Rating: Summary: R.L. Stine's measly attempt at writing an adult novel Review: I've been a big fan of R.L. Stine's Goosebumps and Fear Street books for quite some time now. I didn't really consider them to be scary or frightening; I just enjoyed the books So I picked this book up at the young adult section not really expecting anything but a young adult thriller, a la Fear Street with more matureness. When I finished the book and read the About The Author page, I considered it kind of shocking that this was supposed to be an adult novel. But this book was really nothing like that. The plot was the same easy-to-conceive one as other R.L. Stine books, and anyone who can understand a Goosebumps book can definitely comprehend this one. Basically, R.L. Stine adds some older characters to a supposedly scary plotline and then throws in a lot of sex, swearing, boyfriend-and-girlfriend issues, smoking pot, etc.
Here's the plot: Almost twenty-five-year old Ellie Sacks finds herself in a tight stretch one summer. She doesn't have a permanent job or a family yet and is sick of her mother telling her about how successful her older sister is. Ellie's best friend was planning on getting a job and Ellie felt as though she should do the same. She finally gets a job when a lady named Abby Harper corners her in a boutique and asks her to be a nanny to her two children, with a promise that the pay would be very good. So Ellie packs up and moves to the Harper's house, not knowing what is in store. She finds that she is expected to be nanny to a two-year-old girl and a four-year-old boy named Brandon who has stopped talking for reasons that nobody knows. Ellie makes it her main goal to be able to communicate with the boy, but she has other stuff to deal with, such as death threats, horrible things from an anonymous sender, and a crazy lady who tells her to stay away from the Harper's. Slowly, Ellie's summer becomes more and more horrible and unpredictable until the final plot twist at the end.
This book wasn't bad- but it's definitely not an adult novel. If R.L. Stine took out the adult-like stuff, then this novel could be for a nine-year-old kid to easily read. He should sharpen his pencil and try again.
Rating: Summary: Ho hum Review: Sorry to skew the consensus, but I did not find this book to be particularly scary or well written. To say that this book is adult reading is a stretch. I would place it more at the young adult level, the mentions of Ellie's sex life notwithstanding. It is a very easy read with no sophistication of plot or characterization. Ellie Saks flees her traumatic past and the stresses of New York City life to find a job as a nanny in the posh Hamptons for two children, one of whom, Brandon, is severely disturbed and seemingly possessed by spirits. She is stalked by her ex-boyfriend. She receives a series of increasingly threatening gifts and messages. Her employer makes advances towards her. She sees mysterious apparitions on the grounds of the estate. She repeatedly encounters the ghost of a long-dead boyfriend. Not exactly fun at the beach, is it? But in spite of the ingredients for a good horror story, the characters are naive and their actions make little sense. Why would Ellie stay on the job with all the threats against her? For that matter, what conscientious parents wouldn't fire Ellie after all those threats? Why did she continue to humor her ex-boyfriend? How could either Ellie or the parents shrug off Brandon's escalating violent tendencies? How much less realistic could the ex-nanny Mrs. Bricker be? How could the local police miss such elementary detective techniques when investigating the threats against Ellie? As for the surprise ending, I guessed the perpetrator halfway through, and the final details were so far-fetched that it was hard for me to take it seriously. The ghost theme was poorly developed, and at the end I was not certain what had really transpired in that regard. Ho hum. Give me a Stephen King or Dean Koontz novel instead.
Rating: Summary: One of R.L. Stine's Best Review: The Sitter is a great and scary book about a 25-year old girl who decides to become a nanny to two strange kids. This is a definite page-turner and the climax of the book will shock you!
Rating: Summary: Pretty good book Review: This a a very easy and fast read. I remembered reading his books when I was younger and when I saw this one I thought I might give it a try again now that he had one for adults. It was a pretty good book. Very suspenseful and entertaining. I really liked the fact that I could read this book in one night. If you liked his children and teen books then chances are you will like this one.
Rating: Summary: very good book! Review: This book was really good, as usual R.L Stine has a huge twist that you'll never expect. It is about a girl name Ellie Saks who is trying to get away from her boyfriend and is looking for a job she gets a job as a nanny and there she meets 4 year old brandon who as stopped speaking for awhile and is haunted by something unspeakable. I recommend you read this book if you are a big r.l. stine fan.
Rating: Summary: R.L. Stine at his best... Review: This is R.L. Stine's second attempt at an adult novel (his first being 'Superstitions'), and I believe it hits the target. At 309 pages, its quite an easy book to read, but at least for me, was a little more challenging than say Goosebumps or Fear Street. I read R.L. Stine as a child, both the Goosebumps and Fear Street series, and it was quite a surprise to see him write an adult novel. Language, sex, drugs, alcohol, and very difficult situations play into this novel, so I wouldn't recommend it to anyone under the age of 14. The book is very well-written, and has a great surprise ending (what else would you expect from Stine?). I hope very much Robert continues his current writing process, that being no series, but a novel or two every 6-8 months.
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