Back in the early nineties, I became obsessed with the Fear Street series by R.L. Stine. I remember walking into my first Scholastic Book Fair all by myself and seeing R.L. Stine on the shelves. I had to buy them. I slowly but surely worked through them whenever I had a chance. My parents called me a book nerd, and they would have to take R.L. Stine’s books away from me because I took them everywhere with me. I couldn’t stop reading them.
Now, in my late thirties, I decided to reread them, especially after realizing they were finally being adapted into a three-part movie series thanks to Netflix. Yes, friggin’ finally!
The New Girl is the first book in the Fear Street series. It includes a high school boy named Cory Brooks, who falls hard for the new girl at Shadyside High. She’s beautiful, and he is determined to get to know her. Unfortunately, she keeps disappearing. When he finds out where she’s from, he goes to where she lives on Fear Street. Fear Street, though, is known to be cursed, but he doesn’t care. He’ll risk it to know her. Although, he may end up losing his life if he isn’t careful. His friends even find his weird obsession with the new girl dangerous.
I enjoyed the first book of the series since it’s only the beginning of what is to come in the series. R.L. Stine always managed to keep me guessing on what is going on and if the new girl was a ghost or not. Although, Cory Brooks drove me crazy with his obsession. He needed someone to knock some sense into him. I did like how the book ended. (not spoiling for anyone who hasn’t read this book/series yet) I love how R.L. Stine includes mystery, suspense, some horror, and paranormal elements in his book. This was why he will always be the author who obsessed with reading when I was a kid. Maybe soon, my daughters will read these books and become obsessed too.
I give this book four stars and look forward to reading the next book in the series. I recommend this book/series to YA Horror and Middle-Grade Horror readers.