Kirkus Reviews
Goosebumps "most wanted" monsters return in all-new tales intended to terrify. Twelve-year-old Noah "Bean" Bienstock is frightened of monsters, and he's been having awful dreams of a huge, dark beast dragging him underwater. He's so bothered by the dream that he sees monsters everywhere: running down the street, in the school's pool, even in his best friend's apartment. He knows they're real, and he's sure they're after him. Could Monroe, the new kid in Sternom House Apartments, be the monster? Could it be Harlan, the bully who takes Bean's lunch money every day? Why isn't Bean's best friend Lissa more helpful? Why aren't his parents more supportive? Is he going crazy? When the dream changes, and the monster tells Bean he's next, Bean really wigs out. Stine's new Goosebumps subseries recycles monsters that starred in the original volumes. The writing is repetitive and formulaic, but it's a formula that has worked for over 20 years: silly/scary covers with only a few frights inside, chapter-ending cliffhangers resolved in the first few sentences of the next chapter and a twist ending. Bean's first-person narration is full of hyperbolic, goggle-eyed mugging and lots of horrifying italics! Nothing new to see here; for hard-core fans only. (Horror. 8-12)
ALA Booklist
(Thu Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2013)
Noah "Bean" Bienstock has monsters on his mind. He is having recurring nightmares about being drowned by one, though his parents are convinced they stem from being anxious about swim team tryouts. On the chubby side, with glasses, Bean is shy, nervous, and unpopular d the nightmares are only making things worse. Bullied on the way to school by an oversize classmate, Bean is not the kind to fight back, even though his best friend Lissa tells him to stand up for himself. Surrounded on all sides by monsters th real and imaginary an has to face the monster within us all. From the latest Goosebumps series, this entry does not break any new ground, but why mess with success? Fans of anagrams will have an immediate clue about what is happening thanks to the name of the apartment building where Bean and his friends live. Have a few copies on hand to meet what's sure to be high demand.
School Library Journal
(Thu Apr 28 00:00:00 CDT 2022)
BRANFORD, Anna . Violet Mackerel's Personal Space . illus. by Elanna Allen. 116p. S &; S / Atheneum . Sept. 2013. Tr $15.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-3591-9 ; pap. $5.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-3592-6 ; ebook $5.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-3593-3 . LC 2012025783. Gr 1-3 BRUEL, Nick . Bad Kitty School Daze . illus. by author. 160p. Roaring Brook / A Neal Porter Bk. 2013. PLB $13.99. ISBN 978-1-59643-670-1 . LC 2012015359. Gr 35 COTLER, Steve . Cheesie Mack Is Running Like Crazy . Bk. 3. illus. by Douglas Holgate. 240p. Random . June 2013. Tr $15.99. ISBN 978-0-307-97713-7 ; PLB $18.99. ISBN 978-0-307-97714-4 ; ebook $10.99. ISBN 978-0-307-97715-1 . LC 2012017978. Gr 36 DELANEY, Joseph . Slither . Bk. 11. illus. by Patrick Arrasmith. 398p. (The Last Apprentice Series). HarperCollins / Greenwillow . 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-06-219234-9 . LC 2012042032. Gr 58 HOLUB, Joan &; Suzanne Williams . Hades and the Helm of Darkness . Bk. 3. illus. by Craig Phillips. 128p. (Heroes in Training Series). S &; S / Aladdin . 2013. Tr $15.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-5725-6 ; pap. $5.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-5267-1 ; ebook $5.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-5268-8 . LC 2012942890. Gr 24 HOLUB, Joan &; Suzanne Williams . Pheme the Gossip . 272p. (Goddess Girls Series). S &; S / Aladdin . 2013. Tr $15.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-6138-3 ; pap. $5.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-4937-4 ; ebook $5.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-4938-1 . LC 2013930969. Gr 36 HUNTER, Erin . The Sun Trail . Bk. 1. illus. by Wayne McLoughlin. 312p. (Warriors: Dawn of the Clans Series). HarperCollins / Harper . 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-06-206346-5 ; PLB $17.89. ISBN 978-0-06-206347-2 . Gr 4 Up JOBLING, Curtis . Storm of Sharks . Bk. 5. 454p. (Wereworld Series). Viking . May 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-670-78558-2 . Gr 68 KENYON, Sherrilyn . Inferno . Bk. 4. 464p. (Chronicles of Nick Series). St. Martin's / Griffin . 2013. Tr $18.99. ISBN 978-1-250-00283-9 ; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-1-250-02340-7 . Gr 710 KIRBY, Stan . Captain Awesome and the Ultimate Spelling Bee . Bk. 7. illus. by George O'Connor. 128p. S &; S / Little Simon . 2013. Tr $15.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-5156-8 ; pap. $4.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-5156-8 . LC 2011046177. Gr 13 KOWITT, H. N. Jinx of the Loser . Bk. 3. illus. by author. 224p. (The Loser List Series). Scholastic . May 2013. Tr $9.99. ISBN 978-0-545-50794-3 ; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-0-545-53955-5 . Gr 47 MULL, Brandon . Chasing the Prophecy . Bk. 3. 512p. (Beyonders Series). S &; S / Aladdin . 2013. Tr $19.99. ISBN 978-1-4169-9796-2 ; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-1-4169-9800-6 . LC 2012035223. Gr 5–8 SMITH, Clete Barrett . Aliens in Disguise . illus. by Christian Slade. 240p. (The Intergalactic Bed and Breakfast Series). Hyperion / Disney . 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-1-4231-6598-9 . LC 2012019758. Gr 3–6 STINE, R.L. How I Met My Monster . Bk. 3. 140p. (Goosebumps Most Wanted Series). Scholastic . 2013. pap. $6.99. ISBN 978-0-545-41800-3 ; ebook $6.99. ISBN 978-0-545-51017-2 . Gr 3–5 TASHJIAN, Janet . My Life as a Cartoonist . illus. by Jake Tashjian. 288p. Holt . May 2013. Tr $12.99. ISBN 978-0-8050-9609-5 . Gr 4–7 PEIRCE, Lincoln . Big Nate: Game On! illus. by author. 224p. Andrews McMeel . 2013. pap. $9.99. ISBN 978-1-4494-2777-1 . LC 2012952339. Gr 2–4 PENNYPACKER, Sara . Clementine and the Spring Trip . Bk. 6. illus. by Marla Frazee. 160p. Hyperion / Disney . 2013. RTE $14.99. ISBN 978-1-4231-2357-6 . LC 2011052991. Gr 2–4 WARNER, Gertrude Chandler . The Boardwalk Mystery . Bk. 131. 128p. (The Boxcar Children Series). Albert Whitman . 2013. Tr $15.99. ISBN 978-0-8075-0802-2 ; pap. $5.99. 978-0-8075-0803-9. LC 2012020161. Gr 2–5 WEST, Jacqueline . The Strangers . Bk. 4. illus. by Poly Bernatene. 320p. (The Books of Elsewhere Series). Dial . July 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-8037-3690-0 . LC 2012040004. Gr 4–6