charlottesometimes's Reviews (3.33k)

The First Scream

R.L. Stine

2.0

medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

The New Young Oxford Book of Ghost Stories

Dennis Pepper

dark funny lighthearted medium-paced

The Young Oxford Book of Ghost Stories

Dennis Pepper

3.75

The Secret Bedroom

R.L. Stine

1.0

slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

This book expects me to believe in a world where two adult human beings would look around a house, be shown a boarded-up room in the attic and told that it’s supposedly the site of a murder, and decide to buy the house anyway and not open the room ‘cause it isn’t their business…
There’s no saving that as a plot.
Also, that isn’t a secret room. It’s a famous room, if anything. I’m not sure Stine knows what secret means. He also doesn’t really understand what ghosts are, which is a problem in this book and many others. And of course he absolutely despises women, and his misogyny is clearly visible here. So not much to recommend it to anyone, really.