The Haunted Mask

June 15, 2012
Making its fourth appearance and by now practically a recurring character in Stine's creep-show opus, the evil mask with a mind of its own kicks off a new Goosebumps spinoff--the first to be originally published in hardcover. Stine crafts two Halloween chillers and links them at the end. In the first, after an introductory setup set 40 years in the past, Lu-Ann wanders away from a friend's boring party and discovers a demonic green mask in an old trunk. It not only doesn't come off once she dons it (natch), but enflames her with uncontrollable and destructive anger issues. In the second, Lu-Ann's friend Devin's conviction that his holiday is going to be lame since he has to spend it helping his family sell pick-your-own pumpkins doesn't last long. The vines start moving, the pumpkins turn squishy when he touches them, and the dead begin to rise from the graveyard beneath the field. Featuring plenty of sudden screams, eerie dreams, creeping dread and spooky undead (but no actual bloodshed), the plotlines ultimately intertwine in a climax that frees both young teens from their travails and allows them (and readers) to laugh at it all the next morning. Pure, Goosebumps-style terror-by-formula, polished through use to such a high gloss that it slides along frictionlessly--a worthy celebration of the series' 20th anniversary. (reversible dust-jacket mask [not seen]) (Horror. 10-12)

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April 15, 2012
Grades 3-6 Sure, the Goosebumps series made Stine the standard bearer of middle-grade horror for generations, but can he still hold his own against newer upstart competitors? Have no fearactually, have plenty of fearthe master has still got it. In this twentieth-anniversary edition of Goosebumps, Stine offers two intertwined yarns with irresistible premises. First, 12-year-old Lu-Ann uncovers a terrifying mask in an attic, perfect for that evening's Halloween party, but it melts into her skin and tearing it off would mean ripping off her own face. Plus, it seems to imbue her with an uncontrollable, hulking (and for the reader, cathartic) rage. In a concurrent tale, Lu-Ann's friend Devin finds himself working with his dad at a Halloween pumpkin patch that just happens to have been planted over an ancient graveyard. The enemy this time: creeping vines. There might be a few too many prank fake-outs and crying-wolf moments, but this book offers a great opportunity to rediscover what makes Stine so special: his swift characterizations, icky ideas, and prose that offers the exact right amount of cover-your-eyes detail. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: This twentieth anniversary comes with a few perks: this is the first Goosebumps book in hardback, and the jacket reverses to become a poster. Expect renewed interest in the whole series.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2013
This compact chiller links tales of a haunted mask and a possessed pumpkin patch into a single Halloween episode, striking a balance between true horror and lighter camp. There are no surprises in this dedicatedly formulaic series milestone, but the short chapters, nonstop cliffhangers, and wealth of red herrings make it an accessible and addictive read.

(Copyright 2013 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)