Book Review: Missing by R.L. Stine

Welcome back to Musings of an Arthritic Artist! Today I am going to be doing another book review, this one a review of Missing by R.L. Stine.

This review will predominantly be spoiler-free, however, there will be a spoiler section toward the end of this post.

With that aside, let's get into the review!

Missing is the fourth Fear Street novel. It's a YA mystery horror book. This book follows two characters, Mark and Cara Burroughs. Chapters are told in alternating perspectives, both in first person. The siblings' parents have gone missing. They haven't called or come home. This event kickstarts the entire plot, wherein Cara and Mark try to find out what happened to their parents. Of course, in typical R.L. Stone fashion, Cara and Mark's lives are in danger. It seems as if the cousin who lives with them is also spying on them.

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I really liked Cara and Mark. This is the first Fear Street book I've read that follows two siblings. Mostly, it's just a group of friends. I don't have any problems with that, I just like stories with siblings more. I find them to be more relatable. I really liked the relationship between Cara and Mark. 

It felt realistic. They annoyed each other on purpose, but they also cared about one another. They weren't constantly fighting, which was nice to see. The two of them tried to work together to find their parents.

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💥🔥SPOILER ALERT🔥💥
Anything below this is a spoiler
You have been warned

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Honestly, half of the mystery in this novel could have been solved if Cara's and Mark's parents just communicated with them. The whole thing at the end where they are revealed to be FBI agents and Roger is revealed to not be their cousin but instead be the best agent they had could have been resolved much quicker. 

If Mark and Cara had at least known Riger was an FBI agent, then they could've spent less time on Roger and more time on finding their parents. Some of the stuff with Roger just bogged the pacing down a bit, especially once the revelation came at the end.

I was also expecting a bit less mystery thriller and more paranormal-esque horror. With the monkey heads, I was actually expecting more of a Say Cheese and Die type thing. I expected that the monkey heads were a paranormal thing that had just sucked up their parents. I wasn't expecting a cult and for Mark's and Cara's parents to be members of the FBI. 

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I was disappointed when Roger died. I was genuinely interested in him and his story. Once the end came around and his identity was revealed, it just made me want him to be alive. He was an interesting character. Why exactly did he live with the Burroughs? Was he there because he and the the Burroughs worked on cases together? Was he there to protect Mark and Cara in case their parents weren't there? It's never explained, and I kind of wish it had been.

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✔👍SPOILERS OVER👍✔

Overall, this was a really enjoyable book. Is it perfect? No. Are there things about it that don't make sense? Yes. But in general, I really liked this book and I rate it 4 out of 5 years. Character-wise, I think this is the best Fear Street novel I've read out of the five I've read thus far. I enjoyed reading about Cara's and Mark's journey to find their parents.

That's it for this post! I hope you enjoyed it! 

Until next time, 

Lexi K🖌

Book Review: The Perfect Date by R.L. Stine (mostly spoiler free)

Welcome back to Musings of an Arthritic Artist! Today I am going to be doing another book review, this one a review of The Perfect Date by R.L. Stine.

This is a book I read finished less than a week ago, so it's pretty fresh in my mind. This review will predominantly be spoiler-free, however, there will be a spoiler section toward the end of this post.

With that aside, let's get into the review!

The Perfect Date is a Fear Street novel. It's a YA paranormal horror book. It follows Brady Karlin, a senior at Shadyside High School. After the tragic death of his girlfriend in a sledding accident a year before the main events of the novel, he has a new girlfriend named Allie. However, he soon meets a girl named Rosha and proceeds to want to engage in a romantic relationship with her. Accidents keep happening though. Accidents that only happen when Rosha is around. Brady also keeps seeing a girl with a scarred face whom he is terrified of. 

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I found Brady to be extremely unlikable. There wasn't honestly anything redeemable about him, though I know that was R.L. Stine's intention. I didn't like how obsessive Brady was. It was annoying. I'm just glad this story was in third person from Brady's POV and not first person from Brady's POV as I likely would've struggled to get through it even more. I also didn't like how Brady cheated on Allie. He should've just broken up with her before he met up with Rosha. 

My favorite character was Jon, Brady's best friend. He was sensible. I liked the relationship he and Brady had. I also liked how Jon pointed out how wrong Brady was for not breaking up with Allie while seeing another girl. Jon was a nice voice of reason who honestly could've helped out Brady a lot if the guy had just listened to him.

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This book was surprisingly dark and gruesome. I've read one other Fear Street novel before, and it wasn't as gruesome as this one was. It wasn't overly graphic or anything, but the prologue talks about how mangled Sharon's--Brady's bereaved girlfriend--face and body were after her sledding accident. 

Once that happened, I knew the story was going to be dark. There were also mentions of limbs breaking off of characters during the climax, which wasn't the most pleasant thing to read if I'm being completely honest. It was dark, gruesome, and grim. It's the exact thing I would've expected in an R.L. Stine book written for teens.

💥🔥SPOILER ALERT🔥💥
Anything below this is a spoiler
You have been warned

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Initially the cover confused me, as Rosha was described as having blonde hair and green eyes. The girl on the cover looks nothing like that description. However, at the end, when Rosha is actually revealed to be Sharon, the cover makes a lot more sense. Sharon is described by Brady in the second to last chapter as having light brown hair and blue eyes. Coincidentally enough, that is the exact description of the girl on the cover.

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One thing about this book that I didn't really like was when Jon was killed off. I understand that it had a purpose because Brady couldn't find out before Rosha/Sharon revealed her secret, but I still didn't like it. Jon was one of the only characters I liked, and, like I mentioned previously, he was actually my favorite character. When he died, I was disappointed and kind of annoyed, solely because he was such a good, caring friend to Brady and was just overall a kind person.

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✔👍SPOILERS OVER👍✔

Overall, this was a really enjoyable book despite how unlikable Brady was. I didn't see the twist coming, which was interesting. I rate this book a 4 out of 5 stars. It would've been rated higher due to the twists, emotions, and shock I felt, but I hated how unlikable and obsessive Brady was. 

That's it for this review! I hope you enjoyed it! 

See you Thursday, 

Lexi K🖌