R.L. STINE BOOK OF THE WEEK: Fear Street: What Holly Heard

It was too shocking to tell....

From the back cover:

Do you want to hear a secret?

Holly did. She learned a terrible secret, and now her friends know it too.

Someone wants to make sure they never talk about it. Someone who'll go any length to keep them quiet.

Lying...

Threats...

Even murder.

My thoughts:

I vaguely remember reading What Holly Heard when I was in high school. I couldn't recall the identity of the killer or anything important. I only remembered liking it - oh and Holly and her stylish blue scarf.

I knew who the killer - and the motive - was on Page 4. So every time I read "So-and-so is the killer!" I wanted to scream, "No, it's ____!" I almost put the book down several times because Miriam was so blind. The killer was right in front of her the whole time, but she kept accusing everyone else.

The main character Miriam and her boyfriend, Jed, were possibly the most boring characters I've ever encountered (okay maybe I'm exaggerating, but they were pretty bad). Jed's only interest was basketball and Miriam's only interest was Jed. But I did like Holly, she reminded me of myself a bit. I mean, what girl doesn't love gossip and bad boys?

And what's the deal with R.L. Stine and killing animals? It happened in the last Fear Street book I reviewed (Ski Weekend), and now in this one. I felt so sorry for poor Lizzy and Tilly, Ruth's hamsters. They didn't deserve to die such a gory death. Miriam and Jed, on the other hand....

So far R.L. Stine's Fear Street books have been a disappointment, but I've only read two so I still have hope.

Rating: 2/5

PG-13 Gore: "Ruth's hamsters lay in a puddle of blood. Gaping in disbelief, Miriam took a step closer.
'Ohhhhh.' A moan escaped her throat as she saw their heads.
Their heads.
Their heads had been smashed. Smashed flat.
And their little, furry bodies.
Torn and battered.
Smashed."

Body Count: 4 (Including the two poor, defenseless hamsters.)

Next week: Goosebumps: The Girl Who Cried Monster