A Midsummer Night's Scream by R.L. Stine Book Review

Title:  A Midsummer Night’s Scream
Author:  R.L. Stine
Publisher:  Feiwel and Friends
Date of Release:  July 2, 2013
Pages:  256
Received From: Literary Lushes Arc Tours

About the Book

Get ready for laughter to turn into screams in R.L. Stine’s re-imagining of Shakespeare’s classic romantic comedy A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Everyone knows that Mayhem Manor is cursed. After production on the horror film was stopped due to a series of mysterious deaths, it became a Hollywood legend–which makes it perfect for Claire and her family. If they can successfully finish the film, it should be enough to save their ailing movie studio.

Sure, the old haunted house is creepy, and strange stuff has been happening, but this is Claire’s chance. Her chance to become the movie star she’s always dreamed and her chance to finally convince her friend Jake that she is girlfriend material. Of course, the fact that Jake thinks he’s in love with her best friend, Delia, who is crushing hard on Jake’s friend Shawn, who insists on following Claire around, could be a problem, but Claire is sure she can figure it out. After all, the course of true love never did run smooth.

But once shooting starts, “creepy and strange” morph into “bloody and deadly,” as the lines between film and reality begin to blur…

Review

There is nothing I hate more than having to write a bad review. There are a lot of books that I don’t like for one reason or another, but I can usually find something redeeming about them. I am sad to say that wasn’t the case with A Midsummer Night’s Scream. I don’t even know where to begin. I found it hard to believe that parents would allow their children to participate in a remake of a horror movie that had 3 ‘accidental’ deaths. Who would put their kids in this type of situation, no matter how hard they begged? Being the owners of the film studio, just put them in another film. I found the whole story to be poorly written, with an underdeveloped plot, poor character development, and just overall bad writing.

I have never read anything by R.L. Stine before, but my girls love Goosebumps, Fear Street, and watch The Nightmare Room on tv. Maybe I am just too old (I’m not that old, lol) to get where he is coming from. But, I seriously don’t think so. I can’t find one thing about this book that I liked except the cover, and would certainly tell anyone else to steer clear and pick up something else. It might work for the pre-teen audience, but I wouldn’t even subject them to this one. Maybe I should pick up a Goosebumps book and see if this is typical.

Have you read anything by R.L. Stine that you can recommend? If so, let me know.

About the Author

R.L. STINE is the author of the bestselling Goosebumps and Fear Street series, as well as the stand-alone novel It’s the First Day of School . . . Forever! His adult novel, Red Rain, was described by Douglas Preston as, “Real characters, crisp writing, and a wicked sense of humor . . . ” He lives in New York City with his wife, Jane, and their dog, Minnie.