True Evil: The First Evil; The Second Evil; The Third Evil

Fear Street Cheerleaders #1-3

by R.L. Stine

Two sisters try out for the cheerleading squad only get drawn into a paranormal, murderous legacy in this harrowing teen horror trilogy from Goosebumps author R.L. Stine—now together in a collectible bind-up!

Give me a D-I-E!

Corky and Bobbi Corcoran want nothing more than to make the cheerleading squad at Shadyside High. But as soon as the sisters are named to the team, terrible things start happening to the cheerleaders. First, there’s a mysterious accident near the Fear Street cemetery. Soon after, piercing screams echo through empty school halls. And things only get more disturbing from there.

Can Corky and Bobbi find out what’s going on before the entire squad is slain? Nothing is ever truly laid to rest on Fear Street, and the girls may lose more than they bargained for in their fight to survive.

This chilling paperback bind-up
The First Evil
The Second Evil
The Third Evil

Genres: Horror, Young Adult, Thriller

592 pages, Paperback

Published April 4, 2023

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

[Stay Fetters · Rating 4 out of 5]

"What a pleasing sight that was. And what a pleasant sound. That crack. That crunch. The sound of her face hitting the floor, her teeth breaking."

Ah, R.L. Stine, the master of all things horror and campy. He brings us back to Fear Street where the streets are dark and mysterious and the cheers are to die for. Gimme a K-I-L-L!!

I remember reading this series when I was younger. The 90s were a wild time for young adult horror and I couldn't devour these reads fast enough. They made the hair on my arms stand up and my spine tingle. I mean, it could have been the books or it could have been all the crystal Pepsi I sucked down... Nah, it was the books for sure.

This series is a lot of fun and really dark. The second book will always be my favorite because that was the more twisted book of the three. I still love these even as an adult and will always suggest them to everyone. They never let you down but will make you think twice about stopping in a cemetery to see why some strange woman is dancing on a grave.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Listen.

Is this terribly written?

Yes.

Do I care?

No.

It was fun. Some of the parts were genuinely disturbing and gross. I questioned whether I should be reading with my kid at bedtime (she’s 12). It wasn’t anything that prevented her from sleeping but we were both gagging. lol.

Will keep reading and enjoying Stine. Loving the updates to the fear street covers. I hope they keep doing them.

[Casey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love a good R. L. Stine. His stories never get old and I am always excited to read something new! I rate, "True Evil" 4.5 stars.

[p a r a d i s · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish that this set included the fourth and the fifth books, especially considering how difficult it is to find the last one... But, besides that, I really enjoyed this collection. I'm a huge horror fan and have grown up with Goosebumps and the like, so any R.L. Stine is a win for me. The first book was a little slow, but I understand having to set up lore, the story picked up a lot in the second and third books. Overall, a nice quick read. Definitely targeted more at teens, but as a young adult I got a kick out of reading these. Great for nostalgia purposes as well. Would recommend to any Goosebumps/horror/YA fans. I happen to be all three!

[Surprise · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was a three in one, it took me so long to get through. I think the writing style does not keep me engaged anymore.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a blast from the past. I grew up on Goosebumps and from there I jumped to a few Point Horror books and then straight to Stephen King , Robert McCammon etc etc. I kind of missed the whole Fear St phase but I am familiar with the YA horror landscape from the mid 90s.

This was so much fun. This included the Original Fear St Cheerleader saga, The First Evil, The Second Evil and The Third Evil.

Fast paced YA novels, surprising amounts of killings, some gore, lots of Supernatural things going on including possession of two characters in two separate books and some background on Sarah Fear and her death in Fear St Lake.

I always liked the idea of Fear St being a cursed St in a cursed town, Shadyshide. It reminded me of Elm St and Springwood where the town cant escape its past and the teens are dealing with it ( obviously Nightmare on Elm St has a different audience).

I will be trying to find more Reprinted versions on this classic series...or maybe Diane Hoh's Nightmare Hall series.....or maybe Point Horror collections....any of the above to keep this nostalgia train going.

[Olive · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed these books! I think that of all of them the second one is the one that left me feeling the most spooked. It was an easy read and a pretty enjoyable time. In the 3rd book, it was pretty cool to get perspective from the Evil, but the last book also felt like it was the most fluffed up. The hallucinations and dream sequences in the last book were pretty creepy though! Overall, just a quick fun read.

[Marcela Gonzalez · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was really good but gave the vibes of Goosebumps with a strong hint of fear. I'm giving it 3/5 stars because it felt like a never ending drag. The evil spirit is mentioned so much and yet no backstory was given to it. How did it come to? Why did it choose whom it chose? And is Sarah Fear different than Sara Fier? All in all, it was a good read.

[Miko Huang · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was nostalgic to read a RL Stine book again! I love his novels when I was a young teenager, they brought so much excitement in my life as look forward to reading his next book. I must say that I have outgrown them and they are not as thrilling as before but definitely a good one for young adults.

[Martin Meek · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is a bind up of the first three cheerleader books. My favorite series by R.L Stine. This whole series is a four star even the new addition that happens later they feel like a well blinded series R.L Stine doesn't skip a beat. The cheerleader series is one to cherish as the opening to a good young adult scary series.

[Leanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember reading this trilogy as a wee 5th grader and being utterly spooked. Needless to say, as soon as I came across this omnibus I immediately snatched it up for a reread and was just as spooked as a now 28-year old as I was back then as a kid!

[Ivory · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book took me through a whirlwind of emotions. Although it’s not my favorite Fear Street Series, it was amazingly written and I felt connected to all the characters. The ending was not what I expected but i’m okay with it.

[Cammy Back? who knows · Rating 5 out of 5]

Old read im just adding a review because I'm bored

Spoilers ahead

Kimmy was such a complex character she was nice ish towards the end but was honestly a horrible person in the beginning. Also why did Chip ask out bobbi then after she died HE WENT OUT WITH HER SISTER!?

[RalleyRagnarok · Rating 3 out of 5]

Creepy teen horror book. It is a good dose of don't judge a book by its cover and the importance of friends when fighting ancient evil.

[Paige Kuepker · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️

[Gabby Saraceno · Rating 4 out of 5]

All three of these were so good! The cheerleaders series have always been some of my favorite Fear Street books

[RoRo · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Quinn Lashua · Rating 3 out of 5]

like goosebumps but a little more

[Kinsey Doerr]

Haleigh why did you make me read this book at the ripe old age of 29?

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

THE FIRST EVIL - 🌕🌕🌕🌑🌑
THE SECOND EVIL - 🌕🌕🌑🌑🌑
THE THIRD EVIL - 🌕🌕🌕🌗🌑

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

Full review here:

https://jamesgenrebooks.blogspot.com/...

Honestly, I enjoyed it for what it was, but it really missed a lot of opportunities.

[Ella Rose · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ultimately lowered to 2 ⭐️’s—of all the absurdity in this anthology, resuscitating someone from drowing by placing them face down take’s the cake.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

True Evil is a collection of three Fear Street novellas. These novellas focus on the Cheerleaders spin-off within the Fear Street series; unfortunately, the last two books from the Cheerleaders spin-off did not get included in this collection; I'll have to source The New Evil and The Evil Lives! from somewhere.

True Evil proves why R.L. Stine is a favourite within the children and YA horror genre. True Evil was full of fear, blood, and gruesome murders.

The First Evil
⭐⭐⭐.25

The First Evil took its time to get going; the story didn't pick up until near the end of this novella. However, there were some tense moments throughout the book, and the twist at the end was spectacular. Unfortunately, the showdown between Corky and the evil spirit was a bit anti-climatic; it would have made more sense if Kimmy, Debra and Ronnie had more of a role within this first showdown.

Nonetheless, The First Evil was a dark and mysterious read that sets up the rest of this series perfectly.

The Second Evil
⭐⭐⭐.75

The Second Evil went straight into the action; and showed us that R.L. Stine is not afraid to kill off his characters. The showdown between Corky and the evil spirit was intense and had quite a twist; the cliffhanger at the end was shocking and marvellous. However, many questions were left unanswered. And it felt like Ronnie missed out on most of this novella.

This novella, The Second Evil, was a gruesome, tense and mysterious read, filled with lots of blood!

The Third Evil
⭐⭐⭐.5

Part one of The Third Evil was a drag; however, it picked up in part two. Part one felt like the characters had a personality change; some continued to have a personality change in parts two and three. And there was a lot of whiney monologue in part one. However, part two saw the POV from the evil spirit and a bit more background on the mysterious death of Sarah Fear. Part three had the most intense showdown between Corky and the evil spirit out of the three novellas. It was a shame how much Ronnie and Debra missed out on this novella.

The Third Evil was an emotional, dark and tense read; however, the ending didn't feel closed.

Question, considering the original publication of these novellas was in 1992, and it is clear that it was the '90s in these novellas, why did one of the dorm rooms have a poster of Harry Styles? The publishers and editor of the re-release shouldn't have changed this detail - they should have stuck with whatever Stine originally wrote or replaced the name with a more popular celeb from the 90s.

[PedroSDorian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spoiler Warning!

This edition is a compilation of three books, and together they make up the best Fear Street story I’ve read so far! It was so refreshing to finally have a Fear Street arc that stretches beyond a single book. The longer format gave the plot more depth, allowed for real character development, and delivered a story that felt more complete. Oh, and there were a lot more kills too! For fans of the Netflix movies, yes — they drew inspiration from this trilogy, so it’s fun to spot the similarities.

That said, I do have a few complaints. The characters seemed to change a little too drastically from The First Evil to The Second Evil. For example, all the girls in the cheerleader squad suddenly became friendly with Corky, even though they’d hated the Corcoran sisters before. It didn’t feel entirely believable. I couldn’t help but wonder: if Corky had been made captain instead of Kimmy, would Kimmy really have stayed her friend? I doubt it.

I also found the beginning of The Third Evil frustrating, since Corky and the other girls treated the new girl, Hannah, the same way they themselves had been treated when they first joined the squad. Granted, Hannah was insufferably full of herself, acting like the queen of everything, but still, the hypocrisy was hard to ignore.

Another issue for me was Sarah Fear’s backstory. I wanted more of it! And there were inconsistencies too. When Sarah Fear drowned herself to defeat the evil spirit, the spirit lingered in her body, waiting to possess someone else. But when Corky did the same thing, the spirit disappeared for good. Why? Did I miss something, or was that just a plot hole? Similarly, in The First Evil, the spirit presented itself as Sarah Fear, but later it was revealed to be an ancient evil instead. Was that a deliberate lie from the spirit, or did Stine change the idea as he went along?

Even with those flaws, I still think this is one of the strongest Fear Street experiences out there. I’d even say it’s the perfect starting point for new readers. I honestly wish I had begun with this one. And if you’ve read a few Fear Street books but haven’t quite clicked with the series yet, definitely give this trilogy a try.