R.L. STINE BOOK OF THE WEEK: Goosebumps: The Abominable Snowman of Pasadena

He's no fun in the sun!

From the back cover:

FORGET FROSTY!

Jordan Blake and his sister, Nicole, are sick of the hot weather in Pasadena. Just once they'd like to have a real winter. A real winter with real snow.

And then it happens. The Blakes are off to Alaska! Seems that Mr. Blake has been asked to photograph a mysterious snow creature there.

Poor Jordan and Nicole. They just wanted to see snow. But now they're being chased by a monstrous creature. A big furry-faced creature...known as the Abominable Snowman!

My thoughts:

I thought another snow-themed R.L. Stine book would be appropriate, even though the snow is gone here and it's fairly warm (above 0 degrees celsius!).

This book actually creeped me out a little (I'm a bit embarrassed that a book meant for 7-year-olds creeped me out, but whatever). Especially the part where they were trapped in a cave (I'm a bit claustrophobic).

It was fast-paced thanks to the fake-out cliffhangers Stine is famous for. But I don't mind them, they keep you reading.

The characters were your typical kids: an average kid and his bratty little sister who never listen to their parents and always get in trouble. But don't we all have bratty younger siblings? I know I do....

The only parts of the book I didn't like was how it never explained whether the Abominable Snowman was a scary people-eating monster, or a nice, gentle creature. I'm leaning toward the latter because that was how it seemed, but I'm still not completely sure. And the twist had pretty much nothing to do with the Snowman. It didn't even involve the main characters! But up until the last 30 pages, the book is great.

Phew. After reading Ski Weekend last week I was worried that maybe R.L. Stine Book of the Week was a mistake. But reading Goosebumps: The Abominable Snowman of Pasadena brought back fond memories.

Rating: 4/5

PG gore: " "Then Mrs. Carter - she lives at the end of Main Street - she saw the snow monster a few days later," Arthur continued in a low voice. "She was looking through her telescope and spied him out in the tundra. He was chewing on bones, she said. Don't believe me, go ask her yourself." "

Published in: 1995

Evident by references to: Super Soakers, Arnold Schwarzenegger as an actor

Next week: Fear Street: What Holly Heard