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Fear Street #18
The Cheater
Under pressure to perform well on her math exam, Carter Phillips persuades math whiz Adam to take the test for her in exchange for one date, but one date is not enough for the dangerous young man.
164 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 1, 1993
About the author
R.L. Stine
1,745 books19.5k 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 192 reviews
March 3, 2026
Read this for a project I’m doing, and wasn’t surprised that I had so much fun with it, but I WAS surprised that there was one scene that genuinely upset me 😅
February 16, 2024
This was such a great Fear Street book. Even though it had all the typical elements that you would expect like a murder mystery and people acting shady, it also offered more than teenage drama.
Carter needs to get a really high grade on her next test to get into college. Her father has put a lot of pressure on her and she is terrified to disappoint him. So she does what she never imagined she could do, she cheats on her test.
Carter makes a deal with Adam, a guy that comes from a poor neighborhood and hangs out with the wrong crowd. He will take the test for her and in return, she will go out on a date with him. Carter is so desperate that she agrees. I mean how bad can a date be?
However Adam expects and demands more and more from her blackmailing her and threatening to tell her dad that she cheated.
This book had very different toxic relationships but I did enjoy seeing that the relationship Carter had with her dad was a main focus in the book since you do not see that often in Fear Street books. The book also commented on the differences between the rich and the poor as well as how we prejudge both.
It also had a good murder mystery whodunit added and a couple of twists.
Definitely one of the Fear Street books I have enjoyed the most.
Carter needs to get a really high grade on her next test to get into college. Her father has put a lot of pressure on her and she is terrified to disappoint him. So she does what she never imagined she could do, she cheats on her test.
Carter makes a deal with Adam, a guy that comes from a poor neighborhood and hangs out with the wrong crowd. He will take the test for her and in return, she will go out on a date with him. Carter is so desperate that she agrees. I mean how bad can a date be?
However Adam expects and demands more and more from her blackmailing her and threatening to tell her dad that she cheated.
This book had very different toxic relationships but I did enjoy seeing that the relationship Carter had with her dad was a main focus in the book since you do not see that often in Fear Street books. The book also commented on the differences between the rich and the poor as well as how we prejudge both.
It also had a good murder mystery whodunit added and a couple of twists.
Definitely one of the Fear Street books I have enjoyed the most.
August 31, 2014
I just got finished reading The Cheater and it was pretty...OK. But compared to other Fear Street books, it's pretty underwhelming. But there were some pretty good characters and the plot was original. And, to be honest, I didn't see the twist at the end coming. Overall, though, it's a pretty subpar book and isn't the kind of book that leaves a lasting impression.
Plot Synopsis: Rich girl Carter Phillips is under a lot of pressure from her father to get a good score on her Math Achievement test (Yeah, it's pretty much just a stand-in for the SATs). She becomes so desperate for the good score that she agrees to have a poor classmate named Adam Messner take the test for her-in exchange for a date. But after that date, Adam wants more. He begins to blackmail Carter, making her do whatever he wants or he'll tell her secret. When her life begins to fall apart, Carter becomes desperate to get rid of Adam. Is murder the only way out?
For some inexplicable reason, I found myself really liking Adam. Sure, he was the villain, but he was just so smugly evil that I loved it! He's the kind of villain who uses knowledge instead of violence to torment Carter. In fact, most of the characters were likable, save for Carter's parents, who are your typical rich kid parents who are too busy with their own lives to spend time with their child.
As for the ending, I do have to say the twist, , was a bit of a surprise. But despite that, the ending overall was pretty disappointing. It was uninteresting and was not at all dramatic. And that was what I expecting from the build up!
But despite all of its problems, The Cheater was a pretty good book. The characters were interesting, the plot was original, and the twist was unexpected and well thought out. If you're a fan of the Fear Street series, it is worth a read.
Plot Synopsis: Rich girl Carter Phillips is under a lot of pressure from her father to get a good score on her Math Achievement test (Yeah, it's pretty much just a stand-in for the SATs). She becomes so desperate for the good score that she agrees to have a poor classmate named Adam Messner take the test for her-in exchange for a date. But after that date, Adam wants more. He begins to blackmail Carter, making her do whatever he wants or he'll tell her secret. When her life begins to fall apart, Carter becomes desperate to get rid of Adam. Is murder the only way out?
For some inexplicable reason, I found myself really liking Adam. Sure, he was the villain, but he was just so smugly evil that I loved it! He's the kind of villain who uses knowledge instead of violence to torment Carter. In fact, most of the characters were likable, save for Carter's parents, who are your typical rich kid parents who are too busy with their own lives to spend time with their child.
As for the ending, I do have to say the twist, , was a bit of a surprise. But despite that, the ending overall was pretty disappointing. It was uninteresting and was not at all dramatic. And that was what I expecting from the build up!
But despite all of its problems, The Cheater was a pretty good book. The characters were interesting, the plot was original, and the twist was unexpected and well thought out. If you're a fan of the Fear Street series, it is worth a read.
August 9, 2022
Carter Phillips, the daughter of a judge who holds her to extremely high standards, bribes Adam into taking her standardized test for her in exchange for a date. But Adam takes things way too far. This was fun the whole way through. It was more mystery/suspense/thriller than horror (i.e. guns are the main weapon rather than knives, police are investigating the events, the press is involved etc.) but still makes for a great edition to the Fear Street series. This was very similar to R.L. Stine's Point Horror work, but was more mature in some ways, and the title was extremely clever due to having multiple meanings. Recommended for fans of stuff like this.
April 16, 2015
This was better than I thought it would be. It reminded me of a Lifetime movie. Although the ending was kind of cheesy.
May 10, 2019
Pretty typical Fear Street book, apart from the fact that Fear Street itself played a very minor role. I saw most of the twists coming but it was a fun time anyway. These books always are.
October 25, 2017
Este libro lo encontré por casualidad y fue mi primer libro de R.L. Stine, así que aquí van mis pensamientos:
Trama/Desarrollo: Es un libro sumamente corto que te lees de una sentada, lo cual no da mucho desarrollada para sub-tramas o temas que vayan más allá de lo principal, que es como Carter decide contratar a alguien para que se haga pasar por ella en un exámen de matemáticas. La trama me pareció muy interesante, pues aunque sonara simple, el hecho de que ésta persona la acosara era algo fuera de lugar. Para mí fue una leída entretenida, hasta que llegué a las últimas diez o quince páginas donde me encontré con un final predecible, pero de eso hablaré más adelante.
No me pareció sorprendente.
Personajes: Carter me pareció una chica astuta y mimada, aunque nada fuera de lo normal, creo que su mejor amiga tiene mayor carácter que ella y me pareció más entretenido leer lo que le pasaba a ella que a la protagonista. El novio de Carter me pareció demasiado bueno para ser verdad, aunque no me disgustó.
Los villanos de la trama me parecen bien desarrollados y creo que se comen por completo a los demás. Los papás me parecieron demasiado flojos e "inmaduros" de alguna forma, pues solo pensaban en ellos mismos.
Final: No me gustó demasiado, creo que es muy predecible y aunque tiene un buen plot twist antes de llegar a esta parte, no deja de ser algo que te puedes imaginar. Esperaba un giro mayor, demasiado blanco y telenovelesco.
Escritura: Muy fácil de entender y bien desarrollada, aunque en su versión mi versión es la de castellano y no latino, por lo que algunas expresiones me sonaban un poco fuera de lugar.
Género: Digno representante del género, aunque no provoca demasiado suspenso y es bueno para los que desean introducirse al mismo.
Personaje Favorito: Mejor amiga de Carter
Frase favorita: No hubo alguna que captara mi atención en definitiva.
Trama/Desarrollo: Es un libro sumamente corto que te lees de una sentada, lo cual no da mucho desarrollada para sub-tramas o temas que vayan más allá de lo principal, que es como Carter decide contratar a alguien para que se haga pasar por ella en un exámen de matemáticas. La trama me pareció muy interesante, pues aunque sonara simple, el hecho de que ésta persona la acosara era algo fuera de lugar. Para mí fue una leída entretenida, hasta que llegué a las últimas diez o quince páginas donde me encontré con un final predecible, pero de eso hablaré más adelante.
No me pareció sorprendente.
Personajes: Carter me pareció una chica astuta y mimada, aunque nada fuera de lo normal, creo que su mejor amiga tiene mayor carácter que ella y me pareció más entretenido leer lo que le pasaba a ella que a la protagonista. El novio de Carter me pareció demasiado bueno para ser verdad, aunque no me disgustó.
Los villanos de la trama me parecen bien desarrollados y creo que se comen por completo a los demás. Los papás me parecieron demasiado flojos e "inmaduros" de alguna forma, pues solo pensaban en ellos mismos.
Final: No me gustó demasiado, creo que es muy predecible y aunque tiene un buen plot twist antes de llegar a esta parte, no deja de ser algo que te puedes imaginar. Esperaba un giro mayor, demasiado blanco y telenovelesco.
Escritura: Muy fácil de entender y bien desarrollada, aunque en su versión mi versión es la de castellano y no latino, por lo que algunas expresiones me sonaban un poco fuera de lugar.
Género: Digno representante del género, aunque no provoca demasiado suspenso y es bueno para los que desean introducirse al mismo.
Personaje Favorito: Mejor amiga de Carter
Frase favorita: No hubo alguna que captara mi atención en definitiva.
September 12, 2018
In an attempt to reconnect with my pre-teen years, I decided to read a Fear Street thriller. Anything by R.L. Stine has a lot of nostalgic value attached to it.
The story moves with a blink-and-you-miss-it pace and features an annoying, thickheaded female protagonist who screws up royally.
Moral of the story: Don't cheat, kids.
The story moves with a blink-and-you-miss-it pace and features an annoying, thickheaded female protagonist who screws up royally.
Moral of the story: Don't cheat, kids.
April 11, 2017
This plot twist at the end was like WAIT HOLD UP LET ME GO BACK AND REREAD A FEW PAGES!!!
May 4, 2018
I loved the book. It had so many horror parts.
April 14, 2020
After finishing The Cheater, I'm convinced R.L. had this ghostwritten because what the fuck? (excuse my language)
I gotta be honest, men over 40 should never write anything about teenagers ever. I'm entertained but also angry that I ever liked these books as a kid. This was horribly written for some strange reason. (typos and all, which I never recall from reading anything by R.L. Stine as a kid. But I also wasn't a writer back then so there's that.) Anyway, Carter pissed me off in this story. Actually, all the characters were pretty shitty except Jill and Dan, her bestie and boyfriend. Her father was an asshole, her mother was pointless and under-developed. Adam, the guy blackmailing her was a rapist and that scene at the bar was gross. I also didn't understand why Sheila (Adam's girlfriend) was necessary. She was basically used as your typical Fear Street fake out psycho. Carter also waited ENTIRELY too long to tell her father everything. Plot holes galore and a pretty messed up ending involving Dan. I didn't hate this book, but I didn't love it either. Nonetheless, I was entertained and will most likely spend the rest of my quarantine hate-reading the rest of this series. LOL
I gotta be honest, men over 40 should never write anything about teenagers ever. I'm entertained but also angry that I ever liked these books as a kid. This was horribly written for some strange reason. (typos and all, which I never recall from reading anything by R.L. Stine as a kid. But I also wasn't a writer back then so there's that.) Anyway, Carter pissed me off in this story. Actually, all the characters were pretty shitty except Jill and Dan, her bestie and boyfriend. Her father was an asshole, her mother was pointless and under-developed. Adam, the guy blackmailing her was a rapist and that scene at the bar was gross. I also didn't understand why Sheila (Adam's girlfriend) was necessary. She was basically used as your typical Fear Street fake out psycho. Carter also waited ENTIRELY too long to tell her father everything. Plot holes galore and a pretty messed up ending involving Dan. I didn't hate this book, but I didn't love it either. Nonetheless, I was entertained and will most likely spend the rest of my quarantine hate-reading the rest of this series. LOL
June 29, 2022
Reading RL Stine is just so wonderfully nostalgic for me.
This was cheesy, silly, and exactly what I expected.
Not a favorite by far, but definitely got me in the mood to read some more Fear Street asap.
This was cheesy, silly, and exactly what I expected.
Not a favorite by far, but definitely got me in the mood to read some more Fear Street asap.
May 29, 2021
The suspense and twist is great as expected for R.L. Stine
However , the ending is pretty meh
However , the ending is pretty meh
May 5, 2023
I still liked Adam no matter how much of a douche he was...
June 1, 2022
3.5/5!
November 1, 2025
Halloween TBR #7
Amo las historias de Fear street !!! son tan retro, tan sencillas y escalofriantes!! siempre paso un rato muy agradable leyéndolas y, si bien el terror en esta estuvo muy tranqui, me entretuvo y engancho demasiado desde el inicio, plus me sentí muy identificado en muchos aspectos.
Amo las historias de Fear street !!! son tan retro, tan sencillas y escalofriantes!! siempre paso un rato muy agradable leyéndolas y, si bien el terror en esta estuvo muy tranqui, me entretuvo y engancho demasiado desde el inicio, plus me sentí muy identificado en muchos aspectos.
June 28, 2023
Mixed feelings about this one! It was stressful to read. The plot can be summed up as, Carter makes a bad choice, and then keeps piling on more and more terrible choices even as it becomes clear that coming clean about everything could not POSSIBLY have worse consequences than this.
There's definitely a bit of the "girl has a nice boyfriend but is also weirdly attracted to the scary creep" thing that I hate in so many Fear Street books, but it's not as bad as some.
While one twist took me totally by surprise, the other I actually did see coming, which always makes me feel proud of myself lol. I'm not great at seeing twists coming.
There's definitely a bit of the "girl has a nice boyfriend but is also weirdly attracted to the scary creep" thing that I hate in so many Fear Street books, but it's not as bad as some.
While one twist took me totally by surprise, the other I actually did see coming, which always makes me feel proud of myself lol. I'm not great at seeing twists coming.
June 2, 2021
okay r.l. stine with an accurate description of what it’s like to be a young girl scared of men but giving in to them anyway in the name of self preservation !!!!!
loved this v quick v fun v good for a reading slump baby!!! all over the place so much happens so quickly just a good lil time. (also rated on a different scale bc its ,,, r.l. stine)
loved this v quick v fun v good for a reading slump baby!!! all over the place so much happens so quickly just a good lil time. (also rated on a different scale bc its ,,, r.l. stine)
September 24, 2019
Poco a poco me voy enamorando más de los libros de este autor.
Fear Street es su serie juvenil y omg me moría de ganas por leerla. Este librito nos cuenta la historia de Carter, una chica que hace trampa en un examen importante de matemáticas con ayuda de un chico llamado Adam que luego comienza a chantajearla.
La trama es suuuper rápida de leer; se siente como una película de terror/suspenso directa a dvd. El final es super predecible pero lo bueno es el desarrollo, porque es entretenido a más no poder y te engancha muchisimo.
Me encantan este tipo de historias y, definitivamente, hare todo lo posible para leerme la serie completa.
Fear Street es su serie juvenil y omg me moría de ganas por leerla. Este librito nos cuenta la historia de Carter, una chica que hace trampa en un examen importante de matemáticas con ayuda de un chico llamado Adam que luego comienza a chantajearla.
La trama es suuuper rápida de leer; se siente como una película de terror/suspenso directa a dvd. El final es super predecible pero lo bueno es el desarrollo, porque es entretenido a más no poder y te engancha muchisimo.
Me encantan este tipo de historias y, definitivamente, hare todo lo posible para leerme la serie completa.
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October 9, 2025I really like this book because their is a lot of drama that goes on in this book.I would recommend this book to my friends and family cause my family loves to read book that have excitement to it.Also thrillers and other things.
SPOILERS
So there is this girl named cater and her boyfriend was joking about cheating and cater didn't like it. In the middle of the book theirs this other boy that likes her but Carter told him that she would do anything he were to redo her math test but the boy said that she has to go on a date with him for one night but he wants more than that.
SPOILERS
So there is this girl named cater and her boyfriend was joking about cheating and cater didn't like it. In the middle of the book theirs this other boy that likes her but Carter told him that she would do anything he were to redo her math test but the boy said that she has to go on a date with him for one night but he wants more than that.
June 28, 2020
I read a lot of these Fear Street books when I was a preteen and remember liking them a lot. As an adult reading this I definitely don’t enjoy them as much. It was very predictable and uses the typical plot of other basic thrillers. I found the privileged rich girl very annoying. And of course the rich girl had no real consequences for her actions. There’s a reason it’s meant for younger readers just getting into thrillers. At least they are short books and written simply so they make quick reads.
April 28, 2026
I liked this one a lot! Had a different feel from some of the others I've read. Check trigger warnings if sensitive. Personally, I probably wouldn't recommend this particular one to kids below age 10 or so.
May 24, 2021
همممم ، از دن خوشمان آمد😌
بسی فداکار بید😌
پایان خوبی هم داشت ، اولین بار از یک کتاب استاین خوشم اومده:|
بسی فداکار بید😌
پایان خوبی هم داشت ، اولین بار از یک کتاب استاین خوشم اومده:|
June 10, 2021
titular sentence:
p30: Cheater.
That, I think, is the best way to counter .
p30: Cheater.
That, I think, is the best way to counter .
June 11, 2026
took me less than a day to read it but it was very interesting and had me hooked from the beginning, i liked it!, R.l Stine never disappoints,
October 29, 2026
Me vais a hacer sentir pena por una privilegiada blanca, rica y seguramente facha?
July 25, 2025
So fun revisiting a Fear Street story. Now do I need to re-read every single one from my childhood? I think we all know the answer is yes.
September 23, 2026
This was such a good FS read. Dan—my man! I love how it ended. I was stressing about Carter's every decision 💀. Dan was such a good bf, and I love him for being so sensible.
April 8, 2022
they don’t hit the same as when i was a kid 😭
Displaying 1 - 30 of 192 reviews