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Fear Street #41
Runaway
A runaway can’t outrun her troubles in this spine-tingling installment in R.L. Stine’s bestselling Fear Street series—now with a fresh new look!
Shadyside. It sounded like such a nice town, the perfect place for a runaway like Felicia. Nobody here would know about her dark powers. Nobody would know what she’s done. For once, she could be a normal girl. She could be safe.
But someone in Shadyside discovers Felicia’s secret. Someone finds out about the awful things her powers made her do. Felicia doesn’t want to run away again. But if she stays, she might lose control. And then people would start to die.
Shadyside. It sounded like such a nice town, the perfect place for a runaway like Felicia. Nobody here would know about her dark powers. Nobody would know what she’s done. For once, she could be a normal girl. She could be safe.
But someone in Shadyside discovers Felicia’s secret. Someone finds out about the awful things her powers made her do. Felicia doesn’t want to run away again. But if she stays, she might lose control. And then people would start to die.
176 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1997
48 people are currently reading
2353 people want to read
About the author
R.L. Stine
1,680 books18.7k followersRobert Lawrence Stine known as R. L. Stine and Jovial Bob Stine, is an American novelist and writer, well known for targeting younger audiences. Stine, who is often called the Stephen King of children's literature, is the author of dozens of popular horror fiction novellas, including the books in the Goosebumps, Rotten School, Mostly Ghostly, The Nightmare Room and Fear Street series.
R. L. Stine began his writing career when he was nine years old, and today he has achieved the position of the bestselling children's author in history. In the early 1990s, Stine was catapulted to fame when he wrote the unprecedented, bestselling Goosebumps® series, which sold more than 250 million copies and became a worldwide multimedia phenomenon. His other major series, Fear Street, has over 80 million copies sold.
Stine has received numerous awards of recognition, including several Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards and Disney Adventures Kids' Choice Awards, and he has been selected by kids as one of their favorite authors in the NEA's Read Across America program. He lives in New York, NY.
http://us.macmillan.com/itsthefirstda...
R. L. Stine began his writing career when he was nine years old, and today he has achieved the position of the bestselling children's author in history. In the early 1990s, Stine was catapulted to fame when he wrote the unprecedented, bestselling Goosebumps® series, which sold more than 250 million copies and became a worldwide multimedia phenomenon. His other major series, Fear Street, has over 80 million copies sold.
Stine has received numerous awards of recognition, including several Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards and Disney Adventures Kids' Choice Awards, and he has been selected by kids as one of their favorite authors in the NEA's Read Across America program. He lives in New York, NY.
http://us.macmillan.com/itsthefirstda...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 146 reviews
August 30, 2024
Runaway follows young Felicia, who is on the run from her previous town, where she was being studied as part of a university program because she has telekinetic powers. There is an incident in her past involving her powers, and the police are looking for her. She settles in the town of Shadyside, goes back to school, and tries to start a new life, making new friends, getting a job, and trying to move on from her dark past. But the past has a way of catching up with you...
This book started out really well, and read a bit like a poor man's Carrie. In the final third of the book, however, the story really falls apart and the book ends up being pretty bad overall as a result. Definitely a wasted opportunity. Interestingly, there is a decent amount of blood and gore in this book (characters being dismembered?! what?!) which is really uncommon for R.L. Stine's stories, which are usually very tame and harmless. There's some nastiness in this one, so if you're intrigued to read that from Stine this is one to check out. Otherwise it's pretty bad though, and should be avoided.
I would also maybe recommend trying to find an older original copy of this book, because Stine or someone else has clearly rewritten parts of it for the recent reissues (e.g. the edition tied to my review, with that cover) that coincide with the release of the Fear Street trilogy of movies on Netflix. In one scene, two characters are watching a movie on their tablet. The book was originally written in 1997, when there weren't really tablets that could play movies like there are today. It makes you wonder what else has been changed. I personally prefer to read the author's original source material, no matter how offensive or outdated it may be, but to each their own!
This book started out really well, and read a bit like a poor man's Carrie. In the final third of the book, however, the story really falls apart and the book ends up being pretty bad overall as a result. Definitely a wasted opportunity. Interestingly, there is a decent amount of blood and gore in this book (characters being dismembered?! what?!) which is really uncommon for R.L. Stine's stories, which are usually very tame and harmless. There's some nastiness in this one, so if you're intrigued to read that from Stine this is one to check out. Otherwise it's pretty bad though, and should be avoided.
I would also maybe recommend trying to find an older original copy of this book, because Stine or someone else has clearly rewritten parts of it for the recent reissues (e.g. the edition tied to my review, with that cover) that coincide with the release of the Fear Street trilogy of movies on Netflix. In one scene, two characters are watching a movie on their tablet. The book was originally written in 1997, when there weren't really tablets that could play movies like there are today. It makes you wonder what else has been changed. I personally prefer to read the author's original source material, no matter how offensive or outdated it may be, but to each their own!
November 23, 2021
So this was probably one of the worst Fear Street books I have ever read. Re-released this past year, I grabbed this for Halloween Book Bingo 2021. I am glad I never got around to reading it until now, because if I had read it during the bingo I would have been so annoyed. This book is a bad rip-off of Carrie. And I think the bigger problem is that Stine does not do supernatural/science fiction that well. I think Fear Street works better when you have real humans doing terrible things to each other. Maybe a ghost pops up here and there. But the whole story-line around telekinesis and the ending had me going okay. The main character of Felicia was really terrible and I had to sigh about the low key cheating story-line (it did not have me like anyone).
"Runaway" starts with Felicia in a facility somewhere being tested. Then we fast forward to her running and almost getting hit by a car as she walks in the rain (as one does) to a town called Shadyside. Felicia who has no sense (more on that later) gets into a car with a guy who tells her, his name is Homicide (yeah I don't know). When Felicia causes the car to crash, she runs off into the night and stops another car and gets into it (yes...I don't know) and somehow the car ride ends with her kissing a random stranger ( :-| ). And from there Felicia finds herself in Shadyside and as one does as a runaway, falsely registers to go to school and lo and behold comes across the guy she got a ride with (the second one). I should have put the book down at this point, but reader, I persevered.
The book is just a mess. Felicia and Nick (the second guy) are attracted to each other for reasons. Problem is Nick has a girlfriend named Zane and there is BS tension between that and Felicia saying but Zane is my friend. Girl...no. Anyway the book just meanders along.
I didn't like Felicia. And I lost several brain cells about her trying to hide, but yet registered to go to school, and somehow got a job working (did we not need to give up our social security number in the 90s when this book was written???) well we get several flashbacks to what Felicia was running from.
The flow was awful. I have enjoyed previous Fear Street books, but I think Stine should have picked a plot and stuck with it. We had two separate things going on and then we have the science fiction aspect that did not work. And the whole time I read this I kept thinking about Carrie.
The ending was a big old mess.
"Runaway" starts with Felicia in a facility somewhere being tested. Then we fast forward to her running and almost getting hit by a car as she walks in the rain (as one does) to a town called Shadyside. Felicia who has no sense (more on that later) gets into a car with a guy who tells her, his name is Homicide (yeah I don't know). When Felicia causes the car to crash, she runs off into the night and stops another car and gets into it (yes...I don't know) and somehow the car ride ends with her kissing a random stranger ( :-| ). And from there Felicia finds herself in Shadyside and as one does as a runaway, falsely registers to go to school and lo and behold comes across the guy she got a ride with (the second one). I should have put the book down at this point, but reader, I persevered.
The book is just a mess. Felicia and Nick (the second guy) are attracted to each other for reasons. Problem is Nick has a girlfriend named Zane and there is BS tension between that and Felicia saying but Zane is my friend. Girl...no. Anyway the book just meanders along.
I didn't like Felicia. And I lost several brain cells about her trying to hide, but yet registered to go to school, and somehow got a job working (did we not need to give up our social security number in the 90s when this book was written???) well we get several flashbacks to what Felicia was running from.
The flow was awful. I have enjoyed previous Fear Street books, but I think Stine should have picked a plot and stuck with it. We had two separate things going on and then we have the science fiction aspect that did not work. And the whole time I read this I kept thinking about Carrie.
The ending was a big old mess.
October 31, 2021
I'm loving the Fear Street resurgence thanks to the popularity of this movie trilogy that was released earlier this year.
It's great that some of the original titles have been republished - especially as some are really difficult to get hold of over here in the U.K.
It's certainly an interesting title to have picked...
I suspect that a young female protagonist whos been used as a test subject and has gained telekinesis abilities sounds remarkably similar to another Netflix property, so provided an easy choice for selection.
Felicia is the runaway who wants to start a new life in Shadyside, she's trying to keep a low key profile but someone has discovered both her special skill and a secret from her past that she wishes to move on from.
That's the main conceit for this enjoyable entry in the series, threatening notes in Felicia's locker threatens to expose her and drives the mystery in this fun slice of 90's nostalgia.
Some great action sequences and fun twists helped make this a nice quick read.
It's great that some of the original titles have been republished - especially as some are really difficult to get hold of over here in the U.K.
It's certainly an interesting title to have picked...
I suspect that a young female protagonist whos been used as a test subject and has gained telekinesis abilities sounds remarkably similar to another Netflix property, so provided an easy choice for selection.
Felicia is the runaway who wants to start a new life in Shadyside, she's trying to keep a low key profile but someone has discovered both her special skill and a secret from her past that she wishes to move on from.
That's the main conceit for this enjoyable entry in the series, threatening notes in Felicia's locker threatens to expose her and drives the mystery in this fun slice of 90's nostalgia.
Some great action sequences and fun twists helped make this a nice quick read.
October 10, 2024
I had some fun with this one, but first half was much more intriguing than the second. A decent mystery is built up, but then the end is very rushed with too many things happening in a very small amount of pages. I would still reccommend this though as I enjoyed it on the whole.
Felicia has telekinetic powers and is on the run from the institute that is experimenting on her. She joins a new school under an alias and makes new friends. But somebody knows her secret, and has made it clear theyl harm the ones she loves if she doesn't return.
Felicia has telekinetic powers and is on the run from the institute that is experimenting on her. She joins a new school under an alias and makes new friends. But somebody knows her secret, and has made it clear theyl harm the ones she loves if she doesn't return.
November 10, 2019
3.5
the characters in this one seem a little bit smarted than what we are use to in a Fear Street book. i was really hoping that Felicia .
the characters in this one seem a little bit smarted than what we are use to in a Fear Street book. i was really hoping that Felicia .
October 26, 2019
Reviewed on Lili Lost in a Book
I loved this book! When it comes to Fear Street books, they can be hit or miss. But I thought this one was awesome! I mean, we have this character with some cool supernatural abilities, which I am always down for! And Felicia was smart and snarky and I really liked that. Plus the mystery surrounding Felicia’s past was very intriguing!
Upon arriving to Shadyside, Felicia meets Nick and... Oh my gods, they were so cute! I loved it! What I didn’t love was that he already had a freaking girlfriend! Boy, break up with your current girl first, good grief! But also, Felicia, you know he’s taken, girl! Wtf! She did try to stay away, but not hard enough. Nick was so sweet though. I really enjoyed their interactions, but I also really thought they needed to stop. And to top it off, Zan, Nick’s girlfriend, was likable! Well, most of the time. Lol. But I actually really liked the interactions between the characters. It was cute, it was fun—I liked it!
Some spoilers!
Suffice to say, this was pretty action-packed and I loved it! I liked the characters, loved the plot twists and mystery, and I of course adored the super powers! I really want to know more about Felicia and her power and the doctors and what she’s gonna do after Shadyside. This book was just so intriguing! It’s definitely one of my favorites!
The Fear Street connection: Felicia is new in town and is staying in a house on Fear Street.
I loved this book! When it comes to Fear Street books, they can be hit or miss. But I thought this one was awesome! I mean, we have this character with some cool supernatural abilities, which I am always down for! And Felicia was smart and snarky and I really liked that. Plus the mystery surrounding Felicia’s past was very intriguing!
Upon arriving to Shadyside, Felicia meets Nick and... Oh my gods, they were so cute! I loved it! What I didn’t love was that he already had a freaking girlfriend! Boy, break up with your current girl first, good grief! But also, Felicia, you know he’s taken, girl! Wtf! She did try to stay away, but not hard enough. Nick was so sweet though. I really enjoyed their interactions, but I also really thought they needed to stop. And to top it off, Zan, Nick’s girlfriend, was likable! Well, most of the time. Lol. But I actually really liked the interactions between the characters. It was cute, it was fun—I liked it!
Some spoilers!
Suffice to say, this was pretty action-packed and I loved it! I liked the characters, loved the plot twists and mystery, and I of course adored the super powers! I really want to know more about Felicia and her power and the doctors and what she’s gonna do after Shadyside. This book was just so intriguing! It’s definitely one of my favorites!
The Fear Street connection: Felicia is new in town and is staying in a house on Fear Street.
“A lot of things have happened on that street. Horrible things.”
I bet I can top them all, Felicia thought.
April 23, 2024
Goosebumps is great for the nostalgia, but I got to give the edge to Fear Street. Runaway is my first Fear Street book in over 8 years and now I think I want to binge read these books! Still a fun time, even after all these years.
September 30, 2014
I missed the Fear Street craze in my youth, and grew up on Christopher Pike instead. I grabbed a bunch of these to read to prepare for Halloween. This one concerns Felicia, a girl cursed with telekinesis and the worst friends ever. She's on the run from the lab that has been running tests on her and she lands in a pretty comfortable situation. For some ridiculous reason, she enrolls herself in school and gets a job. All of this with a false identity. I would have liked Felicia if she would have had something going on besides a huge crush on a guy. Things just sort of happen to her and we have some pretty cool emergence of her "powers" later on in the book. Overall, it is a light romance filled with violently insane girls who have jealousy issues. It is not awful, and the chapters leave off on little cliffhangers in order to keep the reader engaged.
June 17, 2012
What a great cover!
Moral of the Story: Stephen King's Carrie is not the only person with telekinesis.
Body Count: Three - Andy & Kristy, Doug Gaynor
Usual Suspects: Felicia and Zan
Actual Suspects: Zan and Debbie, Felicia's so-called best friend
Glaring Plot Holes: One. How would Zan have ever gotten a hold of Felicia's driver's license?
Plot: So Felicia is a Runaway from Ridgely College, because she has telekinesis and the doctors are forcing her to use her power. Her best friend, Debbie, also attends Ridgely, but has no power and is extremely jealous of Felicia. One day she dares her to knock down an old beach house with your mind. Felicia is sick of Debbie's jealousy, so she agrees, not realizing anybody is inside. But it turns out there are two people inside - Andy and Kristy, Felicia's friends from Ridgely. Felicia can't believe that her power has caused her to kill two people, even on accident. Debbie suggests to her that she should flee Ridgely, and Felicia runs away the next day.
On her great hitchhiking journey northeast (I really don't know where the fuck Shadyside is located... it seems northeast to me), Felicia is cold and wet (it's raining, perv), and is offered a ride by the following "human": His name is Lloyd (an abuse of the great Christopher's last name, if you ask me), and he is big and burly, with tattoos, crooked teeth, red hair, and a pointed red goatee. Since Felicia has telekinesis and not ESP, she thinks it is a great idea to hop in the car with this man. I'm confused. People still hitchhiked in 1997? I was only 10 years old, so I wouldn't know. While in the car Lloyd makes small talk and tells her that his nickname is Homicide. Rather than being immediately alarmed (she's not a normal person, after all), Felicia instead asks him why people would call him that. "You don't have to find out - yet," he replies. Felicia than notices he is packing a sharp metal object around his waist (I'm sure you can guess which one), and Felicia finally freaks out and uses her power to swerve his truck into a tree so she can escape.
She jumps out of his truck and immediately stops another car to help her, despite the fact that her most recent hitchhiking experience didn't exactly go as planned. But, would you know?, the guy who rescues our tragic telekinetic runaway is, in fact, a nice guy named Nick. After reading Killer's Kiss, I seriously doubted the validity of any nice guys in Shadyside (I ALMOST typed Sweet Valley just now), but Nick has proven me wrong. Felicia acts all sketchy and refuses to tell him about her past, and asks Nick to leave her at Shadyside's Dairi Burger equivalent. Inside, she is at a booth when she overhears two guys who have a job housesitting for Dr. Jones while he is away. They don't really want to do it, and Felicia can tell it will be a sweet gig. She spins a few yarns in order to persuade them to let HER do the housesitting gig... and give her 50 bucks of the money. They agree, and Felicia moves in immediately.
So RL Stine is a fucking boss for naming Dr. Jones's cat in this book Miss Quiz. That is so cute and makes me very happy. Of course a professor would name his cat Miss Quiz. Felicia decides she can make Shadyside her home for a while, and enrolls in Shadyside High the very next day. She is happy to find that the Great Nick is also in attendance, but when she tells him she is staying in a house on Fear Street, Nick does the smart thing and tries to bug her off it. But, being a runaway, Felicia doesn't really have any other options. Plus, SOMEONE has to pet sit Miss Quiz. Poor girl.
Through Nick, Felicia is able to get a job at the local burger joint by lying and saying she's done it before. In her defense, rocket science is not really required to flip a burger. Felicia finds out that Nick's girlfriend, Zan, works there as well. Her first encounter with Zan involves Zan flashing a knife at her. Oh, RL Stine. Stop making me believe you are going to kill off the main character this early in the book.
It's not long before Felicia finds threatening messages everywhere... someone knows her past and is determined to expose her. She finds a message in her locker and then written with red paint all over the walls of Dr. Jones's den.
Zan invites Felicia over for a sleepover, and she obliges because of Nick. She's obviously never heard that expression that you should keep your friends close and your enemies closer. While at Zan's house (watching The Birds!!) Felicia discovers a yearbook picture of Zan and a pervious boyfriend covered in blood. Ruh roh. Things are getting Slim Shady in Shadyside.
Upon discovering that the person in the picture with Zan is Doug Gaynor, Felicia remembers that there is a memorial bench for him in the halls. Now she's more curious than ever to know how he died.
Nick tells her that Zan killed Doug, but that it was an accident. I'm sure. Just like she "accidentally" flashed the knife in her hands when they first met. Meanwhile, at work, Zan has done a 180 and coldly asks Felicia to go change a lightbulb in the storage room. Felicia discovers that the room is flooded and that the water is going to cause everything to short circuit. Her boss comes in the room to turn on the lightbulb and gets shocked, while Felicia screams at everyone to leave the building. It starts to catch on fire, and Felicia drags her boss outside and runs in to save everyone with her amazing powers. She actually forces the flames AWAY from everyone. She thinks she is going to die in the building, but Nick pulls her out.
Zan is outraged, because she expected Felicia to die changing that lightbulb. Felicia is determined to leave town again, because she knows she'll be found out for using her powers to stop the fire. She resolves to visit Shadyside High one last time to collect her only picture of her father from her locker and then bounce. She runs into Nick, natch, and he kisses her and explains that Zan is a psycho bitch he should have broken up with a long time ago. Der. Her name is Zan. Not one to resist kitchen utensils, Zan immediately spots them in the hall and charges after Felicia with a knife. Felicia begins to do all these mind-bendy tricks like lifting Zan off the floor and bending the knife. Damn. I didn't think it was as easy to bend butcher knives with your mind as it is with spoons.
During their Shadyside High Showdown, Zan admits to sending her the threatening messages and intentionally killing Doug by impaling him on the spikes of the gate around her house.
Felicia runs "home" to feed Miss Quiz and collect her things. Since Felicia is a telekinetic, she also appears to be a magnet for the crazy bitches of Fear Street. Just when we think all this might be over, Debbie, Felicia's former best friend, pops up and starts talking sideways. She claims that she was never jealous of Felicia, and that she's always had a much stronger power. She merely needed Felicia to assist her in murder. Debbie had been in love with Andy, but he was dating Kristy. So Debbie needed to kill Andy, and Felicia was the perfect scapegoat. Debbie chuckles when Felicia thinks that she could have brought down that beach house all on her own.
So, I finished this book last night, and I've already forgotten how she shakes off Zan and Debbie. All I know is that one minute she's confronted and the next minute she's in the car again with Nick, heading back to Ridgely, where her Aunt Margaret has promised to keep her away from the probing doctors. She rests her head on Nick's shoulder the whole way home.
I sincerely hope Felicia has learned her lesson about hitchhiking....
and that Miss Quiz lives to be 200.
Moral of the Story: Stephen King's Carrie is not the only person with telekinesis.
Body Count: Three - Andy & Kristy, Doug Gaynor
Usual Suspects: Felicia and Zan
Actual Suspects: Zan and Debbie, Felicia's so-called best friend
Glaring Plot Holes: One. How would Zan have ever gotten a hold of Felicia's driver's license?
Plot: So Felicia is a Runaway from Ridgely College, because she has telekinesis and the doctors are forcing her to use her power. Her best friend, Debbie, also attends Ridgely, but has no power and is extremely jealous of Felicia. One day she dares her to knock down an old beach house with your mind. Felicia is sick of Debbie's jealousy, so she agrees, not realizing anybody is inside. But it turns out there are two people inside - Andy and Kristy, Felicia's friends from Ridgely. Felicia can't believe that her power has caused her to kill two people, even on accident. Debbie suggests to her that she should flee Ridgely, and Felicia runs away the next day.
On her great hitchhiking journey northeast (I really don't know where the fuck Shadyside is located... it seems northeast to me), Felicia is cold and wet (it's raining, perv), and is offered a ride by the following "human": His name is Lloyd (an abuse of the great Christopher's last name, if you ask me), and he is big and burly, with tattoos, crooked teeth, red hair, and a pointed red goatee. Since Felicia has telekinesis and not ESP, she thinks it is a great idea to hop in the car with this man. I'm confused. People still hitchhiked in 1997? I was only 10 years old, so I wouldn't know. While in the car Lloyd makes small talk and tells her that his nickname is Homicide. Rather than being immediately alarmed (she's not a normal person, after all), Felicia instead asks him why people would call him that. "You don't have to find out - yet," he replies. Felicia than notices he is packing a sharp metal object around his waist (I'm sure you can guess which one), and Felicia finally freaks out and uses her power to swerve his truck into a tree so she can escape.
She jumps out of his truck and immediately stops another car to help her, despite the fact that her most recent hitchhiking experience didn't exactly go as planned. But, would you know?, the guy who rescues our tragic telekinetic runaway is, in fact, a nice guy named Nick. After reading Killer's Kiss, I seriously doubted the validity of any nice guys in Shadyside (I ALMOST typed Sweet Valley just now), but Nick has proven me wrong. Felicia acts all sketchy and refuses to tell him about her past, and asks Nick to leave her at Shadyside's Dairi Burger equivalent. Inside, she is at a booth when she overhears two guys who have a job housesitting for Dr. Jones while he is away. They don't really want to do it, and Felicia can tell it will be a sweet gig. She spins a few yarns in order to persuade them to let HER do the housesitting gig... and give her 50 bucks of the money. They agree, and Felicia moves in immediately.
So RL Stine is a fucking boss for naming Dr. Jones's cat in this book Miss Quiz. That is so cute and makes me very happy. Of course a professor would name his cat Miss Quiz. Felicia decides she can make Shadyside her home for a while, and enrolls in Shadyside High the very next day. She is happy to find that the Great Nick is also in attendance, but when she tells him she is staying in a house on Fear Street, Nick does the smart thing and tries to bug her off it. But, being a runaway, Felicia doesn't really have any other options. Plus, SOMEONE has to pet sit Miss Quiz. Poor girl.
Through Nick, Felicia is able to get a job at the local burger joint by lying and saying she's done it before. In her defense, rocket science is not really required to flip a burger. Felicia finds out that Nick's girlfriend, Zan, works there as well. Her first encounter with Zan involves Zan flashing a knife at her. Oh, RL Stine. Stop making me believe you are going to kill off the main character this early in the book.
It's not long before Felicia finds threatening messages everywhere... someone knows her past and is determined to expose her. She finds a message in her locker and then written with red paint all over the walls of Dr. Jones's den.
Zan invites Felicia over for a sleepover, and she obliges because of Nick. She's obviously never heard that expression that you should keep your friends close and your enemies closer. While at Zan's house (watching The Birds!!) Felicia discovers a yearbook picture of Zan and a pervious boyfriend covered in blood. Ruh roh. Things are getting Slim Shady in Shadyside.
Upon discovering that the person in the picture with Zan is Doug Gaynor, Felicia remembers that there is a memorial bench for him in the halls. Now she's more curious than ever to know how he died.
Nick tells her that Zan killed Doug, but that it was an accident. I'm sure. Just like she "accidentally" flashed the knife in her hands when they first met. Meanwhile, at work, Zan has done a 180 and coldly asks Felicia to go change a lightbulb in the storage room. Felicia discovers that the room is flooded and that the water is going to cause everything to short circuit. Her boss comes in the room to turn on the lightbulb and gets shocked, while Felicia screams at everyone to leave the building. It starts to catch on fire, and Felicia drags her boss outside and runs in to save everyone with her amazing powers. She actually forces the flames AWAY from everyone. She thinks she is going to die in the building, but Nick pulls her out.
Zan is outraged, because she expected Felicia to die changing that lightbulb. Felicia is determined to leave town again, because she knows she'll be found out for using her powers to stop the fire. She resolves to visit Shadyside High one last time to collect her only picture of her father from her locker and then bounce. She runs into Nick, natch, and he kisses her and explains that Zan is a psycho bitch he should have broken up with a long time ago. Der. Her name is Zan. Not one to resist kitchen utensils, Zan immediately spots them in the hall and charges after Felicia with a knife. Felicia begins to do all these mind-bendy tricks like lifting Zan off the floor and bending the knife. Damn. I didn't think it was as easy to bend butcher knives with your mind as it is with spoons.
During their Shadyside High Showdown, Zan admits to sending her the threatening messages and intentionally killing Doug by impaling him on the spikes of the gate around her house.
Felicia runs "home" to feed Miss Quiz and collect her things. Since Felicia is a telekinetic, she also appears to be a magnet for the crazy bitches of Fear Street. Just when we think all this might be over, Debbie, Felicia's former best friend, pops up and starts talking sideways. She claims that she was never jealous of Felicia, and that she's always had a much stronger power. She merely needed Felicia to assist her in murder. Debbie had been in love with Andy, but he was dating Kristy. So Debbie needed to kill Andy, and Felicia was the perfect scapegoat. Debbie chuckles when Felicia thinks that she could have brought down that beach house all on her own.
So, I finished this book last night, and I've already forgotten how she shakes off Zan and Debbie. All I know is that one minute she's confronted and the next minute she's in the car again with Nick, heading back to Ridgely, where her Aunt Margaret has promised to keep her away from the probing doctors. She rests her head on Nick's shoulder the whole way home.
I sincerely hope Felicia has learned her lesson about hitchhiking....
and that Miss Quiz lives to be 200.
May 7, 2025
Was having a fun romp down memory lane with these, until this one. One of the worst I've read of Fear Street. More toward end of the series, so maybe that's why the quality dropped in so many ways. There were insane people all over the place killing at will it seemed and too many shock effects. A shame as the base story held potential be interesting and unique.
August 16, 2021
Easy nostalgic read, funny to think how much these books scared me when I was young.
November 17, 2022
I don't know why Stine struggles so much with the third act in Fear Street, when the third act in Goosebumps was always the strongest.
Every book is ruined by a girl on girl fight to the death (are there no female editors to stop this nonsense?), monologues that make a villain just look plain stupid, and of course it all ends happily for our cookie cutter lead and their 2 dimensional love interest.
This book was no exception.
The first two acts were actually done so well that I struggled to guess the antagonist (Although I knew it would be a jealous female - Stine has issues). I truly did enjoy the book until the reveals. Then it was just utter and complete cringe.
Why does this man ruin his own work like this?
There is no need for a deathly battle at the end of every book. And yet, he'll find a way to get them in there.
And frankly, I'm starting to wonder why the series is called Fear Street when every book is set in Shadyside and only mentions Fear Street in passing. He should have name it Fearside and made the whole town the focus.
I'm still waiting for something to actually happen on Fear Street itself.
Every book is ruined by a girl on girl fight to the death (are there no female editors to stop this nonsense?), monologues that make a villain just look plain stupid, and of course it all ends happily for our cookie cutter lead and their 2 dimensional love interest.
This book was no exception.
The first two acts were actually done so well that I struggled to guess the antagonist (Although I knew it would be a jealous female - Stine has issues). I truly did enjoy the book until the reveals. Then it was just utter and complete cringe.
Why does this man ruin his own work like this?
There is no need for a deathly battle at the end of every book. And yet, he'll find a way to get them in there.
And frankly, I'm starting to wonder why the series is called Fear Street when every book is set in Shadyside and only mentions Fear Street in passing. He should have name it Fearside and made the whole town the focus.
I'm still waiting for something to actually happen on Fear Street itself.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 11, 2023
Very fast pacing style. The topic reminds me very much of Stranger Things and Eleven, having to undergo tests at the lab. Despite that it was a bit strange that the civilians didn’t care about these scary abilities and weren’t afraid of Felicia.
April 29, 2021
This book is a wild ride. Telekinesis times 2, murders...sooo many murders, cheating, backstabbing, psycho teenage girls...
I hate Nick. His character is trash. Felicia seems to be the center of a ton of drama no matter where she goes, and has absolutely no problem moving in on another girl’s boyfriend so it’s no surprise drama surrounds her. I’m confused as to how she managed to just walk into a school and start there with the lie that her “transcripts are being sent”. She ends up at this school for quite some time with no transcripts and no one starts to get suspicious. Everyone just seems to accept every lie she feeds them without questioning any of it. There really was not one single likable character in this story. Two stars for how crazy it is, though.
I hate Nick. His character is trash. Felicia seems to be the center of a ton of drama no matter where she goes, and has absolutely no problem moving in on another girl’s boyfriend so it’s no surprise drama surrounds her. I’m confused as to how she managed to just walk into a school and start there with the lie that her “transcripts are being sent”. She ends up at this school for quite some time with no transcripts and no one starts to get suspicious. Everyone just seems to accept every lie she feeds them without questioning any of it. There really was not one single likable character in this story. Two stars for how crazy it is, though.
February 11, 2023
Read 2023: ⭐️
Girl runs away after committing a huge crime. Girl decides the best place to hide is by enrolling in the local high school (with no papers or fees being paid??) and to get a job at the most popular fast food restaurant.
This plot was so messy, the characters made decisions that were absolutely bizarre, and the ending was so anticlimactic. Definitely my least favourite book in this series so far.
Brady in The Perfect Date and Felicia from this novel should hook up cause they’re both as stupid as each other.
Girl runs away after committing a huge crime. Girl decides the best place to hide is by enrolling in the local high school (with no papers or fees being paid??) and to get a job at the most popular fast food restaurant.
This plot was so messy, the characters made decisions that were absolutely bizarre, and the ending was so anticlimactic. Definitely my least favourite book in this series so far.
Brady in The Perfect Date and Felicia from this novel should hook up cause they’re both as stupid as each other.
August 17, 2021
this was so weird
July 15, 2025
Probaly a 3.5 if I’m being honest. I liked most of the book. Telekinesis in a fear street book was kinda cool. And Felicia as a main character was pretty likable. We start the book as shes coining into Shadyside running away from her past, which we slowly find out more about as the book goes along. While there is some drama the whole running from her past was interesting although I knew it was going to have a twist. And although I guessed it pretty easily I thought it was pretty good. Most of the other characters are pretty one note and why do all the guys in Shadyside cheat on their girlfriends? Lastly I will say more action paced of a book than horror. I want to at least be thrilled if not full on scared.
April 3, 2023
What a mess.
October 6, 2024
Ill-conceived nonsense from RL Stine. The most horrifying thing here is how much he hates women and girls.
July 1, 2025
reads like a Strangers Thing novel instead of a Fear Street one. the gory descriptions in detail also make me think Bob didn't write this one. was a fun twisty tale with a bunch of unlikable teens.
May 29, 2018
This entry to the Fear Street series felt surprisingly fresh. Felicia can move things with her mind. After an unfortunate accident at a testing facility, she runs away to Shadyside. She's met with a lot of trouble from the getgo. However she meets some friends and gets a job and somehow cons someone into letting her stay at an empty house...she's just got to keep her secret from getting out despite getting closer to a certain adorable fry cook. Then the threats start appearing...and the truth has to be revealed.
It was really a well thought out story. The twists kept coming and once I thought I had it figured out there was an extra surprise thrown in. This one was definitely better than the last few.
It was really a well thought out story. The twists kept coming and once I thought I had it figured out there was an extra surprise thrown in. This one was definitely better than the last few.
July 9, 2024
Rounded up to 5 stars from 4.5 for GR.
It teeters on that border...can't really explain why.
Felicia Fletcher is a runaway who finds her way to good old Shadyside. She use to live in a town called Ridgely and it was just her living with her aunt since her dad died almost a decade ago. Felicia's mother died in childbirth and she was constantly fighting with her father's sister Margaret but not over normal teenage stuff like boyfriends or grades.
Like her dad, Felicia was born with telekinesis. The power to move objects with the mind and her aunt thought participating in a study at the college could help Felicia control her powers because apparently...Felicia's father couldn't and that is how he died.
They perform tests on Felicia by having her perform tasks like a rat in a maze and she doesn't have much love for the main doctor in charge, Dr. Shanks. His pressure on her to perform has Felicia fantasizing about using her powers to literally shank him in the eye with a pencil but she doesn't...because she isn't a killer.
Nearly getting a pencil to the face actually makes Dr. Shanks ecstatic about Felicia's powers so what do you think he would do if Felicia actually killed someone with her powers?
It is just one of many reasons why Felicia is running away...bits and pieces we learn as the story progresses.
In the pouring rain, Felicia has no choice but to hitch a ride and the first guy who picks her up is a guy who goes by the name of "Homicide". He doesn't take to Felicia disrespecting his hospitality and tries to pull a knife on her but Felicia uses her powers to crash the car.
She escapes out the window while the guy is out cold and Felicia has no choice but to signal for help from anyone else driving by. The next person to pick her up is a boy around her own age named Nick who saves Felicia just in the "nick" of time as they speed off before Homicide can live up to his name.
Felicia tries to brush off any of Nick's questions about her situation but she can't help but think how nice he is and how cute he is despite her outer animosity. It cools a little on the ride and when she asks Nick to drop her off, Felicia tells him warmly thank you for the help and gives him a quick kiss on the lips.
Nick is stunned by the gesture and Felicia telling him he should just forget about her. Felicia goes into The Donut Hole to freshen up in the bathroom from her soaked clothing and to spend the little bit of money she has on some food. Trying to remain inconspicuous, Felicia can't help but hear two college age boys talking about how one of them made plans to watch a professor's house for a month.
His buddy urges him to find someone else to do the task of watering plants and feeding a cat for at least two weeks of his month long job so they can go out of town. Felicia is smart and jumps in on the conversation, claiming that the professor is a friend of her father's and she can take over the job for him if he wants.
Reluctantly, the guy caves to his friend's pressure and gives Felicia the keys to the place on Fear Street. All Felicia asks is half of the $100 dollars the guy was given as payment and he begrudgingly agrees not realizing he gave so much detail to make Felicia's story as plausible as possible.
Felicia is shown to be capable so as far as a protagonist, she isn't whiny or bitchy just in the worst possible situation. She is also kind of snarky...I like her. It seems as if things are going to work out for Felicia here in Shadyside as she even enrolls in the high school...such trusting people in this little town.
Felicia runs into Nick at the end of her first day and walks with him as he heads to his job working at the Burger Basket, polite conversation between them even though Felicia keeps from getting too personal. She asks Nick's boss, Barry, if he has any jobs open so she can save up money because crashing at the professor's home is only temporary but Felicia plans to find a place to stay cozy here...for now.
It may have something to do with Nick but Felicia soon learns that Nick seems to have a girlfriend whom he works with at the Burger Basket. Her name is Zan, a nickname for her real name of Alexandria, and she makes it known to Felicia that Nick is her boyfriend. The point crystal clear as she happens to be holding a knife in her hand and has it at Felicia's chest yet Zan claims it was just a joke...the knife is for slicing lettuce.
Felicia almost freaks out with her powers but controls them to get the french fry oil bubbling, a stack of trays to fall and the lights to flicker instead of hurting anyone. No one bats an eye...it is just a burger dive in a town with strange phenomena.
All seems well until Felicia starts getting the notes in her locker, a picture of her driver's license with her real name blown up and her face burned out. The message written on the wall of the professor's den in blood-red paint until Felicia stays up all night scrubbing it away:
RUNAWAY! GET OUT NOW! I KNOW EVERYTHING...
For anyone who has not read Runaway, I won't go much more into the plot. There are some swerves and twists and reveals that would make this a great movie or episode if they had a Fear Street series that lead up to a great climax yet it is driven by motives that one can pick up on easily in one of these books.
The ending is also a little half full and a little half empty too. You don't really get what you want but I guess it is just satisfactory enough...
That said, Runaway is a positive entry in the series that I can recommend you read.
It teeters on that border...can't really explain why.
Felicia Fletcher is a runaway who finds her way to good old Shadyside. She use to live in a town called Ridgely and it was just her living with her aunt since her dad died almost a decade ago. Felicia's mother died in childbirth and she was constantly fighting with her father's sister Margaret but not over normal teenage stuff like boyfriends or grades.
Like her dad, Felicia was born with telekinesis. The power to move objects with the mind and her aunt thought participating in a study at the college could help Felicia control her powers because apparently...Felicia's father couldn't and that is how he died.
They perform tests on Felicia by having her perform tasks like a rat in a maze and she doesn't have much love for the main doctor in charge, Dr. Shanks. His pressure on her to perform has Felicia fantasizing about using her powers to literally shank him in the eye with a pencil but she doesn't...because she isn't a killer.
Nearly getting a pencil to the face actually makes Dr. Shanks ecstatic about Felicia's powers so what do you think he would do if Felicia actually killed someone with her powers?
It is just one of many reasons why Felicia is running away...bits and pieces we learn as the story progresses.
In the pouring rain, Felicia has no choice but to hitch a ride and the first guy who picks her up is a guy who goes by the name of "Homicide". He doesn't take to Felicia disrespecting his hospitality and tries to pull a knife on her but Felicia uses her powers to crash the car.
She escapes out the window while the guy is out cold and Felicia has no choice but to signal for help from anyone else driving by. The next person to pick her up is a boy around her own age named Nick who saves Felicia just in the "nick" of time as they speed off before Homicide can live up to his name.
Felicia tries to brush off any of Nick's questions about her situation but she can't help but think how nice he is and how cute he is despite her outer animosity. It cools a little on the ride and when she asks Nick to drop her off, Felicia tells him warmly thank you for the help and gives him a quick kiss on the lips.
Nick is stunned by the gesture and Felicia telling him he should just forget about her. Felicia goes into The Donut Hole to freshen up in the bathroom from her soaked clothing and to spend the little bit of money she has on some food. Trying to remain inconspicuous, Felicia can't help but hear two college age boys talking about how one of them made plans to watch a professor's house for a month.
His buddy urges him to find someone else to do the task of watering plants and feeding a cat for at least two weeks of his month long job so they can go out of town. Felicia is smart and jumps in on the conversation, claiming that the professor is a friend of her father's and she can take over the job for him if he wants.
Reluctantly, the guy caves to his friend's pressure and gives Felicia the keys to the place on Fear Street. All Felicia asks is half of the $100 dollars the guy was given as payment and he begrudgingly agrees not realizing he gave so much detail to make Felicia's story as plausible as possible.
Felicia is shown to be capable so as far as a protagonist, she isn't whiny or bitchy just in the worst possible situation. She is also kind of snarky...I like her. It seems as if things are going to work out for Felicia here in Shadyside as she even enrolls in the high school...such trusting people in this little town.
Felicia runs into Nick at the end of her first day and walks with him as he heads to his job working at the Burger Basket, polite conversation between them even though Felicia keeps from getting too personal. She asks Nick's boss, Barry, if he has any jobs open so she can save up money because crashing at the professor's home is only temporary but Felicia plans to find a place to stay cozy here...for now.
It may have something to do with Nick but Felicia soon learns that Nick seems to have a girlfriend whom he works with at the Burger Basket. Her name is Zan, a nickname for her real name of Alexandria, and she makes it known to Felicia that Nick is her boyfriend. The point crystal clear as she happens to be holding a knife in her hand and has it at Felicia's chest yet Zan claims it was just a joke...the knife is for slicing lettuce.
Felicia almost freaks out with her powers but controls them to get the french fry oil bubbling, a stack of trays to fall and the lights to flicker instead of hurting anyone. No one bats an eye...it is just a burger dive in a town with strange phenomena.
All seems well until Felicia starts getting the notes in her locker, a picture of her driver's license with her real name blown up and her face burned out. The message written on the wall of the professor's den in blood-red paint until Felicia stays up all night scrubbing it away:
RUNAWAY! GET OUT NOW! I KNOW EVERYTHING...
For anyone who has not read Runaway, I won't go much more into the plot. There are some swerves and twists and reveals that would make this a great movie or episode if they had a Fear Street series that lead up to a great climax yet it is driven by motives that one can pick up on easily in one of these books.
The ending is also a little half full and a little half empty too. You don't really get what you want but I guess it is just satisfactory enough...
That said, Runaway is a positive entry in the series that I can recommend you read.
August 14, 2021
When i was younger i was OBSESSED with R.L.Stine but as i Grow older i realize how mediocre(at best ) He is. The writing in this Book is just plainly bad. Ending is always Way too predictable and it’s always either the best friend or the boyfriend. And why is the protagonist in Like 90%of his book female ? With all that Being Said i still occasionaly enjoy reading his book but only Because of nostalgia.
March 11, 2020
This book is very different from other Fear Street books and I think that's why I liked it so much. For starters, the book has a very heavy paranormal aspect to it that you don't see in the other books. The villain "twist" towards the end is cool and I actually liked the characters this time too.
September 10, 2021
This book is targeted to teens and you can definitely feel it as you watch every single character make absolutely bizarre and irrational decisions. The amount of homicidal girls and instalove was a little too much for me.
January 27, 2022
This was a fun YA read. Rather simplistic in style, and the insta-love which is so prevalent in Stine's work is as disturbing and nauseating as ever, but I'm hardly the demographic this is aimed for.
A fun, quick read.
A fun, quick read.
August 12, 2023
2.5 stars
A fun and quick read - unlikeable main characters, predictable outcome and bad character names
I am enjoying the series as they are reminiscent of the goosebump series but the story is mediocre and stranger things definitely stole the plot
A fun and quick read - unlikeable main characters, predictable outcome and bad character names
I am enjoying the series as they are reminiscent of the goosebump series but the story is mediocre and stranger things definitely stole the plot
November 25, 2019
A better protagonist than the usual vapid bimbos he sometimes writes. Several twists, some expected, some not and some great 80's YA action scenes.
July 21, 2022
i actually hurt my eyes with how hard i rolled them
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