Sangre De Monstruo II (Escalofríos, #18)

Goosebumps #18

by R.L. Stine

In the sequel to Monster Blood, Evan Ross has another terrifying experience when the scary green glob he discovered last summer turns a classroom hamster into a huge rodent with teeth.

Genres: Horror, Fiction, Childrens, Young Adult, Middle Grade, Fantasy, Mystery

117 pages, Paperback

First published April 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

[chantalsbookstuff · Rating 1 out of 5]

The first book that I didn't like all that much.

[Briar's Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another spooky book by the king of spooks himself! I love the nostalgia of going back to the Goosebumps books. Honestly, it's such a nice change up to disappear into my childhood classics and see what I remember and what ones I actually paid attention to when reading.

This book is a delightful sequel to Monster Blood. We follow Evan yet again as he has to deal with the pesky monster blood, and it almost ruins his reputation at his brand new school. As pictured on the cover, the class hamster may end up getting too close to the Monster Blood...

I found this book to be a delightfully fun read! It had great jump scares, twists and turns I didn't see coming, and it was super engaging. Sure, it is a wee bit childish but this book is made for middle graders, not adults like myself. I can see why I loved it so much back in the day.

Four out of five stars!

[✨Bean's Books✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

#18 "He's one hungry hamster!"
Oh no! Evan is back with another Monster Blood adventure! But this time it's the classroom pet cuddles the hamster who gets a taste of the green oozing goo.

[Carmen · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was just silly. Even for a Goosebumps book - and that's saying a lot.

Evan, the main character, is a FLIPPIN' MORON. Really, really, deeply stupid. I mean, I couldn't even believe how stupid the character was.

He tells everyone in his school about Monster Blood. What it did (turned his dog gigantic when he ate some) and insisting that it's real. Yeah, that's going to make you a lot of new friends at your new school, bub. What an idiot.

And there's a bully that always picks on Evan. One of his favorite tricks is offering Evan his hand to shake while apologizing, and then crushing Evan's hand into pulp. Evan NEVER learns. He ALWAYS takes the proffered hand. The bully uses this trick on Evan three times in the course of the book. THREE TIMES.

In another scene, the bully uncharacteristically apologizes for punching Evan and offers Evan a free punch. "Go on. Hit me as hard as I can. I won't hit back." Even a 4-year-old could tell you that this is a trap and a stupid idea. But Evan does it. Of course, a teacher is watching and Evan's the one who gets in trouble. He's an idiot.

Luckily, Evan's non-girlfriend (I mean, come on, they're 12) Andrea aka Andy shows up. She is about 50x smarter, stronger, braver, and more able to kick ass than Evan. And Evan never fails to act like a total jackass with her. I have no idea what she sees in this kid. But at least she offers the reader some relief from the onslaught of stupidity.

But the plot is stupid also. A hamster eating Monster Blood and turning giant? A hamster. Seriously??!!? And the ending of the Monster Blood suddenly reversing it's effects because "today is it's expiration date" was beyond lame.

Tons of fat-shaming in the book. I mean, the teacher (who's a jerk) is obese. We get it. You can stop the endless references to waddling, multiple chins, and calling him fat. We got it the first 30 times. Jeez. It was relentless and unending.

Just a very dumb book with almost no redeeming qualities. Avoid at all costs.

[Tyler Gray · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25 (Edited later: I didn't initially realize all the continuity errors and brushed aside some things that actually did bother me. I still enjoyed it but the first Monster Blood was definitely better, imo)

Cuddles!! The hamster.

I'm enjoying Monster Blood.

[Krystal · Rating 2 out of 5]

This just didn't quite have the spunk of the first book. I mean, it's kind of ridiculous.

It's actually kind of hard to judge these books as an adult because I loved this series as a kid but, let's face it, there are some really dumb plots and plot holes happening. And the kids the stories centre around are really not the brightest bunch.

All the same, who doesn't love mutated monsters causing drama?

[Gavin Hetherington · Rating 2 out of 5]

I spent a month re-reading all 62 original Goosebumps books to see if they still hold up today, you can check out my 3.5 hour vlog here: https://youtu.be/2C73xc1FS5o

You can also check out my entire ranking of the original Goosebumps books from worst to best here: https://youtu.be/lBfaxCOwAnA

[Jenni · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 - 3.5 stars

I am re-reading this series for nostalgic reasons.

Monster Blood II is the 18th book in the Goosebumps series. It is a little fun, a tad creepy, with a little mystery and action. Loved it.

The Goosebumps series was a staple in our house. My kids absolutely loved them, and to say I read these books with them once is an understatement. We read them many times as each of my three kids became old enough to read them. They still have them and are getting to read them with their kids.

[Alex | | findingmontauk1 · Rating 2 out of 5]

I never understood the Monster Blood craze with this series, and this sequel does not help that at all. It just continues with the same 2 kids being just as dumb if not dumber here than in the first book. How did they not learn?? Like... I dont get it! And the "twist" with this one actually had me say, "Oh, COME ON!" because it was so out of left field and a little ridiculous. I'm just glad that as an adult AND as a kid I am consistent in not being a fan of Monster Blood that much! 2.5 stars.

[Cactus · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you're familiar with Monster Blood and you see the front cover it's pretty obvious what the story is going to be. That being said, this isn't a bad entry into the Goosebumps series. Quite humorous at times, especially the teacher and his fondness for the class pet.

[Zoey De Leon · Rating 2 out of 5]

I give this one a low 3 stars.

This book is mostly repetitive and arguing scenes of Evan and Andy (but it's not stupid or annoying which make it enjoyable for me) than most of the scare factor. This book has a plothole of why the monster blood comes alive in this book, in the first book, the reason why the sinister substance grows is because it is cursed by a witch and she dies in that story. this entry in the series is an obvious filler and it has lots of sequels. but I don't think this is a bad Goosebumps book, you can enjoy some scenes in here, it's an average for say the least. It's just not as good as the first book

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don’t understand the fascination with Monster Blood. The stories are dreadful. Most of the book isn’t even about Monster Blood. Make. Them. Stop.

[Ken · Rating 2 out of 5]

Following the events of the first book, Evan now living in Atlanta is trying to convince everyone that Monster Blood is real.
Even he’s science teacher gives him a hard time, by chance Evan’s friend Andy who he met that summer has recently moved to the area. Bringing along that can of Monster Blood.
When Evan is tasked with looking after the science lab’s hamster - Could this be the best chance to prove that Monster Blood is real.

I liked how this follow up story was a direct sequel from the first book.
But with the main plot line heavily featuring an animal growing to an enlarged size, it does feel very repetitive.
Theirs some slight continuity errors too.

Not as good as the first, but Cuddles The Hamster is a great addition to the series.

[Γιώτα Παπαδημακοπούλου · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Το πράσινο αίμα" ήταν ένα από τα βιβλία της σειράς που έτσι κι αλλιώς δεν με είχαν ενθουσιάσει ιδιαίτερα, οπότε ήταν μάλλον αναμενώμενο να μην με πολυενθουσιάσει και η συνέχειά της που αποδείχτηκε μια εμπειρία οικεία μεν, άνευρη δε, που δεν είχε να προσφέρει κάτι το ιδιαίτερο.

[Atharva Shah · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is totally different from its first part "Monster Blood". The story follows the same characters Evan and Andy who do keep their humble, playful and worried habits. But the background has been completely changed. New school, new town, new enemies and new teachers. I really miss Evans deaf grandmother. Even his dog is not a very big part of the book. This book was written very well but still wasn't enough to give me goosebumps at all. It may be too childish. The monster blood starts acting after finishing 85℅ of the book which is not good at all. Stine should have indulged the characters into messing with the monster blood a lot earlier. I really like Andy's character as she is always joking and playful. I think Stine overdid the hamster and the bully thing. That was not so necessary, but still its okay. I like the parts when they break into the bully's house, the clean of hamster, Evans worries and his problems(Does Stine not find some happy children for his stories?), the monster blood discovery (Yet again), the growing hamster. I didn't pike the part when Evan grows and smashes the hamster and the idea that the monster blood could have an export date is just hilarious but seems very odd and different all of a sudden. There were a lot of unanswered questions in the book such as where did Andy come from?? Where did she discover monster blood? His didn't the bully come to know that the monster blood he stole was stolen from him again?? And why didn't people just blamed Evan for feeding the monster blood instead of cheering him to grow up and fight the hamster. And I bet that a school teacher would not just appreciate someone when they just eat something and grow 10ft. Tall "You should join wrestling'. That's so Unrealistic. What an unsuitable dialogue. Anyways, it was not as nice as its previous version but it was definitely a good and a somewhat memorable read.
Plot

Evan Ross is playing with Trigger, when he notices his dog has gotten larger. He picks up on this, while inside his giant dog's mouth. Evan frantically pleads with Trigger not to bury him in the backyard. Suddenly Evan wakes up screaming in his science class. Mr. Murphy, his science teacher, mocks Evan for having fallen asleep in his class. Evan calls his teacher dumb. Mr. Murphy punishes Evan by forcing him to stay after class to clean out the cage of the class hamster, Cuddles. Evan defiantly walks up to the hamster cage, plucks Cuddles from the wire structure, and hurtles him out the open window. Then that is revealed to also be a dream.

In the hallway after class, Evan is tripped by a bully with the name of Conan Barber. Evan informs the reader that everyone refers to him as Conan the Barbarian. When Evan first arrived to Atlanta, he tried to tell Conan the story of his adventure with Monster Blood. However, Conan declared that he "doesn't tolerate wise guys."

After helping Evan up off the floor, Conan offers him a free punch in retaliation for the tripping. Evan lightly taps Conan with his fist as Mr. Murphy wanders by. Mr. Murphy scolds Evan for taking out his aggressions on innocent classmates and sends him back into the classroom to begin the hamster cage cleaning.

Evan manages to lose the hamster. Eventually he tracks down the little guy and then proceeds on a chase. Cuddles escapes out the window. Eventually Conan catches the hamster and demands that Evan sing a song to get Cuddles back. Mr. Murphy shows up again and repossesses the hamster.

Walking home from his miserable day, Evan runs into Andy. Andy's parents are living overseas for a year. She tells Evan she just arrived at her aunt's and will be starting at his school on Monday. Andy reveals that she has also brought something else with her from home that might help Evan out, it is the old tin of Monster Blood. The two friends examine the empty can in the middle of a forest, only to discover that the can has now magically filled with Monster Blood. Andy and Evan bury the tin in the forest.

Back at home, Evan visits his father, who has been crafting giant abstract sculptures out of sheet metal in the garage. Evan pauses in front of a giant aluminum cylinder that his father calls "the Wheel," which has been accepted into an art competition held at Evan's school. The next day at school, he bumps into Andy in the hall, but can't chat because he is on his way to try out for the basketball team. As soon as he enters the gym, Evan is felled by Conan, who throws a basketball into his face. Biggie Malick, Conan’s friend, tells Mr. Murphy (who is also the basketball coach) that Conan was just tossing Evan's face the ball in a friendly manner.

After practice, Evan shows Andy his hand, which had been crushed by Conan in condolence after he failed to make the team. Andy comes up with a plan to get back at Mr. Murphy: They will dig out the Monster Blood and feed a small bit of it to Cuddles, just enough to turn the hamster into the size of a dog. However, when the two go to retrieve the Monster Blood, they discover it has been swiped, presumably by Conan. Evan accuses Conan of stealing the Monster Blood and Conan retorts by stuffing Evan into a locker.

Andy and Evan decide to break into Conan's house to steal back the Monster Blood. Evan complains that it is too dark to see anything and Andy snaps back that "It usually gets dark at night."

After Conan and his parents leave, the two prepare to sneak inside when Trigger shows up. Leaving the dog outside, the two children sneak in and make their way upstairs to Conan's bedroom. Andy spots the tin of Monster Blood next to Conan's tennis trophies and Evan decides to open the lid and stick his fingers inside. Conan and his parents arrive home while the two children are still inside, forcing Andy and Evan to sneak out the window and cling perilously to the concrete ledge outside. Conan turns on some rap music and begins singing and dancing. Conan's parents then call him downstairs to enjoy some cake and ice cream. Evan and Andy sneak back inside and make their way out of the house.

Andy manages to pull the tin of Monster Blood off Evan's hands and Evan makes Andy promise to bury the Monster Blood. She reluctantly agrees. The next day, Evan stays home sick, so he is quite shocked upon his return to school to see that Cuddles has grown to the size of a rabbit. Evan knows the Monster Blood is responsible, but Mr. Murphy blames Evan for overfeeding him. Evan feels betrayed by Andy, whom he is sure is behind the hamster's growth.

The next morning, Evan sneaks out early to check on Cuddles. As soon as he enters the science room, Cuddles breaks out of the wire cage. Evan thinks quickly and grabs a dog leash, tethering the dog-sized hamster to Mr. Murphy's desk. Evan skips class and meets Andy after school. She admits to having fed Cuddles the Monster Blood and insists she did it as a goof.

Evan meets Andy outside her aunt's early the next morning so the two can check in on Cuddles before class starts, but Andy has to change clothes and they end up arriving at school on time-- just in time to hear Cuddles, who is now ten feet tall, break free of Mr. Murphy's leash. Mr. Murphy tries to hold off the giant hamster like a lion tamer. He brandishes a chair and uses the leash as a whip. Cuddles simply takes the chair from the teacher and chews it to bits. Evan remembers that his father's sculpture is in the gym and it resembles a giant hamster wheel.

Andy and Evan wheel the giant sculpture up to Cuddles, who rather than run on the wheel, tears it apart. Then the giant hamster picks up Conan and prepares to eat him. Evan comes up with a new plan: He will eat some Monster Blood, grow bigger than Cuddles, and then lock him in the supply closet.

Evan and Andy run to her locker, which explodes open with a wave of ever-growing Monster Blood. Evan scoops a big handful of the goop and shoves it into his mouth. He starts to grow and makes his way towards the classroom. He confronts Cuddles, who is now roughly the same size as Evan, and the two start to wrestle. Unfortunately, Evan stops growing and the hamster easily overpowers the 10ft Evan. All hope seems lost when suddenly a loud popping noise is heard and both Evan and Cuddles shrink back to normal size. Evan walks over and easily captures the small hamster. Andy picks up the can and sees that the current date is also the Monster Blood's expiration date.

Evan is hailed as a hero for the way he ate some stuff and Mr. Murphy even rewards him by giving him Cuddles as a present. Andy has also received a present from her parents, a can of Monster Blood they found in Germany. Andy promises she will not use it, but she did already open the tin to sneak a peek. The book ends with Cuddles eating more Monster Blood.

[L.M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Monster Blood books are not my favorite. Nice little adventures but no moral to the story.

[Aurora Dimitre · Rating 5 out of 5]

While not quite as good as the original, Monster Blood II still holds several of the things that made the original the best of the Goosebumps books - Evan, while a little more whiney (though with a reason), is still sarcastic and consistent with his prior characterization of being a sarcastic, insecure idiot. Andy is still wonderful, and the chemistry between the two of them is still there.

While this sequel does fall into more of the Goosebump-y tropes than the first one did, there are a few exceptions. The fact that he maintained a consistent characterization (and continues to do so) is one of them. And really, this isn't as good as the first. It's just not. But it is fun, and there are some really creepy descriptions in there, so I'm still a fan.

[Leslye (Grim) · Rating 2 out of 5]

First and foremost...there's continuity problems with this one. It did NOT make sense after what we learned in the first one. Heck, it didn't make sense that it even continued or what the twist is at the end of this one. Doesn't make sense that there's going to be more Monster Bloods in the future either. I don't know if Stine was encouraged to make more and retcon some things in the first one or what, but it bothered me that certain things were ignored.

There's also nothing spooky about this story. Just kids being dumb, Andy is acting different than the first book, and naturally there's yet another bully Evan has to deal with. This was more about bullies and troubles at a new school than it really had anything to do with Monster Blood, and when it did get around to that part, I was already annoyed and already squinting at the illogical reasoning for Monster Blood being back to enjoy it.

The only reason why I'm giving it two stars is for certain scenes I enjoyed, if I ignore the logistics of it. Real shame about the Monster Blood series, I feel like my star rating will continue to drop for the next ones. Good thing I'm taking a break from Monster Blood to read Say Cheese And Die instead.

[Shaun Stanley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Monster Blood II is the 18th installment in the Goosebump series written by R.L. Stine.

Evan, the protagonist from the first Monster Blood book, has moved to a new town and new school, but is the laughing stock of the school and the favorite target of the bully Conan. Evan is always getting in trouble at school and his punishment is having to clean the hamster's cage is the science lab. Evan's best friend Andy, also from the first Monster Blood book, comes to Evan's school for the year while her parents are travelling abroad. Andy brings the can of Monster Blood with her, but will soon dread that decision.

There were parts of the book I enjoyed (the cheesey monster blood effects) but there was also a lot of eye rolling. Evan may be one of the dumbest protagonists so far by falling for so many bully traps at school (REPEATEDLY) and doing the same mistakes by messing with Monster Blood again! There was also some animal cruelty, fat schaming, and the aforementioned bullying which hasn't aged well. The ending was so ridiculous that I actually enjoyed it.

[Vimaroba · Rating 3 out of 5]

i feel that this could have been a lot worse… but it could have been SO MUCH better. i loved the first two installments of Goosebumps, and even enjoyed the first Monster Blood well enough (despite it not being scary or creepy at all) but whatever charm the first one held ran out for me by this second one. I’m astounded there are four Monster Bloods!!!

While personally this was a two or possibly a 1.5 for me, i’m trying to rate these for overall series enjoyment, and this wasn’t nearly bad enough for me to sit back and ponder what i’m doing with my life. i know every series, especially long term middle grade ones like this, will have duds. i also know there are many more amazing ones coming up that are going to be such a fun experience for re-live.

[Clint]

Good memories.

This was the first GB book I read. Whenever we went to Morrison’s for post-church lunch, I’d get my dad to walk down to Bookland with me to check if any new ones had come out or they’d restocked any older ones I hadn’t read yet. I caught up on most of the first 17 books for the rest of 1994, and read the new releases after this one as they came out, for the next 20ish books.

[Demetri Papadimitropoulos · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Hamster the Size of the Problem
Why “Monster Blood II” Works Best When Its Joke Gets Too Big for the Cage
By Demetris Papadimitropoulos | July 4th, 2026


“The Pet Grievance Given Teeth” – In a cover-palette science room washed with yellow, blue, violet, green, and desk-orange unease, Cuddles outgrows his cage while Evan remains small at the room’s edge, making “Monster Blood II” less a story of runaway goo than of humiliation finally given fur, teeth, and scale.

Disbelief in “Monster Blood II” is not a misunderstanding; at Evan Ross’s new school, it is almost procedure. The sticky proof gets the title, the cover gets the hamster, and Cuddles deserves every inch of his furry catastrophe, but R. L. Stine’s better joke is that the green trouble arrives only after the classroom has already turned against the boy. Evan fears Monster Blood. He also fears telling the truth and being laughed out of his own experience. By the time the can returns, proof has become almost as dangerous as the thing it proves.

Evan, newly moved to Atlanta, has made the perfectly understandable mistake-with-an-audience of telling his classmates what happened to him in “Monster Blood.” He found a can of strange green gunk, it grew and grew, his dog Trigger grew with it, and the whole thing was real. That is exactly the sort of true story that sounds like a lie when told by a twelve-year-old trying to make friends before the bell rings. His classmates make him the resident fabulist. Mr. Murphy, his science teacher, refuses to believe him. Conan Barber, an oversized class tyrant with a name the plot is only too pleased to honor, discovers that Evan can be turned into a stage property in his hallway theater.

Much of the fun, and more of the craft than one first expects, comes from watching Stine enlarge school misery until it has paws. Evan is sentenced to clean Cuddles’ cage; Cuddles escapes; Conan catches the hamster and uses the rescue to humiliate him; Mr. Murphy believes the wrong boy; Evan is blamed again. The pattern is drawn in marker, but that line matters. It marks the room where the slime will get its footing. Evan is small in the classroom before any magic makes anyone large. Conan has size. Mr. Murphy has authority. Monster Blood does not introduce scale to the book. It reveals that scale was already the wound.

Even the opening feint understands this. Evan imagines Trigger swollen to the size of a pony, then a horse, drooling, panting, trying to bury him like a bone. The scene is slapstick panic in the house style: sticky, loud, undignified, a little damp around the edges. But there is real fear inside the gag. Evan’s nightmares are about being handled, misread, reduced to an object. When he wakes into Mr. Murphy’s classroom, the terror changes costume rather than vanishing. Now it wears a teacher’s smirk, a class’s laughter, a hamster’s cage.

The can returns through Andy, which is fitting: she is friendship, mischief, and dangerous nerve in bright shorts. She has come to Atlanta while her parents are overseas, carrying the old Monster Blood container and believing it empty. It is not. A small residue has grown again into the green, quivering proof Evan wants, fears, and needs. Andy sees uses: evidence, prank, revenge. Evan sees mess, which makes him the wiser child and not quite wise enough. They bury the can; it disappears; Conan seems to have taken it. Soon Evan and Andy are outside Conan’s bedroom window, trying to rescue the very proof that may ruin them.

R. L. Stine’s prose is built for traction, not perfume. It is after speed, clarity, and appetite. The sentences arrive in quick pulses: a command, a protest, a sensory gag, a little interior panic. The vocabulary is blunt enough to survive a hallway: dumb, gross, yuck, stupid, bad dog, fat hamster. The imagery is sticky-fingered rather than atmospheric: sour breath, crushed hands, twitching noses, bent cage wires, green globs that shimmer like dessert from the wrong cafeteria. The style does not invite the reader to admire the wallpaper. It opens the cage and points.

In nearby company with “Bunnicula” by Deborah Howe and James Howe and “Sideways Stories from Wayside School” by Louis Sachar, “Monster Blood II” is less cozy than the former and less surreal than the latter. The resemblance is still useful. Like “Bunnicula,” it knows that a ridiculous animal can become a serious childhood threat if the adults are dim enough and the children alarmed enough. Like “Sideways Stories from Wayside School,” it treats school as a place where logic is already bent at the corners. Stine’s classroom is less a locker-lined thought experiment than a pressure cooker with a hamster wheel.

Plot, in “Monster Blood II,” is a chain of containers failing. The can cannot hold the goo. The cage cannot hold Cuddles. The classroom cannot hold the crisis. The locker cannot hold the expanding mass. Evan’s private grievance cannot stay private once it has found a body with whiskers and an appetite. The structure is cleaner than the rubber-toothed absurdity first promises. This is not one thing getting bigger after another. It is one suppressed embarrassment after another outgrowing the boundary assigned to it.

Andy is essential to that escalation, and also the book’s brightest fuse. She is funny, vivid, and impulsive in the way certain children’s-book friends have to be impulsive, or nothing interesting would ever happen. Her plan to feed a little Monster Blood to Cuddles is a child’s revenge plan with a lunchroom conscience: not to kill, not to maim, just to make Mr. Murphy stare at his beloved pet in a size he cannot grade or scold away. Naturally, the “little” part does not hold. Pranks, in this universe, do not remain harmless. They grow fur.

Part of the book’s satisfying risk is that Cuddles remains a hamster. He does not become a dragon, demon, mutant, or elegant nightmare. He remains hungry, nosy, twitching, ridiculous, and increasingly unsuited to furniture and doorways. A hamster this large could go limp as a joke very quickly. Stine solves the problem by never asking the reader to stop laughing. Cuddles is scary because he is funny at the wrong scale. When he chews, grabs, sniffs, or lumbers toward the giant wheel Evan has improvised from his father’s sculpture, the joke and the danger occupy the same cage.

Authority, here, has a talent for arriving late and pointing at the wrong child. Mr. Murphy is not a rounded portrait of pedagogical failure; he is a sturdy engine of misjudgment, devoted to Cuddles and almost impressively wrong about Evan. That flatness keeps the plot moving and leaves the people thin. Conan, too, is mostly a bully-machine: handsome, large, smirking, hand-crushing, nearly without interior weather. The plot does not need him to be more. A stronger book might have made him more anyway.

Despite those thinnesses, the pattern of blame is sharp. Conan’s bullying matters because it needs an audience. He does not simply hurt Evan; he recruits the hallway, the playground, the gym, the watching faces. Mr. Murphy’s repeated misreadings matter because they show how helpless a child can become when the adult in charge prefers the easier story. Evan is trapped inside a version of himself other people keep repeating: liar, troublemaker, weakling, weird kid. Monster Blood lets him overwrite that story, but only in letters large enough to wreck the classroom.

If there is a pulse beneath the slime, it is the ache of being believed too late. Evan wants the can because it can vindicate him. He wants everyone to see that his earlier terror was not invention. For a child, disbelief can feel like a second event, almost as wounding as the first. To be laughed at after danger is to have the danger stolen from you. “Monster Blood II” does not analyze that feeling, which is wise; analysis would dry the slime. It stages it, enlarges it, and lets it run squeaking through the school.

More than once, every solution swells into a new problem. Burying the can leads to its disappearance. Recovering it leads to Andy’s prank. The prank leads to Cuddles’ growth. The giant wheel, borrowed from Evan’s father’s art project, seems like inspired child logic and then becomes another object for the hamster to destroy. Evan’s final solution is the grossest and bravest one available: he eats the Monster Blood himself so he can grow large enough to save Conan. The moment is absurd, heroic, and wonderfully unsanitary. He even notices the taste.

In another book, that act might become a coronation. Here, it becomes a wrestling match with a hamster. Evan grows, but not quite enough. He becomes large enough to act, not large enough to dominate. He rescues Conan, but Cuddles pins him. The fantasy of becoming big enough to end humiliation runs into the comic fact that someone, somewhere, may still be bigger, furrier, and more interested in chewing than justice. The book has no interest in solemn triumph. It prefers a squeal, a gulp, and a pop.

The expiration-date ending is wonderfully anti-grand. The Monster Blood stops working because the can says it should. As a solution, this is outrageous; as a gag, it is close to perfect. The supernatural substance is defeated not by bravery, wisdom, or sacrifice, but by label logic. The great green threat turns out to have the expiration-date weakness of a carton of milk. Here, too, the machinery sweeps itself away a little too neatly. Evan shrinks. Cuddles shrinks. The school can return to normal. One can almost hear the next paperback clearing its throat.

Rating the book means giving the machine its due without pretending the gears are hidden. “Monster Blood II” earns a final rating of 75/100, with a Goodreads-compatible rating of 3/5 stars: a cleanly built, funny, memorable series entry whose social joke is better than its thinnest characters, and whose giant hamster has more staying power than several of the humans assigned to supervise him.

On that scale, the number should not be mistaken for indifference. The craft is real, but it fits in a lunchbox. Stine gives readers a cursed can, a bullied boy, a reckless friend, an obtuse teacher, a cruel classmate, and a classroom pet, then lets the terms collide in the most obvious, satisfying, sticky way. The result is not subtle. Neither is a hamster the size of school furniture. Subtlety would only slow him down.

Perhaps the book keeps a grown reader’s attention because it strains so little for importance. It does not ask to be taken seriously in spite of Cuddles. It asks that Cuddles be seen for what he is: the pet grievance given teeth, the classroom rumor on its hind legs, the small humiliation everyone assumed could be contained until it started chewing through the furniture.

Only one comparison needs more than a nod. “Frindle” by Andrew Clements also cares about a child’s credibility inside school, and also understands that a small thing can become public before adults know how to interpret it. But “Frindle” turns language into social experiment; “Monster Blood II” turns resentment into appetite. Its imagination is not civic but gastric. The room does not debate the meaning of the word. The room notices that the hamster has teeth.

Underneath the goo, then, this is a book about proportion going wild. A little disbelief becomes a reputation. A little prank becomes a disaster. A little hamster becomes Cuddles, enormous, hungry, impossible to file back into classroom routine. Its wit lies in that disproportion, and so does its modest sting. Children know that adults often call things small because adults are standing far away from them. Stine, for all his bluntness, has the decency to stand close.

Look long enough at the giant hamster and the joke stops being only a joke. Cuddles is not an escape from seriousness. He is the book’s seriousness in comic form: the pet grievance, the classroom joke, the thing everyone thought could be contained, suddenly chewing through the arrangement. That is why the image lasts. Not because it is plausible, or frightening in any refined way, but because it gives embarrassment a body large enough to cast a shadow.

Order returns only after Evan is believed, which is the book’s tidy little cruelty. Mr. Murphy praises him, the students apologize, Conan has been reduced from tyrant to rescued child, and peace appears to have arrived with a broom in its hand. Then Mr. Murphy gives Evan Cuddles as a reward, rather like thanking someone for putting out a kitchen fire by handing him the toaster. Andy arrives with a new can of Monster Blood from Germany. The book grins, and not innocently.

Somewhere on Evan’s desk, the cage door opens. Somewhere nearby, the new can waits with all the patience of a bad idea. And somewhere in the room, small again for the moment, Cuddles begins to eat.


“Palette Ledger: Cover Balance” – A proportional cover-palette study in which the largest swatches are allowed to carry atmosphere and structure, while the sharper greens, creams, and rare red are kept to the small visual pulses they occupy in the original cover art.


“Five Ways to Make Evan Small” – A thumbnail sheet testing how the final image might arrange boy, cage, desk, and hamster so that the composition enlarges Cuddles without losing the quieter point: Evan has already been made small by the room.


“Light Map: The Room Holds Its Breath” – A value and light-source study locating the Hopper-like stillness of the piece, with late classroom light falling across the desk while the cage, wall, and doorway hold Evan in a cooler, more doubtful atmosphere.


“Underdrawing: Cage, Desk, Boy” – A faint graphite scaffold of the final plate, preserving the desk perspective, cage geometry, hamster mass, doorway, and small human figure before the washes begin to turn structure into mood.


“The Failed Container” – A desk-and-cage construction study focused on the central formal idea of “Monster Blood II”: every object meant to hold the trouble – can, cage, classroom, child – begins to bend under it.


“Cuddles: Still a Hamster” – An anatomical character study of Cuddles’ skull, paws, haunches, incisors, and fur direction, keeping the monster comic because he remains recognizably, stubbornly, absurdly hamster.


“First Wash: Yellow, Blue, Green” – An early color stage showing how the cover’s dominant colors become the painting’s atmosphere: golden yellow for charged light, cerulean and violet for classroom space, and slime green restrained to border, ooze, and pressure points.


“Border Study: Failed Containment” – A study of the irregular green watercolor frame, testing how the Goosebumps-like slime border can suggest leakage and failed containment without letting a vivid accent swallow the page.


“Before the Lettering” – A near-finished 80-percent plate in which Cuddles, the desk, the cage, Evan, and the ooze are mostly resolved, while corners, background passages, and pencil scaffolding remain open enough for the painting to remember its own making.


“Proportional Wash Map: Cover to Watercolor” – A painterly translation chart showing how the cover’s color balance becomes the review image: large washes for atmosphere, medium blocks for structure, and tiny sparks for the rare accents that should stay rare.

[image error]
“Wraparound Study with Flaps” – A sketchy alternative dust-jacket study translating the same cover-proportion discipline across front, spine, back, and flaps, letting dominant colors carry the design while supporting tones shape the structure and rare accents stay rare.


“Border and Lettering Integration Study” – A partial lower-section study testing how the book title, watercolor title, author name, signature, and slime border can become part of the same hand-painted structure rather than text pasted over the image.

All watercolor illustrations by Demetris Papadimitropoulos.
Watercolors are done on 140lb vellum and then scanned into the computer using an Epson scanner. From there, they are finalized in Procreate. All art and opinions are my own.

[Gary Pointon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great

[Billie Pritchett · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is pretty bad. The protagonist Evan Ross from the previous book is back in this sequel, Monster Blood II. Because of all the horrible things that happened last time, Evan and his family have relocated to Atlanta, Georgia. For some reason, his female friend Andy moves there too. Whammy one.

Evan tries to tell everybody at his new school his experience with Monster Blood, the way it grew and tried to eat everyone, but nobody believes him, least of all his science teacher. Evan is tasked with taking care of the school hamster in his science teacher's class. He daydreams about doing harm to the hamster and speculates that the hamster is out to get him. Weird. Whammy two.

Turns out Andy still has some Monster Blood left over for last time and, you know, just as a prank Evan is going to feed some of the Monster Blood to the school hamster. Why? you ask. No good answer. Whammy three.

The book ending is ridiculous in so many ways, and sad because this book could have been good, maybe. Ugh.

[Daniel Stalter · Rating 1 out of 5]

The first Monster Blood book was a mess, but it was also a lot of fun to dissect. Monster Blood II on the other hand just felt pointless and boring. I didn’t even have a very illogical villain to make fun of this time. It’s odd how Monster Blood became such a formidable subfranchise of the Goosebumps series (becoming the only book to get 3 sequels). My theory is that they sold well based on the title and cover art because it definitely wasn’t based on substance. It’s baffling that Stine chose to go with ‘slime that can’t stop growing’ and a single giant hamster when the title lends itself to so many possibilities. Overall Monster Blood II was a boring plot, with characters who learned nothing from the first book, and a major cop-out for an ending.

Score: 1



A full review with memes, spoilers, and snark can be found on my blog:
https://www.danstalter.com/monster-bl...

[Austin Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

I loved the first Monster Blood. One of my favorite books in the series. The sequel doesn't really stand up all that well though, at least in my opinion. It has some nice humorous moments in it - I always like the banter between Andy and Evan, which happen to be a couple of my favorite characters in the series. The rest of the story though is just kind of... meh. The biggest weakness of this book is probably the ending. The solution to our protagonists fixing their issue with Monster Blood once again... is a very cheap, lazy, quick-fix resolve.
While not horrible, I can't really take this goosebumps book seriously. I think it's just more comical than anything, whereas the first Monster Blood actually had some creepy moments in it, and a little bit of a darker twist ending.
I'll give this one a 2.5 / 5 stars.

[Chantal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining second book about monsterblood. Great to read and really easy to read also. One of the better RL Stine books, but ending was a little simple.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Monster Blood II by R. L. Stine is Goosebumbs book number 18. Monster blood is back with Evan and Andy who found the original Monster Blood in a vintage toy shop. After reading 18 Goosebumps books Monster Blood the original ranks second to last in my ranking from best to worst, I was hoping this one would be better and it was. This book is all charm with mischief and humor. This book is rarely that scary, the nightmares provide some horror and Stine has fun with them. The bully Conan is pretty terrifying and shows how chicken he really is. The ending to the climax could have been better it has a lame twist, but he leaves the final twist at the very end that was pretty great.

The Plot: Evan is at a new school in Atlanta and is already the weird kid as he talks about Monster Blood and it's effects. When Evan gets the news of Andy his friend from summer trip is now living here. She's the one person that can prove what he said about Monster Blood is true. She can do one better she can show them it's real a prank creates the most unlikely monster that can not be stopped.

What I Liked: The nightmares were really fun and pretty terrifying. The Andy and Evan friendship how they are mischievous but there for one another. Conan the bad guy is a good foil to the small Evan. The handshake gag didn't get old, I laughed every time. The breaking into Conan's house was pretty tension filled. Cuddles transformation.

What I Disliked: The end to the Climax was really disappointing, right when the action was starting, It just stopped, with a lame excuse.

Recommendations: This story was way better than the first Monster Blood. It a good introduction to Goosebumps because it is light on the scares, but still a lot of fun. I rated Monster Blood II by R. L. Stine 4 out of 5 stars. Here's my full ranking of the 18 Goosebumps books that I have read in order to my favorite to least favorite:Stay Out of the Basement, Piano Lessons Can Be Murder, The Haunted Mask, One Day At Horrorland, Night of the Living Dummy, Welcome to Camp Nightmare, The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb, Say Cheese and Die, Let's Get Invisible, Welcome to Dead House, Monster Blood II, The Girl who Cried Monster, The Ghost Next Door, Be Careful What You Wish For... ,Why I'm Afraid of Bees, The Werewolf of Fever Swamp, Monster Blood, And You Can't Scare Me!.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5⭐

This entry was not as enjoyable as the first Monster Blood book but it was an entertaining read nonetheless. It honestly just took way too long for the monster blood to take over its next host since the vast majority of the story focused on how scared Evan and Andy were of the stuff. The slow build-up dragged the pacing down a bit and I just wanted the green ooze to start wreaking havoc much sooner.

​Once the monster blood finally took over its next host the classic hijinks were on full display and it was so much fun seeing Evan and Andy try to solve this crazy trial by fire. The sheer chaos of the situation made the slower first half worth it and delivered that wild monster action I was waiting for. They always find themselves in the most ridiculous danger and it is a blast to watch them try to survive it.

​I am super interested in continuing this journey down Monster Blood lane just to see what kind of massive trouble these two will get into next. This specific book might not be my favorite of the bunch but it is still a great piece of nostalgic fun. I am fully invested in their gooey adventures and I am ready to jump right into the next disaster.

[Darcy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Here we are, our first GB sequel. We get to revisit the toolbox from the original Monster Blood, Evan Ross who still has "carrot colored" hair and no friends. He and his family have successfully moved to Atlanta, and Evan is having PTSD dreams of Monster Blood in his science class to start the book. He wakes up from one of the most obvious "it was all a dream" chapters only to have a second daydream where he throws the class hamster out the window after calling his teacher Mr. Murphy dumb. Two dream sequences in two chapters, you know this is going to be a good book.

Turns out that Evan thought everyone in his new school would think his Monster Blood adventures from book one were totally cool. Unfortunately for him people think he's a weirdo making shit up to look cool. The local bully Conan even beats him up because of how stupid his story is. Evan gets detention for sleeping in class and has to clean Cuddles the hamster's cage after school. Evan gets further into my bad books by hating on a cute little hamster. He manages to spazz out and let him loose, causing a far too elaborate chase sequence where Cuddles manages to jump out the window and run across the school yard. Of course Mr. Murphy catches Evan in the worst possible situation and gets him in more trouble. On the way home Evan is attacked by a stranger!

Actually it's his friend Andy, who is living with her aunt in Atlanta for a year since her parents got sent to Europe for work. They get Europe, she gets Atlanta. What a great tradeoff. Evan tells Andy about his shit life and Andy says she has something that will help him out (I wonder if it rhymes with Gonster Glood). The next day at school Conan ties Evan's shoes together in class, pours water on his seat and just generally torments him like a classic GB bully. What a dick. After school he meets Andy who presents him with the can of Monster Blood, but she claims it is empty. Of course when they open it it's half full! What magical shit.

This is when Conan appears, threatens them and tries to steal the Monster Blood. They manage to trick him and send him packing, and the two bury the can by a tree in hopes they'll never need it again. Back home Evan's dad is building some weird ass metal sculptures in the garage. He claims that his wheel shaped one will be on display at Evan's school which seems oddly coincidental unless maybe it somehow becomes a convenient plot device hmmm.

The next day at school Evan tries out for the basketball team. He gets smoked in the face by Conan's "pass" and just generally dominated throughout the tryout. Then we are treated to probably one of the most bizarre sequences in GB history. Here it is unedited.

Evan raised both hands to block Conan's shot. But to Evan's surprise, Conan let the ball bounce away. In one swift motion, he grabbed Evan by the waist, leaped high in the air, and stuffed Evan into the basket.

What. The. Fuck. What kind of freaky ass Space Jam 12 year old can slam dunk a kid? The teacher even gets a step ladder to get Evan down. Needless to say Evan doesn't make the team. Andy has an idea of revenge against the teacher, and suggests feeding Monster Blood to Cuddles to make it grow big and freak him out. Great plan, but when they go to the tree it's buried under the can is gone. They naturally deduce that Conan saw them bury it and dug it up.

The next night Andy and Evan commit a break and enter on Conan's house, sneaking into his room while he's not home to steal back the can. Naturally he returns before they escape and we get some real close calls of them getting caught. They manage to rush home, and Evan makes Andy promise to just get rid of the Monster Blood for good. Evan gets sick that night and misses school the next day. When he returns he finds the class hamster has turned into a rabbit sized monster. Cute. He knows Andy gave it the Monster Blood, and is none to happy about it.

When he arrives early at school the next day, Cuddles is the size of a small dog. Evan finds him a leash and ties him to the teacher's desk. He then bails on school for the day because he's afraid of the teacher. Andy tells him that Mr. Murphy is actually stoked his hamster has turned into a monster, and wants to get on TV.

When the two get to school the next day, Cuddles has transformed into a giant monster. It runs wild attacking the staff and students, crushing furniture and eating chairs. Evan has a brilliant idea, and runs to the auditorium where his Dad's WHEEL sculpture is. Hamsters love running on wheels, so naturally Cuddles will run on the giant wheel and problem solved somehow, right? Well Cuddles just rips the sculpture apart and smashes a window with it. Then it decides to eat Conan, which in most circumstances would be awesome but Evan is such a humanitarian he has to save him.

Bright idea number 2 is Evan eating a bunch of Monster Blood so he can grow and beat up Cuddles. We've officially entered a Power Rangers episode. Evan chugs the MB and grows large but not as large as he thinks. He engages in a deadly battle with the monster hamster, until suddenly both him and the rodent become normal sized again.

What gives? Andy delightfully tells Evan that the Monster Blood JUST HAPPENED TO EXPIRE ON THAT VERY DAY. Fucking seriously. Wow. In reward for saving him, Mr. Murphy gives Evan the hamster to keep as a pet. Andy's super cool and irresponsible parents mail her a can of Monster Blood from Germany, and we get ready for two more books of this BS.

Thoughts: I remembered reading this one but totally forgot about the expiration date ending. Holy shit was that a hacky ending. I would've been more satisfied with a 4th dream sequence.

Conan is introduced here and will reappear in later books. he's a massive dickhead and like all GB bullies is relentless in his dickery. The problem is Evan is so unlikable that I don't know who to hate more. Andy is way cooler than all of them, and when she threatens Evan with physical violence I get all warm and fuzzy inside.