Welcome to Dead House (Goosebumps #1) by R.L. Stine

Title: Welcome to Dead House (Goosebumps #1)

Author: R.L. Stine

Publication Date: July 1992

Length: 123 pages

It's been a long time since I actually wrote a book review! I've always had trouble keeping up with them and at some point it became hard to do them at all. But I've been reading my R.L. Stine collection in order by publishing date (roughly; I'm missing a few), and I've finally reached the start of the Goosebumps books, something I've been looking forward to for ages! So I figured it would be fun to try to review them all! I'm also going to watch the corresponding episodes of the TV series, where applicable, and review them at the same time. So, to start with, the first ever Goosebumps book, Welcome to Dead House!

So, Josh and Amanda, along with their parents and dog, move into an old house in Dark Falls after inheriting it from an unknown relative. Right away, the dog knows something's up and runs away, found sniffing around the cemetery. Meanwhile, Amanda keeps thinking she's seeing people in the windows and in her bedroom. The kids make some friends, but all the other kids act pretty strangely, won't stay out when it's bright out, and more than one of them claims to have lived in Amanda and Josh's house before.

Spoilers ahead! I feel like it's hard to talk about the Goosebumps books and show without revealing twists.

Quite a bit of time is spent on the buildup, relative to the short length of the book. The first half of the book is basically the family unpacking and Amanda seeing ghosts, before they meet anyone else. Ultimately it turns out everyone in town is dead (in kind of a zombie/ghost hybrid sort of way), and every year they trick people into moving into the house so they can get fresh blood. Amanda and Josh manage to escape from one of the kids trying to kill them, by melting his flesh with a flashlight. Then they have to rescue their parents, who've been captured by the other adults and are about to be killed in this sort of amphitheatre thing in the cemetery. The amphitheatre is shaded by a tree, and they manage to knock it down, hitting all the dead people with sunlight, and escape. In a little ending twist (common in the series), as they leave another family is moving into the house. (So are there more dead people around that weren't killed?? Apparently!)

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this one, but I know the series will get even better, because really the dead people in Welcome to Dead House are not as interesting as the average Goosebumps monster. Still, a solid 4 stars! In the last couple years I've read a bunch of the early Fear Street books, Point Horror and some stand alone horror, and Goosebumps is just so much better! While R.L. Stine's teen horror has a lot of unlikable characters, toxic relationships, etc., his Goosebumps books have none of those issues and are just pure fun horror. I love it!

Now, for the episode of the TV show! While I did read some of the books when I was a kid, ultimately a lot of my "big Goosebumps fan" energy comes from the TV series. My dad taped (what we thought was) every episode off of YTV when I was a kid, and I've seen them countless times. I still love the show, cheesiness and all! But, it turns out we missed a couple, and maybe the only time I've seen those ones was when the whole series was on Netflix and I watched it through. Welcome to Dead House, Parts 1 and 2, are among those missing episodes! So when I watched it this week after reading the book, it was barely even familiar to me.

I was surprised how many changes were made in adapting this book, and now I'm curious to see if other episodes are similar! There were little things, like the fact that the family actually bought the house in the show, as opposed to inheriting it, and that they've actually managed to sell their old house, unlike in the book where they still have it to go back to. But there are also big things, like the way the dead people are way more zombified than in the book, and the addition of a magical old wreath that protects the family and scares the dead people. Also, there's no amphitheatre and the big fight takes place at the house.

Not my favourite of the Goosebumps episodes (though how much of that is because it doesn't have the nostalgia of episodes I've watched many times?), but still good. Highlights include some very 90s outfits on Amanda, and the fact that Josh is played by Ben Cook, who is also Jerry in Piano Lessons Can Be Murder (one of my favourites) and Marty in A Shocker on Shock Street. It's always fun to recognize the repeat stars!

Tune in next time for the second Goosebumps book, Stay Out of the Basement!

Animorphs #15 - The Escape by K.A. Applegate

Title: The Escape (Animorphs #15)
Author: K.A. Applegate
Publication Date: January 1998
Length: 163 pages

Warning: This is a review of a later book in the series and definitely contains a spoiler from at least one earlier book!

The Animorphs learn (from Erek, the android from Animorphs #10 - The Android) that Visser One has returned to Earth to oversee a secret project. (In case you'e forgotten, Visser One is Marco's mom, as only Marco and Jake currently know.) When they head underwater, to where the newest Yeerk facility is set up, they find sharks that are strangely focused and organised.

Marco doesn't want the others to know about his mother, since as the group comedian he doesn't want to be the object of pity. But he also doesn't want them to kill her if they get the chance, and how can he convince them of that without revealing the truth? This book is from Marco's perspective, so we see him thinking about this a lot throughout the story.

This book also brings us back to the competition between Vissers One and Three. Visser Three is always trying to make Visser One look bad, and vice versa. I'm interested in seeing how this plays out later in the series; so far it's always worked out well for the Animorphs, since when both Vissers are around the enemy doesn't present a united front.

5 stars.

Animorphs #14 - The Unknown by K.A. Applegate

Title: The Unknown (Animorphs #14)
Author: K.A. Applegate
Publication Date: January 1998
Length: 166 pages

There's a rumour going around that the government has uncovered proof of alien life, and that they're hiding it on a top-secret base called Zone 91. The Animorphs know that the Yeerks will have to check it out, to find out if the government has found a piece of Yeerk technology, or if it's just a conspiracy theory.

Things I liked about this one include the Yeerks taking over the bodies of horses (and subsequently pooping and being embarassed about it, and also trying to dial phones with hooves), and when Rachel, Marco, and Cassie have to make up fake names, and Cassie comes up with Cindy Crawford, and gives the fake phone number 12345678, which is hilarious.

Things I liked less include Cassie thinking that the best morph to disguise herself in a stable is... a horse! So suddenly there's this extra horse in the stable; no one will find that suspicious at all! Throughout that scene, I was all "OMG morph a fly! MORPH A FLY!". Sigh.

Anywho. This one was funny and entertaining. A bit fluffy compared to other books in the series, though.

3 stars.

Brianna the Ballet Fairy by Julia Dweck

Title: Brianna the Ballet Fairy
Author: Julia Dweck
Illustrator: Kimberly Soderberg
Publication Date: December 2012
Length: 25 pages

Brianna is the smallest fairy, and she wishes that she could dance with the older fairies. A trickster pixie hears her wish and plays various tricks on Brianna by giving her things that will make her dance, but always have negative side effects. Luckily, a dragonfly comes along and tells her to true source of dancing ability.

This story is so sweet! Any kid who likes fairies and/or dancing is sure to love it. It has a positive, feel-good message.

As always, Julia Dweck's writing is delightful. Her rhymes are always perfect, and she uses such clever wording to make the lines rhyme while still seeming natural, and always having a great flow that makes her books perfect for reading aloud.

Kimberly Soderberg's illustrations are also lovely. Lots of bright colours, and plenty of sparkles!

5 stars.

The Andalite Chronicles by K.A. Applegate

Title: The Andalite Chronicles
Author: K.A. Applegate
Publication Date: December 1997
Length: 326

At the beginning of the Animorphs series, the Andalite Prince Elfangor crashes his ship on earth, and before he dies gives five children the power to morph, so that they can fight to defend their planet against the invading Yeerks. The Andalite Chronicles is Elfangor's story, his hirac delest (final statement), transferred from his mind to his computer in his final moments.

It's interesting to see Elfangor, looked up to by Ax and the other Animorphs as a hero, when he was just an aristh (a cadet). Aside from this backstory, this book gives us a bunch of other context for the main series: we get to learn more about the Taxxons, more about how the Yeerk who would become Visser Three managed to take over an Andalite host, as well as a rather mind-blowing fact about one of the main characters that I can't say any more about without a big spoiler.

The Andalite Chronicles isn't part of the chronology of the main series, meaning you could read the series without reading this book, but you should definitely read it. It's well-written and action-packed, and who doesn't love a tonne of back story?

4 stars.

Ghosts Beneath Our Feet by Betty Ren Wright

Title: Ghosts Beneath Our Feet
Author: Betty Ren Wright
Publication Date: 1984
Length: 137 pages

After the death of her step-father, Katie is moving to a small town for the summer with her mom and step-brother, and she's excited for the change. But the town isn't all she'd hoped for; it's practically deserted, and some of the other kids don't seem very nice. The superstitious Cornish residents of the town  tell tales of the ghosts of the miners that died in the mine 30 years ago, and are now trying to escape.

Like a lot of Betty Ren Wright's books, this one has sort of an interesting twist, in that what's a ghost and what's not, and what the intentions of said ghosts are, is not necessarily what you'd expect along the way.

In addition to the mystery of the "knackers" (the ghosts of the miners) and the ghost of a girl that Katie keeps seeing, there's the story of Katie's family. Her step-brother, Jay, is going through a hard time after the death of his father, and acting out as a result. I enjoyed the changing dynamics between Katie and Jay as the story progressed.

4 stars.

Riding on a Beam of Light by Ramsey Dean

Title: Riding on a Beam of Light
Author: Ramsey Dean
Illustrator: Noah Hamdan
Publication Date: April 23, 2013
Length: 26 pages

This review is part of a blog tour running from June 15 to July 5. To read more blog posts in this tour, check out the tour page.

Albert (a young Albert Einstein) likes to dream, both while awake and while asleep. One night, his mother turns his light out, and he suddenly realises that light travels. This sparks his imagination, and soon he's thinking about the places he could travel riding on a beam of light.

Albert displays the curiosity that's so wonderful in children. He notices something, and instantly wants to know "why". So, since his mom doesn't have answers for him, his imagination fills in the gaps, and the result is a great adventure. I really like how the story is based on the actual childhood imaginings of Einstein that led him to develop his theory of relativity.

I don't quite get how he figured out that light travels, though; it seemed like he could see the light moving away into the night when his lamp was turned off, which is of course impossible. Also, the rhyming felt a bit forced at times, as is too often the case in children's books.

The illustrations in this book are fun and full of life. The wide-eyed Albert really shows his childlike curiosity.

3 stars.

Animorphs #13 - The Change by K.A. Applegate

Title: The Change (Animorphs #13)
Author: K.A. Applegate
Publication Date: December 1997
Length: 162 pages

Warning: This is a review of a later book in the series, and may therefore contain spoilers from earlier books.

Tobias and Rachel are flying around, mysteriously ending up over the forest no matter where they try to go, when they see two Hork-Bajir being chased by a lot of Controllers. The Hork-Bajir turn out to be free (no Yeerks in their heads), and the Animorphs learn a lot about what the Hork-Bajir are actually like. Along the way, Tobias is given an intriguing offer by an Ellimist, that could let him be human again.

I love reading about the Hork-Bajir. They're such an interesting species, and I appreciate the fact that K.A. Applegate came up with an explanation for why a peaceful species would look like walking razor blades, as the Animorphs call them.

But of course Tobias is the real focus of this story. Throughout the book, he has several conversations with the Ellimist, and considers the possibility that he could be human again. He does some reflecting on his life as a human, and his life as a hawk, both of which have had their ups and downs. I won't spoil the ending for you, but I loved how it was resolved.

5 stars. I am loving this series!

The Witches by Roald Dahl

Title: The Witches
Author: Roald Dahl
Illustrator: Quentin Blake
Publication Date: 1983
Length: 208 pages

Warning: This book and review may be offensive to actual real life witches, since it portrays them as bald, toeless child killers.

The boy who's telling the story goes to live with his grandma when his parents die, and she teaches him all about witches. Witches hate children, and their lives are focused on killing as many children as possible. His grandma tries to keep him safe by teaching him how to identify witches (by their baldness, lack of toes, etc.), but one day he comes across the Grand High Witch herself, and it'll take some pretty clever tricks, and some luck, to escape her.

This one's a bit more disturbing than some of Roald Dahl's other popular kids' books like Matilda and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but it's still an enjoyable story. I love how creative the details are about how to identify a witch, like that they have blue spit, and slightly larger nostrils than normal.

Regular readers of this blog will have heard me gush about Quentin Blake's illustrations before. They're so delightful (just look at that cover!), and really bring the story to life.

4 stars.

The Orphanage of Miracles by Amy Neftzger

Title: The Orphanage of Miracles
Author: Amy Neftzger
Publication Date: May 28, 2013 (today!)
Length: about 204 pages (ebook)

Nicholas, along with his friends Maggie and Jovan, live in an orphanage where the kids don't receive any schooling, but instead spend their time trying to create miracles. But no one can tell them how to do it, and no one can remember anyone managing it in the recent past. Nicholas starts to wonder, if the orphanage's purpose is to create miracles to help the king in the way, why are the existing miracles kept locked away in a garden instead of sent where they're needed?

Meanwhile, Kelsey is on a journey in search of a miracle to help her struggling family. Along the way she is joined by a silent boy, a large leopard, and a lovable fox. Her new friends teach her about herself along the way.

This was such a fun story. The absurdity of the orphanage was great. Kids are sent to different jobs, all aimed at creating or catching miracles, but no one knows what they're doing at all. And they each have a plant that they have to take care of, or they'll mysteriously disappear. Maggie, a strong, opinionated girl, is terrible at taking care of her plant, but luckily has her nurturing friend Nicholas to swap plants with her and nurse hers back to health.

Kelsey was really annoying at first, but improves a lot over the course of the story. Silence (as she calls the boy who doesn't speak) is delightful all along, and Megan, the leopard, is cryptic but interesting.

Overall, there's more hunting than I (as a vegetarian) would want my kid to read about, but other than that this is a wonderful fantasy for kids.

4 stars.

Full disclosure: Free ebook copy received from the publisher through NetGalley.

Animorphs #12 - The Reaction by K.A. Applegate

Title: The Reaction (Animorphs #12)
Author: K.A. Applegate
Publication Date: November 1997
Length: 152 pages

Warning: This is a review of the 13th book in the series, and may contain spoilers from the earlier books.

The Animorphs find out that an a famous teen actor, Jeremy Jason McCole, is going to endorse The Sharing, the cover organisation for the Yeerks. Since Jeremy is the love of teen girls everywhere, the Animorphs know they have to stop this, or The Sharing will have no problem recruiting a whole lotta teenagers. But as they plot to stop him, Rachel starts having a really weird problem: she's morphing uncontrollably, sometimes from one morph to another without even morphing back to human again.

I liked the whole thing with Rachel's allergic reaction to the crocodile morph. It was one of those story lines that gives you more interesting details about morphing. There were also some pretty awesome fight scenes in this one. Overall, it wasn't a particularly groundbreaking book as far as this series goes, but it was enjoyable.

4 stars.

Animorphs #11 - The Forgotten by K.A. Applegate

Title: The Forgotten (Animorphs #11)
Author: K.A. Applegate
Publication Date: October 1997
Length: 162 pages

When the Yeerks crash a bug fighter, the Animorphs take the opportunity to try to steal it, with the intention of landing it on the White House lawn to reveal the Yeerks to the human world. The mission starts off well, other than Jake having these weird flashes of a jungle. But when they get in a fire fight with the Blade ship, and the ship's dracon beams collide, the Animorphs are thrown into another time, and find themselves in the jungle of Jake's visions.

Though a lot of the time travel stuff confused me, that tends to be the case in every time travel story I read or see, and there was nothing that seemed really unbelievable to me. The explanation for Jake's visions, and for how they got out of there, was really cool.

This is also the Animorphs book with the best Star Trek reference so far:

Marco put his hand on my shoulder. "Phasers on full power!" he said in a Captain Picard English accent. "Arm photon torpedoes! If the Borg want a fight, we'll give them one! Make it so!"

This was another really good, action-packed Animorphs book, and the time travel aspect added some extra sci fi goodness.

5 stars.

The Ghost Witch by Betty Ren Wright

Title: The Ghost Witch
Author: Betty Ren Wright
Publication Date: 1993
Length: 101 pages

Jenny and her mom inherit a house from an old lady named Miss Nagle, and Jenny's excited to be able to move out of their tiny apartment. That is, until she goes to the house, and starts seeing giant snakes, dragons, and other beasts. It turns out Miss Nagle's grandmother was a witch, and now she's a ghost witch who haunts this house. Jenny has to find a way to get the ghost witch to leave her alone so she can live in peace.

This is the first Betty Ren Wright book I've reviewed on this blog, but I've loved her books for a long time. I discovered her in the children's section of the public library when I was a kid, and then a few years ago I found a bunch of her books at the library book sale so I quickly scooped them up!

I love the way Jenny figures out how to deal with the ghost witch, making a deal with her that will let her scare way more people than just those that live in her house. Characters in Betty Ren Wright books tend not to just run away in fear, but instead confront it and find a way to deal with it, which I quite like. This was a fun ghost story.

5 stars.

Burnish Me Bright by Julia Cunningham

Title: Burnish Me Bright
Author: Julia Cunningham
Illustrator: Don Freeman
Publication Date: 1970
Length: 80 pages

A young mute boy named Auguste, kept as a servant and abused, escapes to live with an old man named Hilaire, a retired famous mime. Auguste is amazed by Hilaire's skill, and learns from him how to communicate without words.

I'm not sure when and where this story is supposed to take place, but it's in a time and place in which it's socially acceptable to be horribly cruel to a mute person, and witch hunts are apparently not out of the ordinary.

But amidst all the cruelty, several children become better people as a result of Auguste's magic. So there is a message of hope even during the sadness.

4 stars. A really nice story.

The Enormous Crocodile by Roald Dahl

Title: The Enormous Crocodile
Author: Roald Dahl
Illustrator: Quentin Blake
Publication Date: 1978
Length: 48 pages

An enormous crocodile living in a river in Africa boasts to another crocodile that he's going to eat a big, juicy child for lunch today. He says he has "secret plans and clever tricks" to catch them. As he travels through the jungle toward the village, he talks to various other animals, and brags about how he's going to eat a child. But every time he tries one of his tricks, one of the other animals foils his plans.

This story is pure Roald Dahl goodness. It goes alongside Matilda, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and The Twits, belonging on every child's bookshelf. The crocodile is a delightful villain, coming up with many clever tricks, but ultimately defeated by his own bragging.

Like many Roald Dahl books, this one is illustrated by Quentin Blake, who is awesome. So the pictures are perfect for the story.

5 stars.

Animorphs #10 - The Android by K.A. Applegate

Title: The Android (Animorphs #10)
Author: K.A. Applegate
Publication Date: September 1997
Length: 170 pages

Warning: This is a review of a book that is not the first in its series. It may contain spoilers from earlier books.

While in dog morph, Marco comes across an old school friend of his, Erek, handing out flyers for the Sharing. The weird thing is, Erek doesn't smell human. Even a human with a Yeerk in his head would still smell human. When Erek gets hit by a truck, his holographic human body flickers, and for a moment his metal body beneath is revealed. The question is, whose side are these androids on?

This was an interesting story. I liked the idea of a species being incapable of causing harm, even to defend themselves, and wanting to change that for their own safety, but then the horror of killing being so terrible to them that they give up that chance. Also, alien species that aren't humanoid (in this case, looking like dogs), are awesome. Sci fi has entirely too many basically-human alien species. Animorphs is great for breaking out of that mold.

This book had some good action, as well as philosophical issues, which are both components of all the best Animorphs books. I really enjoyed this one.

5 stars.

Caarina the Cooking Fairy by Julia Dweck

Title: Caarina the Cooking Fairy
Author: Julia Dweck
Illustrator: Gemini
Publication Date: December 2012
Length: 26 pages

Caarina is a cooking fairy, and one day the fairy queen announces that there will be a feast, which Caarina will prepare. But as she tries to make her delicious dishes, things start going awry, thanks to a gremlin playing tricks. Caarina has to figure out how to outwit the gremlin, or the feast will be ruined!

Caarina the Cooking Fairy is another example of the delightful stories I've come to expect from Julia Dweck. Caarina is such a clever character; I was really rooting for her. And the gremlin is funny. The rhyming always flows really naturally, which I find really important in rhyming stories. Forced-sounding rhymes really throw me off!

Dweck has also teamed up with another great illustrator for this one. Gemini draws fairies wonderfully. They're so pretty, and literally sparkle!

4 stars.

Animorphs #9 - The Secret by K.A. Applegate

Title: The Secret (Animorphs #9)
Author: K.A. Applegate
Publication Date: August 1997
Length: 158 pages

Warning: This is a review of the ninth book in the series, so it may contain spoilers from earlier books.

The Animorphs discover that the Yeerks have set up a logging facility in the woods by Cassie's house, where Ax and Tobias live. Since they still think the Animorphs are Andalites, the Yeerks figure they must be hiding out in the woods, so they plan to destroy the habitat to flush out the Animorphs. Cassie has the idea to sneak in and find out how they got permission to log there, so there might be a political way to stop them. They sneak in by morphing termites, which turns out to be a pretty disturbing experience.

I love when Cassie narrates. She's definitely the nicest and most down-to-earth character. Plus, she's always thinking, so her books always have philosophical questions. In this case, she comes to the realisation that nature is brutal, and that morality is complicated when animals need to kill each other to live.

The termite morph was awesome. It started off fine, seeming like the termite had no will of its own for the human mind to have to overcome. But once they get near the queen, they find themselves forgetting that they're even human. It's very creepy, and Cassie has a bit of a panic attack.

The Secret also has some impressive fight scenes, and Visser 3 totally gets sprayed by a skunk. That really made my day. :)

4 stars.

Animorphs #8 - The Alien by K.A. Applegate

Title: The Alien (Animorphs #8)
Author: K.A. Applegate
Publication Date: July 1997
Length: 159 pages

Note: This is a review of the eighth book in a series, and may therefore contain spoilers from the earlier books.

The main plot in this installment of Animorphs starts when Ax, thinking he's playing a computer game, accidentally advances the work of some scientists by a few centuries. When he realises that he's created something that could be used to contact his home world, he decides to take the opportunity to contact his parents. Of course, trouble ensues...

The Alien is the first Animorphs book narrated entirely by Ax (short for Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill). That was a refreshing change in perspective. He's the one character who has different knowledge than the others. There was a lot of delightful, children's book style foreshadowing, with Ax talking about how his friends can never know his shameful secret, and stuff like that. Such fun! Eventually, though, he does share his deep dark secret, and it fills in some interesting backstory for the series.

Ax also continues his efforts to learn more about humans, and once again gets in trouble for his extreme reactions to taste. He discovers the joys of popcorn, chocolate, and very hot chili. He also starts reading books the others give him to help him learn, including the World Almanac, and a book of famous quotes. These scenes are fun from any perspective, but I'm looking forward to more books narrated by Ax.

5 stars.

This book counts towards the Read Your OWN Library! Challenge (hosted by The Beauty of Eclecticism) for December. This book also counts for the Mount TBR Reading Challenge.

The Tree With No Branches by Johnny Knew

Title: The Tree With No Branches
Author: Johnny Knew
Illustrator: K. Von Ward
Publication Date: September 24, 2012
Length: 23 pages

The title character in this story is a little tree that doesn't have any branches or leaves, living in a forest of big, beautiful trees. The other trees make fun of it, but while they're putting all their effort into growing their big, leafy branches, the tree with no branches is growing deep, strong roots. So when a big storm comes along, the little tree is better able to weather it than the big, proud trees.

There are some parts that are a bit awkwardly written in order to make them the right length for the poem, like "They were looking for shelter from all of the wind", but I've definitely seen much worse. Overall it reads well.

The illustrations are great. They're clear, but also really detailed. The tree with no branches is just adorable, and I liked how the other trees had different characteristics depending on the type of tree. They reminded me of the Ents from The Lord of the Rings. The humans are tall and spindly like in 101 Dalmatians (which I just watched, which is probably why I thought of that).

This is a really sweet story, with a great message about how what's inside is what matters. I think it would be good for kids of any age.

4 stars.

Full disclosure: Free ebook copy received from the author.