Howdy Readers!

How was your weekend? Hope you took some time to do some fun things! My car’s in the shop so I pretty much stayed in, being stranded at my apartment and all. Boo!

Anywho, I’m back again with another book review!

This time I read Goosebumps #`14, The Werewolf of Fever Swamp by R.L. Stine.

With grad school in full effect, I’m focusing on more lighter, simpler reads these days, so this was an easy choice from what was available at my library.

I read a number of the Goosebumps series as a kid (I don’t recall reading this one), and love 90’s nostalgia, so I gave this a go. So, what did I think? Keep on reading!

Blurb

What Big Teeth You Have!
There’s something horrible happening in Fever Swamp. Something really horrible.It started with the strange howling at night. Then there was the rabbit, torn to shreds.

Everyone thinks Grady’s new dog is responsible. After all, he looks just like a wolf. And he seems a little on the wild side. But Grady knows his dog is just a regular old dog. And most dogs don’t howl at the moon. Or disappear at midnight. Or change into terrifying creatures when the moon is full.
Or do they?

Reader beware-you’re in for a scare!

GoodReads

Amazon

***Brief disclosure***

I am an Amazon affiliate and earn a tiny commission for purchases made through the Amazon links in this post. It’s a great way to help me keep things running on my blog if you’re already intrigued enough to make a purchase. 

The Review

Not R.L. Stine’s best, but certainly not dreadful either.

I love rereading these little gems from my childhood from time to time, but this one fell a bit flat.

In this novel, a kid Grady and his family move out to the swamps of Florida for his parents’ research project with swamp deer. Soon, Grady hears howling at night, coming to the conclusion that there must be a werewolf running loose!

I think what worked best here was the characters and how they were portrayed. Grady comes off as your typical 12-year old kid from his perspective. He’s curious, has an insanely wild imagination, and can’t help but get himself into trouble. Sounds a lot like me when I was younger!

His family members were executed well too, and I loved the back and forth dialogues he had with his new friends. That was very believable.

The plot is where things flop for me. The idea was great. Potential werewolf on the loose! What curious kid isn’t going to try to figure things out, right?

But there’s very little scare, even when watering it down to a middle grade level. The majority of the jump scares were good ways to end chapters but almost always ended up being duds. It was frustrating. Also, there’s not much resolution of the plot from Grady. Things just kind of fall into his lap and then the story’s over. I just wish that Stine would’ve made the plot a little more linear and given Grady more involvement in solving the mystery.

In the end, this probably isn’t the ideal read for adults wanting to relive the Goosebumps series. A younger reader might find it entertaining, but I doubt they’ll get the chills and thrills they expect with the name Goosebumps.

That’s A Wrap!

Well that’s it for this book review. I hope you enjoyed it!

Have you read this book? Are there other similar books you’ve read that you simply have to gush about? Feel free to leave a comment. I’d love to start a conversation!

Have a great day!

Join My ARC Review Team | Subscribe

 Facebook | GoodReads | Bookbub | Tumblr | Instagram