatised by the attack that nearly killed her and suggests that she stays with her cousin Debra.
It’s actually a pleasant surprise as parents are normally nonexistent in Point Horror!

Of course it’s soon revealed that Debra has a babysitting job and wants Jenny to join her.
I have to question how close the family link is as surly that’s the worst possible situation to put Jenny in?!?
I personally blame Debra’s mother for allow this situation to unfold.

It’s not long before the phone calls start again, could Jenny’s attacker Mr Hagen has returned from the grave?

I really felt for Jenny and it’s not surprising on her first night babysitting with her cousin that she really struggles with her anxieties.
It actually feels quite progressive for a 90’s teen horror book to be tackling mental health issues.

I’m not surprised that The Baby-Sitter is so fondly remembered as this is another strong entry in the series.
These are probably Stine’s best books for Point Horror.
Profile Image for Schizanthus Nerd.
1,317 reviews304 followers
October 11, 2020
My burning questions at the end of Jenny’s second babysitting gig were:

☎️ Does Jenny really need to go through this a third time?

☎️ Is anyone going to buy the poor girl an answering machine so she can screen her phone calls?

☎️ Is Jenny going to finally get a job other than babysitting since it’s not going so well for her?

The answers are maybe, no and yes. I’m pleased to report that Jenny’s latest job is not a babysitting gig! Instead she’s got a summer job at The Doughnut Hole. Great work, Jenny! I would like one of everything please.

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Two years after her first brush with death, Jenny is still attending therapy sessions with Dr Schindler. Given the events of the second book I imagine that would have been quite awkward for a while. I’m not entirely sure how well therapy is working for her as Jenny’s still pretty likely to scream at any given moment and her nightmares haven’t let up, but she’s trying and you’ve got to give her credit for that.

Her mother and psychiatrist both agree it would be good for Jenny to have a change of scenery so instead of serving me donuts (like we planned) she’s going to visit her cousin, Debra, over the summer. Jenny’s moody boyfriend, Cal, isn’t so impressed (he must have wanted donuts too). Jenny is pretty good at picking boys that go from easygoing to pouty or angry in an instant.

Debra, whose main interest seems to be tossing her long blonde hair, also needs some assistance in the dating department. Her ex, Don, seems to think it’s entirely acceptable to show up unannounced in her bedroom. Who let him inside the house in the first place? Who knows?!

Of course, Debra has a regular babysitting job and thinks nothing of bringing Jenny along with her.
“Jenny, come on,” Debra urged. “It’ll be fun.”
Does she really not know about her cousin’s babysitting curse?

It turns out that when you have a curse attached to you it follows you, even when you visit your cousin. Only this time it’s Debra who’s getting the creepy phone calls. Maybe the curse is genetic? Or transferrable?
“I just don’t understand why he called you
It almost sounds like Jenny is jealous of the attention her cousin is getting.

Big spoilers are included in this book for Jenny’s two previous starring roles as Girl Most Likely to Scream so beware of those if you haven’t already experienced those screams.

One thing I have to say about this series: there’s not much of a resolution for anyone. While I’m curious about a couple of characters, there’s one in particular who needs more page time. I would have liked Maggie’s story to have had some kind of ending rather than me wondering if she was ever going to get what was hers, whatever that was.

My main question mark relating to this book is pretty insignificant but it’s bugging me nonetheless: How did Cal know where Debra was babysitting?

The reveal simply didn’t work for me this time. I understand where Stine was going with it and, let’s face it, child me would have had to pick their jaw off the floor. However, adult me needed more depth to the characters and storyline to buy it. It should make for an interesting opener for the fourth book though, where hopefully someone will finally buy this girl an answering machine!

Blog - https://schizanthusnerd.com
Profile Image for Ethan.
345 reviews336 followers
May 11, 2024
The Babysitter III is another terrible, lazy book from R.L. Stine, and the worst in the series so far. The concept of a babysitter being alone and terrorized and having to "survive the night" is such a great one, but all Stine has done with it across three books so far is to have the babysitter receive the same moronic threatening phone calls, which are revealed to be made by a different person in each of the books, but they're all pretending to be the original person who made the calls in the first book when they do it? It's weird. And stupid. And a huge wasted opportunity for such a great premise.

This is truly some of the laziest writing I've ever seen from Stine. If this book were 90,000 words long, then about 10,000 of those were "stammered", "declared", "demanded", "exclaimed", "trembling", or "shoulders", because people put their hands on other people's shoulders probably a few hundred times in this book (also weird). Like, Stine's writing is embarrassingly repetitive and bad; he has the skill of a juvenile author. And the cherry on top is that I guessed who would end up being revealed as the villain probably thirty pages into this book, and I was right. In the last fifty pages it's so obvious who the villain is that it's laughable, but then at the very end Stine drops it all dramatically like the reader is supposed to be shocked.

And like, I know I keep mentioning this, but f*ck is Stine's writing lazy. There is literally a scene in this book where the babysitter Debra hears the floorboards creaking and can hear noises in the house that might be an intruder. But then she shrugs it off and says something like "It was probably just the storm clouds outside."

WHAT?! That doesn't even make sense dude. How the hell could a cloud outside cause the floorboards in the house to creak?! Those things have nothing to do with each other. Rofl. Nothing! I actually just laughed uncontrollably right now for like two minutes straight as I was writing this part of this review, just thinking about how nonsensical and just embarrassing this was. There are tears in my eyes people, actual tears! Oh God my stomach hurts now. Someone I just mentioned this scene to, just now as I was writing this: "That's not even 'so bad it's good', that's just terrible."

I've started laughing uncontrollably again and now have a headache. You can't make this stuff up people. Unfortunately for me, there is a part IV and I do own it, so I've got one more to go before these books can all end up where they belong, unwanted and unread forevermore at a local Goodwill.

1.5 stars
Profile Image for Michael (Horror Gardener).
265 reviews25 followers
May 28, 2022
I admit I've become kind obsessed with this series and this 3rd book is the best one yet. Jenny learns how to deal with her PTSD and goes away for the summer to visit her cousin Debra, who just happens to be a babysitter! This trigger all sorts of mayhem, coupled with pretty useless adults, and leads to a kidnapping and police standoff. Things are getting intense! I'm going to immediately get into book 4 as I NEED to know what happens to Jenny.
Profile Image for Jonny Ward.
81 reviews
June 21, 2023
So, though predictable, this one has caused me to go back and rerate the last ones.

Once again keeping in mind that I'm looking at it for what it is, this was refreshing, had a twist I didn't expect and, as the babysitter isn't Jenny, it was nice to see a main character not so hopelessly annoying.

One part legitimately gave me a little creep.
7,003 reviews83 followers
September 22, 2018
2,5/5. Lu en français. Pas le retour explosif dans la série Frissons que j'espérais. Est-ce que j'avais un mauvais souvenir? La série a-t-elle mal vieillit? Ou suis-je tombé sur un tome plus ordinaire? Je ne sais pas, mais je suis resté sur mon appétit. L'âge du texte (1993) ne se fait pas sentir, les sujets sont encore actuels et la vie des adolescents n'a pas changée tant que ça. L'absence de technologies et des réseuax sociaux passe presque inaperçu. Les personnages n'étaient pas si mal non plus, un peu stéréotypés, mais passables. Ce qui m'a le plus déplu c'est la succession de faux «punch» où l'on nous fait tjours croire au drame et puis et non, c'était... n'importe quoi de complètement anodin. Autre point négatif, la fin ne fait pas vraiment de sens...Je m'attendais à plus de cette série dont je garde un bon souvenir de jeunesse. Malheureusement, mes attentes n'ont pas été comblées!!
Profile Image for Brandon Dezan.
51 reviews
October 12, 2015
repetitive, disoriented and fragile mother or father of the child she is babysitting. child is either extremely smart or odd. creepy phone call. thinks it's a dead guy. Meh do I have to go on?
Profile Image for Michael.
203 reviews38 followers
October 14, 2018

Two years ago, Jenny Jeffers was stalked, harassed, and attacked over the course of a simple babysitting job. Her stalker met a gruesome end, and that should have been that.

"Hi, Babes. It's me."

One year ago, out of school for the summer, and enjoying the company of a new boyfriend, Jenny took another babysitting job. A different family. A different house. Until the phone rang, and she heard that awful, raspy voice a second time.

"I'm alive."

Today, Jenny's trying to find a normal job like a normal teenage girl, one with regular hours that doesn't involve keeping an eye on children in someone else's home. She'll work when she can, spend time with Cal when she can't, and live one day at a time like the rest of the kids her age.

One thing's for sure: Jenny's done with babysitting for good.

"I'm back."

For once in her life, she gets some good news: Jenny's aunt invites her to spend time with her cousin Debra. Her mom's convinced a change of scenery and the chance to meet new people will take Jenny's mind off the horrible events of the past two years. Out in the countryside, away from home, she'll make new friends, and enjoy a carefree summer with extended family. Cal will be disappointed, of course, but Jenny's sure he'll understand.

There was just one little thing Debra neglected to mention. She accepted a little summer job. Nothing major, and only three nights a week. Mrs. Wagner's attending night classes, you see, and she needs someone to keep an eye on her little Patrick while she's out studying. Jenny tells herself there won't be a problem because Debra's the babysitter, and it's a completely new town.

Then the phone rings, and Jenny's nightmares begin again.

"Company's coming, Babes."

* * * * *

I have to hand it to Stine: the third book in this series doesn't disappoint. In fact, I'd go so far as to say it's the best of the three I've read so far. While I sussed out the responsible parties in the first two books well before their respective reveals, The Babysitter III left me utterly clueless right up to the end, with a twist I never saw coming. After the story's conclusion, I mulled it over in my head and I had a few questions, so I went back to double-check.

There's no mischief. Stine plays fairly, and though the ending isn't as telegraphed as it is in the first two books, someone paying attention to everything could potentially reason out who's behind all the phone calls this time. I pride myself on a reasonable ability to pick out clues in mysteries such as these, but when I'm fooled I'm happy to admit it. You got me, Mr. Stine. I didn't see that one coming.

The Babysitter III reads differently from the first two. While the previous books get into the action almost immediately, in this one it's 84 pages before the phone rings for the first time. For a teen thriller with a page count under two hundred, that's a lot of build-up, yet it doesn't feel wasted here, and it's important because Stine's essentially introducing a new protagonist in Debra. Stine splits much of the book, in fact, following the two girls in their different routines: Jenny with her summer job at the horse stables and Debra with her babysitting job. The two girls' lives intersect after-hours when they're home together, or out on a group movie date, but since we spend so much time in Debra's head, we need to know more about her.

Fortunately Debra's a fun girl to hang out with. She's a lot more outgoing than Jenny, confident in her looks, casual in her attitude, and equally casual with the way she goes through boyfriends. This is a nice contrast to Jenny's more introspective introversion, but Debra's far from immune to fear, whether it's at the mysterious calls or the alcoholic former sitter who still has a key to Mrs. Wagner's place and likes to turn up unannounced to "take what's rightfully mine".

The list of potential suspects this time is a mile long: Jenny tells Debra the details of the previous two books, Debra later tells her boyfriend Mark about it, Mark tells the story to a couple of his friends over lunch, and before long it seems like there's nobody in town unfamiliar with poor Jenny's plight. Then, of course, everyone in Jenny's home town knows what happened, and a few of them, like her long-distance boyfriend Cal, know where and with whom she's staying.

When I started reading this series, I wasn't expecting much. Stine is well known as a "churner", a writer with an output so prolific that he essentially owned whatever genre he wrote for due to sheer volume. Because of this, his stories tend towards the simplistic and, occasionally, the dumb. I went into The Babysitter with low expectations, and it basically delivered just that. The Babysitter II upped the ante, with a story that was still enjoyable even though I was able to deduce the identify of the stalker very quickly. By the third book this formula should have been as dead dull as some of the later Friday the 13th sequels, and yet it took the series in an entirely new direction. I was assuming that if I made it to part 3, I'd be laughing and rolling my eyes, and to a certain extent I was--teen angst is cringe-worthy, and these books splash enough of it around to wrench at least a year off the reader's life if taken seriously. Despite that, I'm still awarding The Babysitter III my seal of approval, and four whispered obscene phone calls out of five.

I'm also wishing I had the fourth book in the series so I can see how Stine pulls it all together after that humdinger of an ending.

Best Scene:
Debra enjoys making some prank phone calls of her own. Even though she's dating Mark, she's also got the hots for Terry, and doesn't mind calling him up every so often and whispering to him that he's got a secret admirer. She always hangs up after a couple of minutes, and it's just a way for her to have a little fun before going to bed at night.

One evening she talks Jenny into doing the calling for her. Jenny agrees but screws everything up, and the results are amusingly awful. Poor Jenny: all those personal experiences with raspy-voiced callers and she still can't talk a little dirty on the phone when there's a cute guy on the line. :)
4 reviews
February 12, 2018
It was a good book, with a nice plot and an entertaining ending.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Ineke.
Author 4 books9 followers
April 13, 2022
My review is based on the Dutch version called 'de babysitter II', which erroneously is linked to the English babysitter 2 book here on Goodreads. The English 2 was never translated so they turned this one into the Dutch nr. 2, which I can understand but someone linked the books wrong here.

Anyway. I liked this one more than the babysitter 1, it's a bit more original and less predictable, I guess.
Profile Image for Autumn Ketchum.
66 reviews6 followers
November 30, 2025
Well done even though I did expect the twist. I enjoyed the POV of both girls. It was kinda weird that Debra was super cozy with Cal at the end though. For someone she just met, I’m just saying!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for kirsten.
331 reviews23 followers
September 9, 2016
Here we go again. If I was Jenny I don't think I'd ever leave my house again. I wouldn't leave my room. I'd be home schooled, I'd say screw it to jobs, probably be heavily medicated with sleeping pills because really girl...

Two years after the first book we once again meet up with Jenny as she's once again trying to live a normal life after the events of the first two books. This time she is off for a change of scenery to spend the summer with her aunt and cousin Debra. Then Debra starts getting phone calls while she's at her baby sitting job... "Hi babes I'm back..." Debra is convinced it's a sick prank, but Jenny is convinced that Mr Hagen is really alive and he's back to get her.

I'm not sure what I can say about this series that hasn't already been said. Yes, it's still formulaic and simple but that's point horror for you. That doesn't mean it's bad. There are of course some plot holes but even the best books have those.

I actually liked Debra a bit more than Jenny. She had a bit more of a personality and spunk to her. Back in the day I'd probably read a non-Point Horror book about her. Give me a sappy romance novel of the girl who can't make up her mind and calls boys late at night and gets off on it!

I like the idea of Jenny snapping. She's obviously traumatised. Why wouldn't she? Of course I'm a bit confused on how the first phone call happened because Jenny was there when it did. Also confused on how she got the baby. I think I would have liked if there was a bit more of a mystery element like there was in the first one. I also wish we found out more about Maggie and the Wagners. Creepy house. Creepy lady. I know Stine was probably trying to set up Maggie as the caller but I would have liked to see more. Maybe even a plot that implied Maggie or Mrs Wagner did something to Mr Wagner (or is that too twisted for a PH book?).

Despite all that this was once again another fun, quick read.
Profile Image for SpookyxSpice.
165 reviews4 followers
January 25, 2025
Probably my favourite of the three.
Another good look at trauma throughout Jenny's character work. That ending though, I was not expecting that.
Profile Image for Courtney Gruenholz.
Author 13 books24 followers
August 7, 2023
As always for books like this spoilers ahead...

I know a lot of people want to treat the fourth book as if it doesn't exist so for a moment let's pretend just that. If The Babysitter 3 was the last book, I will say right now that it is perfect.

You could probably guess where it might go for going out on a bang in the last installment but if you didn't have any idea...it might just be the best way it could go.

Jenny Jeffers is still reeling from the events in the last two books. First, Mr. Hagen tried to kill her because he felt it was his responsibility to punish babysitters who allow bad things to happen to children while they are suppose to be watching them.

He is dead and gone but Jenny kept seeing him everywhere and receiving calls where he said he would come back. Turns out her shrink's secretary was jealous of Jenny getting Dr. Schindler's attention and she use to be a patient of his with a sick obsession for the handsome doctor.

So she pretended to be Mr. Hagen and listened to the taped recordings of Jenny's sessions to freak the girl out and then tried to kill Jenny at the same quarry. Thankfully, it was now filled with water and Jenny didn't drown.

Now, Jenny has been seeing Dr. Schindler a total of two years and she is still having nightmares and gruesome hallucinations of Mr. Hagen coming after her. Her mother has now been laid off from her low paying job and I wouldn't be wasting my money on this guy treating my daughter.

Jenny is resigned to getting a summer job working at the mall in a doughnut shop for $4 an hour to help out but she still has her besties, Rick and Claire, and her boyfriend, Cal, she can hang out with.

Plus, no more babysitting.

Yet another episode of seeing Hagen happens so Jenny's mother thinks it would be a good idea if she get out of Harrison and go visit her cousin Debra in Greenhaven for the summer. At first, Jenny isn't happy about her mom calling her aunt to arrange this behind her back then reluctant mainly because she won't get to be with Cal but also since her mother is now unemployed.

Good intentions of a concerned mother win out and Jenny tells Cal in person that she will be away for the summer. Tough guy Cal tries to act like he is angry with Jenny but underneath you can tell he will miss her. He says he'll go with her and try to find a summer job there but Jenny says no and I feel sorry for them both because it's clear Cal loves Jenny and that his home life with his parents isn't very pleasant.

We get introduced to Debra making prank phone calls to a guy named Terry, pretending to be his secret admirer. Her ex-boyfriend Don comes in and hears her on the phone and then tries to force a kiss on Debra to take him back. He also threatens to tell Terry and Debra's current boyfriend Mark about her little jokes but Debra isn't having it.

At least these Jeffers girls can stand up for themselves if they have to.

Jenny hears them fighting and Don runs off awkwardly, Debra saying he is history. The cousins try to catch up but Debra is late for her job and has to leave. Her mother thinks Jenny should go along and that strikes me as odd until...the bombshell.

Debra is babysitting for a divorced young mother named Mrs. Wagner, watching her infant son Peter.

Jenny handles it surprisingly well but it seems that her aunt and cousin should know that is probably the worst activity the girl could do. Debra eventually realizes how insensitive it was but Jenny assures her that it is fine.

Debra's boyfriend Mark shows up after both Jenny and Debra have an encounter with a woman named Maggie. She use to be the housekeeper/babysitter but had to be let go when the Wagners divorced, mostly because she was apparently a thief and clearly a drinker as she comes into the house, drunk off her butt.

This woman still has a key or knows where you hide your spare key?!

Mark's dad has a friend who owns a horse ranch and needs wranglers to work there for the summer and asks Jenny if she would be interested in doing that once he and Debra learn Jenny was still looking to find a job to help out at home. Jenny agrees and she now helps to get the horses ready for riders, mostly kids and teenagers, which is better than her tagging along to babysitting jobs just to be a third wheel most of the time while Mark and Debra suck face.

It seems to be fine but Jenny has another episode of seeing Mr. Hagen again.

Debra is clearly worried about Jenny because she also freaked out when they were watching Peter while Mark was there that night, Jenny checking on the baby and thinking he was dead. The baby was just a really deep sleeper and had stopped snoring but not breathing. That warranted Debra probably having to give Mark an explanation as to why her cousin freaked out so badly.

Debra got the whole story from Jenny and she told Mark and apparently, Mark thought it would be a good idea to tell his friends since the story was just so wild.

Mark isn't the only one who spilled the tea because Don told Terry about Debra's little prank calls so when she tries to get Jenny to prank Terry just for giggles, he knows it was Debra and Terry just assumes it is Debra using a different voice when Jenny calls him instead.

All of this just seems like unimportant garbage but the next time Debra goes to babysit Peter, the phone rings.

The voice on the other end says it is Mr. Hagen with his same old catchphrase:

"Hi babes, I'm back. Company's coming."

Debra is a little bit more confident than Jenny and assumes it is just a joke now being played on her but she doesn't tell Jenny. I can understand why but eventually, Debra tells Jenny about the call when a cruel little prank makes it impossible not to tell her cousin.

Jenny isn't really mad at Debra but does not take it well as she still believes that Mr. Hagen is going to come back from the grave to get her. Debra tries to believe that Mark wouldn't do such an awful thing or any of the other guys he told...confident no one she knows would be that sick. Her rational mind believes someone Jenny knows back at home, who knows where she is, has to be behind the threats.

That could only be one of three people and one was not very happy about Jenny leaving him alone for the summer: Cal. It doesn't help the situation when Jenny calls Cal to prove to Debra that she is wrong and finds out from his mother...that they got in a fight and Cal ran away.

Jenny's nightmares now become even worse, doubts about Cal mixing with her irrational fear of Mr. Hagen coming back from the dead to get her, and things don't seem to be going any better for Debra.

Creepy Maggie keeps showing up when she babysits and the phone calls from "Mr. Hagen" now have him calling her by name...it doesn't seem as if he's interested in Jenny anymore.

That's ridiculous because Debra knows the dead can't come back...right?

We get a ton of Stine trying to pin the pranks on someone, red herrings abound, and then we get thrown into full-tilt madness once we get into our third and final act of the book. The twists and the reveal are actually pretty disturbing and depressing.

There is no way to paint it as even bittersweet...

Yet from what I understand all of that goes out the window when The Babysitter IV comes around.

Maybe it is for the best that I don't have a copy of it in my possession just yet because this book was worth going through the first two.
Profile Image for Jennifer Cuddon.
Author 4 books5 followers
August 28, 2021
Classic Teenage R.L. Stine...I love it. LOL...
Our main character is back after being terrorized and almost killed by the father of the child she was babysitting. She finds herself looking for new job, but then her mother sends her to her cousins' for the summer.
While at her cousins the phone calls and nightmares begin again. What she believes is a nightmare coming true not only does she mentally fight with the last effecting of the event she previously went thru, but her cousin soon finds herself having to face the same horrors.
Personally, I thought this what a great book. Classic if you want that teenage, corny, kooky language and drama that has always been a part of R.L. Stine Fear Street series. It's funny, sometimes creepy, sometimes annoying, and always satisfying in the end.
Profile Image for itchy.
2,949 reviews33 followers
September 4, 2023
eponymous-ey sentence:
p4: Jenny was the babysitter for the Hagens.

ocr:
p7: "The two most important rules at The Doughnut Hole/' he said, rubbing his chin, "are: Don't Touch and Don't Eat...."

p7: "No free samples for youl If our workers started scarfing down our doughnuts, pretty soon they wouldn't fit behind the counter...."

p7: Outside the window, she could see people huirying up and down the wide corridor of the mall.
I don't really want to work in a doughnut shop this summer, Jenny thought wistfiilly.

p8: Still chuckling, she walked away quickly, dodging a baby stroller, nearly colliding with a boy on RoUerblades.

more later

Poor Jenny.

There seems to be more ocr errors this time.
Profile Image for Sarah Elizabeth.
5,002 reviews1,411 followers
November 17, 2022
This was okay, Jenny's cousin got dragged into it this time.
Profile Image for Lucy.
132 reviews5 followers
August 14, 2020
I actually didn’t see this twist coming!
Profile Image for Wesley.
73 reviews2 followers
November 21, 2025
Jenny needs medication in addition to therapy, okay?
Profile Image for Matthew Condello.
394 reviews20 followers
November 4, 2023
While the formula is still there and there’s some effective thrills and chills the twist is maybe a step too far and can’t help the book rise to the fun and shock of the first 2. Still had a good time though and still love this series as a gateway to horror for the young crowd!
Profile Image for Branden.
223 reviews17 followers
January 30, 2020
The Baby-Sitter III holds a special place in my heart because I distinctly remember begging my parents to take me up to Borders Books and Music to grab this and The Baby-Sitter 4. I remember the exact location, the fact that it was dark out when we went, and that my mom and sister went to another store while my dad and I walked around Borders. It's odd how some moments will stick in your head so vividly for seemingly no reason, but this one does. This memory is confirmed when I look at the covers. I don't own the cover pictured above (the best cover in the series, by the way), but rather an updated, late '90s, white cover that has virtually no personality to it for both this one and the conclusion of the series. Cover aside, though, The Baby-Sitter III surprised me in all the right ways.

After the events of The Baby-Sitter II, Jenny is facing another summer where she is trying to get over what's happened to her. This time around, instead of babysitting, she decides to get a job at the local donut shop in the mall. Her mother has another idea, though: she should go visit her cousin, Debra, for the summer! Getting away will help her overcome her paranoia and give her another outlook on things; simply put, it will be good for her. Jenny agrees, and decides to spend the summer up at her cousin's house. Surely this will be a better summer, right? Well, it is, until Debra, who happened to take a babysitting gig this summer, starts getting some creepy phone calls that are straight out of Jenny's past.

I love that Stine introduces Jenny's cousin, Debra. Not only is she a main character, but there are actually chapters from her point-of-view, which I believe is the first time we step out of Jenny's head in this series. It's quite refreshing to have another perspective, and does a lot to add to the narrative that Stine is telling. Something unexpected that I genuinely enjoy is the fact that Debra and Jenny actually get along. I totally expected Debra to talk behind Jenny's back to her friends, and/or for her to treat Jenny like garbage. That isn't the case at all. Debra and Jenny get along swimmingly, and Debra shows legitimate concern for her cousin, which really helps drive home the paranoia and terror that these characters are facing.

Jenny takes a job at a stable, assisting people on their horse riding, and this location allows Stine to write some alternative locations from what we've seen previously. Up to this point, everything was very suburban, but Jenny getting out to the country provides a nice change of pace. There is one scene where Jenny is riding a horse through an approaching rain storm, and I don't know exactly why, but I loved the way Stine described the scene. It isn't poetry, of course, but just a great example of how Stine's little details can help engross the reader, and gave me an even deeper appreciation of his talent as a writer.

We still get a boyfriend/girlfriend relationship here, but it's mostly between Debra and her boyfriend. This new dynamic is really well written, and it keeps the main story away from the mental health issues that Stine wasn't really ready to tackle with any meaning in The Baby-Sitter II. The book is better off for it, not because those mental health issue shouldn't be discussed - they absolutely should - but in a series that is willing to give it the depth and respect it deserves, which is not The Baby-Sitter. Don't get me wrong, there are still shades of that here, obviously, and Jenny is clearly still going through some things that she needs help with, but it's not the major focus of the book (and if you've read this book, you might be yelling at me right now, but hopefully you understand what I mean).

I'm genuinely surprised to say it, but The Baby-Sitter III is the best book in the series so far. Stine's writing is the best I've seen it, the characters are engaging, and the finale - though I did have an idea of who the "baddie" would be - is incredibly interesting. I thoroughly enjoyed this one, and am really excited to see where book four will go, even though I've heard nothing good about it. Maybe I'll get lucky a second time, and be surprised by that one too!
Profile Image for _ReadObituaries.
169 reviews2 followers
August 13, 2022
This may be my favorite of the Babysitter series so far. The second book didn’t make sense- I felt they pulled the bad guy out of thin air… but this one? Ended amazingly. Perfect twist that made a lot of sense. & it wasn’t too obvious! Even as an adult- I didn’t see the twist coming AT ALL! I had the surprise pikachu face going on when they revealed who this books new Mr. Hagen was!! Plus, the change of scenery and introduction/targeting of Debra made it feel like a new story rather than a rehash of the first and second book while ensuring it didn’t affect the air of spooky mystery. I loved it!

My only negative? A lot of time is lost on unimportant topics. Like making the phone calls to Terry, the problems with mark, the double date… it was way drawn out. I understand setting these things up so they could have a Red Herring but they could have accomplished that without spending 4-5 pages of the book describing Debra’s internal monologue on which guy she likes better.

Overall, a really good book. I use these as a pallet cleanser between larger books and it works perfectly for that. They’re quick to read (about 2 hours of leisurely read time to finish the book), they don’t require a ton of brain power while still maintaining a good mystery and spooky atmosphere. I highly recommend for both children/preteens who are looking for an introduction into horror/mystery/thriller books AND adult readers looking for a quick read to use as a pallet cleanser!
Profile Image for Megan Bever.
6 reviews
Read
May 1, 2013
i really liked this book if was about how jenny used to be a babysitter and she almost got killed but instead of her getting killed she killed mr.hagen.she got a job at the dohnut shop at the mall. but she realy wanted to g back to being a babysitter she thought about it for a while thenn decided she was. when she was babysitting she kept hearing things and mr.hagen said he was back from his grave and there was a horse rareing up and jenny thought it was debra. then debra screamed you killed jenny. debra dropped to her knees jenny looked up then fell back dowm. the police officer pulled debras hand away but jenny did not die. this story takes place at a house where jenny is babysitting. the cinflict is that mr.hagen wants his baby and jenny doesnt want to give it to him because she thought he was dead. the resolution of the conflict is that the police came. the main idea of this book is that she wanted to babysit angain without getting killed or nearly killed. i like this book because i love scarry books and i would recomined it to people that love scary or creapy books to.
Profile Image for Mark R..
Author 1 book18 followers
October 3, 2019
**1/2

“The Babysitter III” finds the perennially tormented babysitter Jenny spending some time away from home, at her cousin’s house. But shortly after she arrives, Jenny’s cousin invites her to accompany her to her job. And guess what that job is . . . You guessed it, Jenny’s cousin is a babysitter, and poor Jenny is about to be thrust back into the dark, demented world of watching small children and receiving threatening phone calls.

There’s a scene in “The Babysitter III” wherein the heroes, searching for a missing baby, suddenly come to the conclusion that the baby is dead. Of course, that isn’t the case. It’s just another chapter-ending cliffhanger. But imagine if it wasn’t. Imagine a typically bloodless, non-threatening R. L. Stine thriller suddenly veering off course into dead baby territory.

Fortunately, for the baby and for Jenny’s family, this is not a scenario that will ever play out in Babysitterland. The climax of this book involves more characters than the previous two entries, and a slightly more complicated resolution. It is, therefore, a slight improvement.
18 reviews
February 25, 2015
This story leaves you confused. First of all, The main character Jenny found out that Mr.Hagen was on a spree to kill all babysitters. Unfortunately, she was babysitting his own son. Since Mr. Hagen tried to kill her (and died), she has been getting voices of him saying that he is coming back. To calm her mind, she visits her favorite cousin for summer. To make matters worse, Jenny's cousin, Debra has to baabysit a little baby. Now she has been getting the same calls that Jenny has gotten when she was babysitting Mr.Hagen's son. I would recommend this book to people who like horror stories. Even though I'm not much of a fan for horror, this book has made me interested that I would read it until I would get drowsy. You just wouldn't be able to put the book back down once you start reading.
Profile Image for Saskia (Smitie).
681 reviews3 followers
September 2, 2018
Het directe vervolg op De Babysitter. Jenny wordt achtervolgd door de gebeurtenissen van het eerste boek en gaat bij een nichtje logeren om tot rust te komen. Haar nichtje blijkt ook te babysitten en plotseling gebeuren er weer vreemde dingen. Dit verhaaltje is leuk voor in de trein, lekker simpel, geen moeilijke plot-twists of diepe personages. Gewoon een simpele minithriller die je een uurtje zoet houdt.
Profile Image for Heather.
Author 20 books236 followers
March 26, 2019
Surprisingly, not the worst! Avoids most of the expected formula from this series and the twist is at least semi-inventive. Still tons of the Stineisms but there's been a lot worse.

I read this for our podcast Teenage Scream, which dissects the best (and worst) of 90s Teen Horror.

https://soundcloud.com/teenagescream
Profile Image for Diana.
469 reviews7 followers
October 9, 2023
I definitely liked this one a lot more than the last one. However, it really sucked when it turns out that her cousin had a psychotic break and is pretending to be the psycho killer. I definitely liked her better than the other main character and it was a bit more fast pace than the other book.
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