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Maria was nervous about going camping from the beginning, but her two best friends manage to persuade her it will be fun. However, it soon turns out that Maria had been right to worry, and the girls' lives are in great danger.

157 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1998

6 people are currently reading
875 people want to read

About the author

R.L. Stine

1,680 books18.7k followers
Robert Lawrence Stine known as R. L. Stine and Jovial Bob Stine, is an American novelist and writer, well known for targeting younger audiences. Stine, who is often called the Stephen King of children's literature, is the author of dozens of popular horror fiction novellas, including the books in the Goosebumps, Rotten School, Mostly Ghostly, The Nightmare Room and Fear Street series.

R. L. Stine began his writing career when he was nine years old, and today he has achieved the position of the bestselling children's author in history. In the early 1990s, Stine was catapulted to fame when he wrote the unprecedented, bestselling Goosebumps® series, which sold more than 250 million copies and became a worldwide multimedia phenomenon. His other major series, Fear Street, has over 80 million copies sold.

Stine has received numerous awards of recognition, including several Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards and Disney Adventures Kids' Choice Awards, and he has been selected by kids as one of their favorite authors in the NEA's Read Across America program. He lives in New York, NY.

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5 stars
105 (29%)
4 stars
85 (24%)
3 stars
121 (34%)
2 stars
35 (9%)
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7 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
Profile Image for Christine.
417 reviews62 followers
September 21, 2021
Maria, Beth and Ellen are going on a girls-only camping trip for the weekend. While hiking, they run into three cute boys on the trail, and decide to hike the rest of the way with them. However, It's not easy going; the weather is awful and they start to have mysterious accidents - like nearly falling off a cliff, to a badly sprained wrist, to losing their raft in the rapids.
Is there more to these boys than there seems? After all, one guy seems to have a terrible temper, and there's obvious tension between the three of them.
Profile Image for Austin Smith.
722 reviews66 followers
September 29, 2023
2.75⭐ rounded up to 3⭐

This was a Fear Street that started out good and had a lot of promise, at least for me, as someone who's a fan of wilderness/survival type stories.

Three teen girls decide to go on a camping trip out in the forest as a girls only getaway, but when they just so happen to encounter three good-looking college guys, they become smitten and decide to do some hiking together.
A series of strange and dangerous incidents occur whilst on their camping trip, giving us a sense of foreboding - and misfortune for our main character as she endures a few mishaps and minor injuries.

After the girls set up camp for the night with the guys they just met, they awaken the next morning to inadvertently discover the dead body of one of them. From there, things quickly escalate and their situation turns into a fight for survival against both mother nature and the villains who may or may not be involved in the death of the guy.

This is one I was kind of excited for and really enjoying the first half of. Again, I tend to like stories in this kind of setting and this one was no exception. It doesn't waste a lot of time in setting up characters or backstory or dishing out fakeout scares and cliffhangers. It jumps right into the action and moves along smoothly from there, which I really appreciated about it.
After the girls discover the body, things take a bit of a different direction than I expected, and while what we got in terms of this shift in the story was filled with moments of tension and suspense, which might arguably be the book's strong-points, it left some gaps in logic and decision making by the characters that I had a hard time ignoring...

...which brings me to the negatives that really held this back for me; from turning this potentially 4⭐ book into a 3⭐ one. There were some opportunities our main characters could have made that would have gotten them out of their crisis a little more easily; there were some decisions the villians made that seemed unlikely, but there simply to drive the plot; and there were some contrivances leading up to the discovery of the body - not to mention the entire setup of which felt like it needed just a bit more context to be convincing.
Another thing that kind of bugged me were the secondary characters, Beth and Ellen, who seem to take a backseat in the story in the second half and say and do virtually nothing to help out or even attempt to resolve their situation.

I could see someone enjoying this more if you are willing to suspend your disbelief to some degree and not be annoyed by idiotic or unbelievable characters (these types of books sometimes require that anyway), but in this particular story I had a hard time looking past some of these issues and logical gaps, and I feel the pros and cons of this weigh up pretty evenly, so I settled on a flat 3/5⭐.
But I still enjoyed it, it had some decent action in it, some moments of intensity we don't see in these, and of course a lush wilderness setting that always makes me happy to see/read about it.
Profile Image for Courtney Gruenholz.
Author 13 books24 followers
March 29, 2022
Well New Fear Street started off with a bang...but this entry fizzled.

It isn't the most awful thing I have ever read it is just...I don't really know the words...boring in that it is predictable I guess?

Three girls: Maria and her best friends, Ellen and Beth, are planning to go camping and rock climbing. They are all athletic be it in basketball or swimming but Maria is a little edgy about things. I'd say overly cautious and slightly paranoid but I can relate...I'm not a fan of the outdoors either.

Maria just broke up with her boyfriend so maybe her nerves are shot from being upset but the quarterback stopping in the sporting good store and teasing he's going to chop you up with an axe doesn't help. I don't think there are any normal teens in Shadyside...they ARE either psychopaths or suffering PTSD.

The girls go to the trail in the woods they plan on taking and getting last minute food, they meet three guys named Daniel, his brother Andrew and their friend Will. They are going camping too but they have beer and Maria persuades the two other girls to not join up with them even though Beth likes Daniel and Maria is clearly crushing on Will.

What do you know?...they end up grouping together, a shock I say! Soon though it's pretty clear that Daniel is a jerk and that he and Will don't get along. Maria ends up spraining her wrist so they take shelter camping near a ledge to protect them from the rain. Thinking noises she hears in the night are the guys trying to scare the girls, Maria pays no mind.

Waking up the next morning, Daniel and Andrew are packing up...but Will is missing.

I don't think I need to really go in to the plot any further you can easily tell where it goes from there. There was an almost good twist but you can figure it out way early in the book from a line of dialogue. I did think the ending was funny in a black comedy kind of way though...

As always I can't tell you what to read but if you get a chance to find a copy of Camp Out, you are more than welcome to read it and form your own opinion.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Armand.
184 reviews31 followers
May 15, 2020
This is one of those Stine books where our poor lead never seems to get a break. Her car was almost ran down a mountain road, she was almost shot at, her boat capsized, she slipped down a muddy slope, etc. And that was just at the first third of the book. She's a whiny lil thing at the start, but after every accident our dear author piled her way she definitely had every right to complain.

All of that pales in comparison to what's going to happen to her and her posse at the camp. What was that they said about strangers?

This is a much darker book than Stine's usual fare, with twists and turns that rivals a sadistic camping trail. I like how it isn't dumbed down at all. Usually, the sign of a good thriller is if you're still fully rooting for the lead until the finale. She may have been annoying at first, but I was firmly in Maria's camp in the end.

I'm rating this 7/10 or 3 stars out of 5.
Profile Image for Brandon.
313 reviews13 followers
June 23, 2024
Camp Out is a book from the New Fear Street line.I've never read a single one until now.People were telling me this one was really good from the start.Camp books from Stine in general are perfect fot summer.I was also blessed to be buddy reading this as a surprise from a good friend so that made this reading experience even better.The story starts off with our three main protagonists at this sporting good store getting ready for their hike up this mountain as a all girls trip with no guys.Our three protagonists are Ellen, Beth and  certified greatest character in Fear Street Maria.Maria just broke up with her boyfriend and she's a little nervous about going to this trip.Shes terrified of hiking and all this stuff.As there going .They run into a guy from school named Brett, who everyone says is basically crazy.He asks them where are they going all stalkery while holding an ice axe menacingly.He claims he is going camping too and Maria is freaked.As they are heading for the mountians a bunch of things happen.They first almost get ran off the road by Brett and then get shot at by two hunters , who claim it was an accident. They also run into three guys named Will , Andrew and Daniel at a last minute store run,who want to join the girls.Maria wants none of this but Beth and Ellen talk her into letting them join them.But all of this is looked over because it was an accident.After this we get more accidents like getting flipped in the water and losing their boat.Matia takes a huge fall and hurts her wrist and Daniel starts being a jerk telling Maria to basically tighten up.Will kinda stands up for Maria and we learn that Will got randomly invited to this trip from Andrew, who he barley knows and his brother who he's never met until today.That night Maria thinks she hears a noise and the next day Will is missing.That's where I'ma leave this book off, because I don't want to spoil anything.Camp Out was a very strong Fear Street book.It had a great setting a really fun mystery and very scary antigonists that you wanted to see something bad happen to,not to mention one of the best protagonist in the series so far.Maria fought super hard in this book.She kicked a guy in the face punched the same one in the face and even hit a guy with an axe.The only complaints I had for this book was we didn't really learn much about the villains or why they were doing this.And I wanted more bad stuff to happen to a certain character.I give Camp Out a four out of five stars.
Profile Image for Pedro Plasencia Martínez.
223 reviews18 followers
November 20, 2024
Otro número más de La Calle del Terror que me deja satisfecho y eso que este es ya de los últimos de la colección original publicada en España, pero la calidad no decae. Esta historia es ligeramente más corta que el resto y por eso se nota un poco acelerada, aunque para mi gusto no le queda nada mal ese ritmo trepidante. La excursión de las tres amigas que nos presentan está llena de sobresaltos ya desde el principio.

Me ha sorprendido un poco que Stine metiera tantos peligros de golpe en los primeros capítulos. Si yo fuese la protagonista, os aseguro que me habría dado un ataque de corazón apenas empezada la aventura en el bosque. Como en los mejores títulos de Fear Street, aquí también hay psicópatas y alguna que otra sorpresa que no desvelaré. El libro funciona muy bien como thriller de supervivencia porque hay más angustia que terror, así que si os atraen los deportes extremos y las obras donde la naturaleza cobra especial importancia con sus montañas y sus cascadas, ponedlo ya en la lista de lecturas.

ENGLISH
Another issue of Fear Street that leaves me satisfied and this is already one of the last of the original collection published in Spain, but the quality does not decline. This story is slightly shorter than the rest and that's why it feels a little rushed, although for my taste the fast pace doesn't look bad at all. The excursion of the three friends that we are introduced to is full of surprises from the beginning.

I was a little surprised that Stine put so many dangers at once in the first chapters. If I were the protagonist, I assure you that I would have had a heart attack as soon as the adventure in the forest began. As in the best Fear Street titles, there are also psychopaths here and the odd surprise that I won't reveal. The book works very well as a survival thriller because there is more anguish than terror, so if you are attracted to extreme sports and works where nature takes on special importance with its mountains and waterfalls, put it on your reading list now.
Profile Image for Trent Donaho.
36 reviews1 follower
December 15, 2022
One of my favs but it had a LOT of spelling errors. Besides that, great story. It’s definitely unique for fear street
Profile Image for Erica Leigh.
695 reviews47 followers
July 17, 2024
Just another reason women choose the bear in the man vs. bear debate 💀🪓

Has some of those classic Stine “haha I pretended I was going to kill you!!” joke-y moments.

Survival skills are put to the test but it’s not the woods that are a threat.

No red herrings. No subtlety. The strange boys murder their friend and go after the girls right away.

Laughed at the part where Maria tries to get the raft guy’s attention by writing a HELPPP type of note on the receipt, and it goes ignored (until later, conveniently).

Bret may have helped save them but he’s still…troubled. Like, I’d still stay away from the guy who swung an ax at your face for FUN just to scare you.


This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Serena.
239 reviews
November 7, 2019
This book definitely took my expectations and flipped them completely. What I thought would be a Friday the 13th knockoff ended up being somewhat suspenseful. I definitely didn’t expect Will to get killed off, it was written in a way to make him seem like Maria’s new love interest after her breakup with her ex boyfriend and I was genuinely shocked he out of all of them ended up being the victim. And that’s saying something, I’m used to the twists in these books and I can usually figure out what happens. I’d recommend this book if you’re looking for a fun quick read!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Weathervane.
321 reviews7 followers
June 8, 2010
Cliche and basic. The cardboard never becomes character. And seriously, enough with the "he snarled." Before the guy was perfectly nice, and now he's a rabid wolf? The bad guys don't have believable motives, either.
Profile Image for Dianna M..
19 reviews
September 15, 2024
Camp Out is one of my top favorite books that I read this Summer! ( and even one of my top 5 of the year) It was a perfect book (addition) to be part of the four books in the New Fear Street book series. I loved how the story was mainly about how going camping can become a true living nightmare. It was such a perfect camp horror book! I myself went camping this Summer and it was fun to have brought this book along with me, it was perfect for the occasion! It kept me in lots of suspense and I will have to point out it made me more fearful of one of my biggest fears when going camping, to think there could be someone bad out there in the middle of nowhere that can potentially be very dangerous and it would be hard to escape from and even harder to get help. So that is quite terrifying to think and a scary and realistic situation that can actually happen to anyone in real life. So it was a very intense book and it was thrilling how it was a book about the fight for survival. These types of books are my personal favorite. I will also say that this book has one of the coolest characters! Being that the main character Maria is super independent and proves to herself that she is a true fighter! It was great seeing how there was lots of character development from the beginning of the book to the very end, not only with the main character but with other characters too. I loved the story being a story of survival and how suspenseful some scenes where! The last half of the book was my favorite, there was lots of action and cool fight scenes. I also would like to add that I liked the mystery of guessing who the villain in the group was. I liked how the book ended although the slightly negative thing about the book is that it was a bit expected and I would have wanted to know more of the background story of the antagonist and why this person was doing what they were doing. I would have liked to know a little bit more of what happened in the aftermath of it all as well, but I am not at all disappointed! I really loved this book! With that being said I will give Camp Out 5 out of 5 stars! I highly recommend it! :)
Profile Image for Liliana.
996 reviews216 followers
June 27, 2023
Reviewed on Lili Lost in a Book

Maria was not entirely looking forward to going on a camping trip with her friends. But things start to look up when they come across some guys that could be potentially fun to hang out with. It’s unfortunate that these guys start acting like complete psychos soon after they meet and the girls realize that their lives are in danger. I guess Maria was right to worry about this trip after all.



Just like the last book in the series, I enjoyed this more than I thought I would. I was a little iffy about Maria in the beginning, especially with the name-calling and her skittishness, but she actually went through a pretty interesting character arc, which I really enjoyed. Maria was forced to take the lead when things got bad, but I particularly liked how she kept fighting, even though everything kept getting worse and worse.



I ended up liking her and the way she fought till the end. And the story itself was very tense because one bad thing after another kept happening. Although we never find out why a certain person was killed... But, I mean, this was not a bad book at all! It makes me feel optimistic for the rest of the series!

The Fear Street connection: Maria lives on Fear Street.

Fear Street is supposed to be a scary place. But it seemed like the safest place on earth... compared to those tall, treacherous mountains.
Profile Image for Khurshid Ali.
847 reviews1 follower
August 6, 2024
I am delighted to share that I am back at Fear Street where we are about to have a wave of a time.

Do you remember the last time you went camping?

Do you remember the starry nights, toasted marshmallows and scary stories around the campfire?

Introduction
What you are about to encounter is nothing like the above.

Let me introduce you to Maria, Ellen and Beth. What should have been a weekend of camping turns out to be a deadly nightmare.

A chance encounter with 3 boys sounded good until a dead body was found.

The murderer knows they have been seen and are out on a killing spree.

Soon
They are trapped in the mountains
The water is deadly
The rapids are strong

Can they escape?

Read to find out.

I would highly recommend if you are a lover of Fear Street Novels.

throughly enjoyed this book
Profile Image for Sreypich Van.
174 reviews
November 17, 2023
Fast-paced and an absolute page turner! The villians are a little stupid and deranged. I liked how the main character started out as the weakest but ended up being the hero at the end. That annoyed me a little because Ellen and Beth were pretty daring and confrontational earlier but they were reduced to these helpless side characters who got tied up instead. The ending was funny. How inconsiderate of her parents to even suggest camping when she's just got out of a near-death experience.
Profile Image for Kristin.
2,012 reviews20 followers
August 15, 2021
1.5 stars. Pretty sure this was ghostwritten. The writing is super simplistic and dialogue heavy which makes it not very suspenseful. Basically every bad thing you can possibly think of one after another happens on this camping trip. You would think after the first white water rafting accident they wouldn’t go again. The hostage plot was very hokey.
Profile Image for Alex.
6,650 reviews1 follower
January 24, 2018
This book doesn't have one of those classic Fear Street twist endings, which is a shame. I also don't understand the motives behind two of the characters, which leaves the whole plot a little shaky.

But, this was still a fun trip down memory lane.
1 review
January 16, 2020
I really like it! Even thou I don’t understand why they killed Will but still I can feel how the main character feel. But I really hope that the ending is much more different because its ending is really predictable.
Profile Image for Leander.
217 reviews5 followers
July 24, 2020
Stine does this, and it infuriates me at times, that he let's the story slag when building it up, setting and all, and then when the climax comes, after it he just hurries it up, trying to type it to conclusion. Nothing different this time.
Profile Image for Tabitha.
226 reviews1 follower
October 13, 2025
A camping trip with her friends goes awry, and Maria soon finds herself fighting for her life. There are no supernatural elements, but as we all know, sometimes the scariest thing in this world is the dark cruelty of other humans.
Profile Image for Isaiah McClure.
48 reviews
August 25, 2025
Not your traditional “spooky” RL Stine story, but still just as good! Twisted characters, and unexpected plot twists!
Profile Image for Remi.
871 reviews31 followers
October 2, 2025
girls went camping.

a meet cute psycho story.

-------

to-read

well, it's october and each year, i dedicate this month to r.l. stine's stories
Profile Image for Ger Francus.
24 reviews11 followers
July 24, 2010
I've read this one, and can't speak very positive about it... - Maybe a lot of it was to blame to the Dutch translation, I just felt that through the entire story, it was just so unnatural... Very bad translated.

Maybe I should try it again in a couple of years, but for now I have to say that I tought it was really boring, predictable, too long, the story was to stretched out, and there wasn't happening very much. Story was very simple, not scary; I just couldn't enjoy it...

But hey, not every single Fear Street book can be great. ;-)
Profile Image for Bettina.
262 reviews19 followers
August 5, 2024
4.5 ⭐️ Reread - This was just as much fun as when I read it when I was 12 years old! It is scary, exciting and tons of girl power. I think this book might be the reason why I like dark romance and not so mentally stable characters in books…
125 reviews7 followers
July 2, 2016
Too generic of a plot without a good twist but does have some decent action scenes for the book to be okay.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews

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