Member Reviews
Once again, R.L. Stine can do no wrong. This is a friendly little winter break story with goblins. I really enjoyed this. I'm definitely looking forward to the new Goosebumps House of Shivers series.
Actual rating 3.5 stars but I will always round up <3
Goblins! Imps! Grampa Tweety he's always telling the strangest story about the strangest of creatures. And when he's not doing that he's crooning to his collection of songbirds.
Trigger warnings: There's a tense scene about a rabbit that has been killed, laying in the snow. After our young hero of the story, Mario, lays his eyes upon that scene outside, it bothers him for a while. Also, there's a room inside the house or the wall is covered in dead bird's feet (not a fun sight either).
Any fan of Goosebumps will surely enjoy this. The new House of Shivers series has me reliving my childhood and I am thoroughly enjoying the nostalgia.
Mario gets to go on a trip with his friends Jewel and Todd. The grandparents of Jewel and Todd are odd.
The author is R.L.Stine and of course his books are spooky.
Thanks to Scholastic and to NetGalley for the ARC.
I continue to be impressed that RL Stine has written what feels like about a zillion Goosebumps books at this point, yet he continues to come up with cute and clever ideas to keep the series fun.
You can see the ending of this one coming from miles away, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a good one.
Probably not recommending this one for young kids if your family has beloved pet birds, but otherwise this is fun for all ages, cleverly creepy and just spooky enough without being too much for a younger audience.
Thank you NetGalley and Scholastic Paperbacks for a free digital copy of Goblin Monday by R.L. Stine in exchange for an honest review. I am a huge R.L. Stine fan, and if you are like me, then this book will be right up your alley. I think it fits perfectly in the age range for middle grade scary. I love the mystery, all the twists, and its creepy parts too.
When Mario travels to his friends', Todd and Jules, grandparents' house in Vermont, strange things start to happen. Are Grandpa Tweety's stories true, is he just a fantastic storyteller, or is something strange going on? This book really keeps you turning those pages to find out what is going to happen next. I think kids as well as parents will enjoy this spooky read.
**3.5-stars**
Goblin Monday is the 2nd-book in the House of Shivers series. This entire franchise holds a very special place in my heart, and I was excited when I learned that Stine was adding another limb to the Goosebumps family tree.
I really enjoyed the 1st-installment, Goosebumps: House of Shivers: Scariest. Book. Ever., when I read it last year. It was fast-paced, with a great antagonist and spooky creatures. Overall, a very solid Goosebumps read. Jumping into this one, I was feeling confident and loved how this one kicked off. The set-up was great and I was anticipating a solid ride all the way through.
In this story we follow Mario. He grew up in South Florida and has very recently moved North with his family. On his first winter break, he gets invited along a holiday trip with his new friends, Todd and Jewel. Todd and Jewel's grandparents live in Vermont and their parents take them up there every year. When Marco gets invited along for the trip, he is ecstatic. He's going to get to see snow for the first time!
He's warned on the car ride up that Grandpa Tweety and Mom Mom are a bit on the eccentric side, but they're purportedly harmless and wickedly entertaining. Mario enters their home with an open heart and excitement for all the adventures that lay ahead that week. Little did he know that soon he would be fighting for his life.
As the cover and synopsis indicate, this story does involve goblins. The way Stine introduced the idea of goblins being on the Vermont property, and slowly bringing them to life on the page, was engaging and admittedly, creepy as heck. Mario didn't notice the ominous nature of the events happening at the home as quickly as I thought he would, but once he did, it was hard watching him try to get his friends to believe in the things he had seen and experienced. They weren't taking him seriously, brushing off his concerns, and I was getting as frustrated as he was!
I found almost the entirety of this book gripping and fun, but the very end just blew the whole thing for me. Ultimately, I was really conflicted on how to rate it. It's so good, I was hooked, right up until the final two scenes. I was seriously was thinking that this could actually be a unicorn 5-star Goosebumps read.
But then, Stine just did his thing where the end is so freaking bizarre and makes no sense in context with the rest of the story. Why, Mr. Stine? Why? Honestly though, even with that being said, it's still absolutely worth a read. There were some genuinely scary scenes up until those final few moments. There's a lot of creepy content involving birds, and wandering around in a snow-filled forest feeling like something is following you. The build-up and development was great, but yeah, that ending; not good.
Obviously, I still recommend this to any fan of the Goosebumps franchise. We all know at this point the tricks that Stine oftentimes pulls at the end. To long time Readers, you'll most likely just SYH at this conclusion. And as far as new Readers go, I always encourage jumping in on new series from the beginning, as soon as you can. It's fun to just read along from the start as they're released, and I plan to continue to do so with this series.
Thank you so much to the publisher, Scholastic Paperbacks, for providing me with a copy to read and review. It looks like the 3rd-installment is going to be a Mummy story and I'm so ready for it. I will never stop reading R.L. Stine's work, because no matter how old I get, you're never too old for Goosebumps!!
The main character is very relateable in this story. Mario grew up in Florida and is about to experience his first snow on a vacation to Vermont. Whether the reader has experienced snow or not, Mario's and his friends every day adventures are something readers can enjoy and get excited about. But there is so much more than a winter vacation going on here. Told through first person, Stine takes us on a mystery and creep fest where you never know if things are what they seem. With ominous chapter titles and chapter endings the reader is always eager to see what happens next in Goblin Monday.
Mario has been invited to spend winter break with his friends Todd and Jewel on their family vacation in Vermont. He is told that their grandfather is a little odd. Mario is excited to go as he has never experienced snow. When he meets the grandparents, he is aware of how short they are. He enjoys the meals that Grandma makes even though Grandma always wants to have them sing with her even though the songs are unknown to him. Grandfather tells great stories in the evenings about trolls, goblins and elves. Mario wonders if these creatures are real. While outside with Todd and Jewel, he is sure that he has seen a goblin but no one believes him. Mario doesn’t why they don’t believe him. He decides that he will catch one to prove that he did see a goblin. Will Mario catch a goblin?
This is a fun and scary story to enjoy. Stine has written a new series of Goosebumps. He has done an excellent job. There is suspense and mystery with a little horror included. It’s a book not to be missed.
Goosebumps wasn’t around when I was a young. The closest thing I can recall was the now out of print Dark Forces book series. But one of my nephews really enjoyed them when he was younger and I borrowed a few of his back in the day just to see what the craze was all about. And I enjoyed the heck out of them. Did I find them scary? No, but I could definitely see how younger readers would find them as safe/fun scares. They’re just really enjoyable stories and it amazes me how many stories Mr. Stine has managed to pump out over the years. His newest, Goblin Monday, is a wildly fun tale that is filled with tension and mystery and has a crazy fun over-the-top ending, which is sure to delight younger readers. I’d like to thank Scholastic, Scholastic Paperbacks, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review Goblin Monday.
https://www.amazon.com/review/R1SFHAFNTFZ13R/ref=pe_1098610_137716200_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv
I have recently wanted to get back to reading the old and new goosebumps stories. I ran into this one and I’m glad I did. It’s just an easy read and a lot of fun. It’s the typical goosebumps story and there are still new goosebumps books today..
As someone who grew up during the first round of Goosebumps series it was so great to see that it's still around to introduce younger readers to the horror genre. This is a great book for the audience for whom it is written. It's a nice little mystery that's just creepy enough to put it into the horror category without being so scary that it will give kids nightmares. I haven't read book 1 so I'm not sure how they will all be connected. As an adult reading it the big twists at the end had me asking a whole bunch of "but if that's the truth, then why did this happen?" types of questions. I'm also not a huge fan of books that end the way this one does and I'm curious if the events in this book will come up again in future books in the series. Even with those minor complaints, I'm so glad that R.L. Stine is still out there writing books like this!
Goblin Monday on a Friday sounds about right! This one was full of twists and turns as well as red herrings (NO pun intended - when you read, you'll get it) that literally piled up until the last sentences of the story. It made me want to watch M. Night Shyamalan's The Visit, also. And not because of similar plots, really, but just due to the nature of visiting grandparents and sensing that something just isn't quite right. Had a good time with BOOK TWO in this new Goosebumps House of Shivers series from the master of MG HORROR!
Reading Goblin Monday was so nostalgic. I was excited to be able to read this! This is definitely geared towards younger readers which makes sense as that's what Goosebumps has always been geared towards! It's not really scary especially compared to adult thrillers. But it was fun!! Very quick read!
Thank you to NetGalley and Scholastic for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!
This was an enjoyable nostalgic read. I really enjoy the Goosebumps series and I'm glad its back. It's fun to read scary stories!
Goblin Monday is the second installment in the Goosebumps House of Shivers series. We follow a young boy who goes on vacation with his neighbor family. He is excited to experience winter for the first time because he’s originally from Florida. However, things start to get weird when the grandpa starts telling weird stories and he starts to see weird stuff in the forest outside the house.
I love the goosebumps books and this one is no different! It has the humor and the scares all in one. I love the fun characters and the final twist at the end. I read this in one sitting and it was a quick read. It kept my attention and it will keep kids attention also! I also loved the wintry setting. I would recommend this to kids looking for a bit of scare but not too much to keep them up at night.
Thanks so much to netgalley and scholastic for the arc of this book in exchange for an honest review!
Mario Galagos is joining his best friends Todd and Jewel on their annual holiday visit to snowy Vermont.
I will never stop loving Goosebumps. This series is why I am the way I am as an adult.
LOVE LOVE LOVE I feel like R.L. Stine's writing style has grown up over the years and he can still make people shiver in such a short book
R L Stine has written another great goosebumps book. It was a fun and spooky children's book with plenty of twists and turns to keep kids interested.
Thank you to netgalley for the arc!
3.5 pretty good
I loved how the grampa would tell the stories. My dad also used to tell of kinds of magical and weird myth type stories he would make up. I loved the tense scary scenes some of which I was surprised where a little graphic. I did not like how chapters would end telling what was gonna happen cause I think it is more fun to learn it as it goes than to be told. I liked the atmosphere and I could tell something tense was going to happen with the birds. I found the book to be good and creepy. There were a couple things I was not fond of like the above mentioned and also at times some repeative things like the pot of stew. Over all I liked it and thought it was fun.