Hi book nerds!

Were you ever forced to go to summer camp? I went in 5th grade, and it was awful! Bugs a plenty, limited electricity, crappy cabins, and all your judgmental classmates constantly trying to play pranks on one another was just a horrible experience for me.

But I love a good summer camp theme with books!

Today I’m reviewing The Curse of Camp Cold Lake (Goosebumps #56) by R.L. Stine.

I bought a copy of this way back at the thrift store, not giving it much thought. But when I had to pick my next read this one just stood out to me. Let’s see how it went!

Series Review Links

Book Review: Welcome to Dead House (Goosebumps #1)

Book Review: Let’s Get Invisible! (Goosebumps #6)

Book Review: Night of the Living Dummy (Goosebumps #7)

Book Review: The Werewolf of Fever Swamp (Goosebumps #14)

Book Review: One Day at Horrorland (Goosebumps #16)

Book Review: Attack of the Mutant (Goosebumps #25)

Book Review: How I Learned to Fly (Goosebumps #52)

Blurb

They’re baa-ack! Make way for the bestselling children’s series of all time! With a fresh new look, GOOSEBUMPS is set to scare a whole new generation of kids. So reader beware–you’re in for a scare!
Camp is supposed to be fun, but Sarah hates Camp Cold Lake. The lake is gross and slimy. And she’s having a little trouble with her bunkmates. They hate her.
So Sarah comes up with a plan. She’ll pretend to drown — then everyone will feel sorry for her.
But things don’t go exactly the way Sarah planned. Because down by the cold, dark lake someone is watching her. Stalking her. Someone with pale blue eyes. And a see-through body. . . .

GoodReads

Amazon

***Brief disclosure***

I am an Amazon affiliate and earn a tiny commission for purchases made through the Amazon links in this post at no cost to you. 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

Man, this book was fantastic! So glad I’m slowly rereading Goosebumps from my childhood days.

This time we follow around Sarah and her brother as they are dropped off at Camp Cold Lake for the summer. Sarah’s little brother loves nature and quickly makes friends, but everything Sarah does seems to go awry and push people further away from her. After a prank to get everyone to feel bad for her goes horribly wrong, Sarah comes face to face with the reality that there is more to Camp Cold Lake than meets the eye. And if she’s not careful, it may just be the death of her.

I immediately vibed with Sarah as a main character. She hates nature, she tends to fumble attempts at socialization, and she’s tired of being ignored. Girl, me too! No, but seriously, I found her character to be endearing and a lot like me as a kid, so it was easy to root for her.

I found the camp antics to be on par for the time period, given that I went to summer camp when I was Sarah’s age. Kids can be clique-ish and bitter rivalries can easily develop in these kinds of situations.

As for the chills and thrills, there was a really nice balance in this novel. There’s something paranormal going on that was a mystery to be solved, and while it wasn’t downright horrific in my opinion, it was very ominous and suspenseful.

This is definitely one of my favorite Goosebumps rereads to date, so if you need a hit of nostalgia or just need a quick spooky story you can’t go wrong with this one!

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!

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