2011 Old School YA Challenge COMPLETED!

Hooray! Check out my final list here. Another one bites the dust. Only three more to go and I'm done. The Off the Shelf Challenge is still haunting me, though. Boo.

The New Girl by RL Stine

Published June 1989.

She's pale as a ghost, blonde and eerily beautiful - and she seems to need him as much as he wants her. Cory Brooks hungers for Anna Corwin's kisses, drowns in her light blue eyes.

He can't get her out of his mind. And the trouble has only begun. Shadyside High's star gymnast is losing sleep, skipping practice and acting weird. All the guys have noticed, but only Cory's friend Lisa knows the truth: Anna Corwin is dead and living on Fear Street. Now Cory must explore its menacing darkness to discover the truth. He has already been warned: come to Fear Street and you're dead! (book back blurb)

The book turned out to be not nearly as sinister as the blurb intones but it had its creeptastic moments all the same. Stine knows how to build suspense and keep the reader hanging as the plot moves along. Really, it's no wonder he's been putting out books for so long. He doesn't have an underlying evil about his writing like Stephen King does but it's spooky. It does the trick if you happen to be young and reading it in the dark. It gets under your skin just enough that you turn the light on an extra notch and settle back in to read.

THE NEW GIRL is the first book in the Fear Street series and I'd say (while I've read them way out of order) this would be a pretty good start. If I happened to be a young teen wandering a book store in the late 80s and picked it up, I'd totally get hooked on the series (because I haven't done it now, obviously, O_o). It's sort of your typical ghost story with the spooky street and the creepy houses and the scary stories that all of the locals grew up with. It's a great beginning and scene-setter to get it all rolling. There's a curse around Fear Street, and here's why.

Now, I wouldn't peg Cory as dumb but he was definitely oblivious to the point of me wanting to smack him upside the head. Whether he just developed some serious tunnel vision or really only had a one track mind, if Cory saw one way, there just wasn't any other way to see it. And I felt for Lisa because she was trying to break through that egg shell head of his and it just wasn't working for 99% of the book. Only after the revelation at the end did Cory finally come around and see a light outside of his own closet.

The ending was a bit disappointing for me because it kind of watered down the rest of the story but it was decent enough. It could have been a hell of a lot worse but there are other avenues that Stine could have taken the plot that would have made is much creepier. But that's pretty classic Stine: a lot of build-up with a nominally happy ending and a pretty rational explanation for everything. Well, as rational as a horror book can get. You come to expect it reading his work.

THE NEW GIRL is a great addition to any cheese lover's library, especially if you can snag a first printing paperback like I have. :) If nothing else it'll make you nostalgic for a time when you didn't have much else to worry about so you could curl up under the blankets with a flashlight and read horror to your heart's content.

Ban Factor: Medium - No swearing, pretty minimal in any kind of sexual innuendo and at the end of the day it's supernatural free, the banners would have a hard time finding something to hate about this one. But that's assuming they'd actually read the book. On first glance, the ban factor would be high since it's horror so it must be totally atrocious.

The Forbidden Game, Volume 1: The Hunter by LJ Smith

Published March, 1994.

He sold her the Game, and Jenny Thornton walked out mesmerized by Julian, the gorgeous cyber-punk with electric blue eyes and frost-white hair. When she and her friends open the plain white box at her boyfriend Tom's birthday party, she chills to the warning: "Entering the Shadow World can be deadly. Do so at your own risk." Spellbound, they piece together the cardboard Victorian house and decorate the rooms with their darkest nightmares. Suddenly the game is real! They're in the house of horrors, running from The Shadow Man - Julian himself, who forces them to confront their worst nightmares or be lost in a private hell. It's Julian's game, and Jenny is the prize he's stalked for years. He'll do anything to win her as she bargains desperately for her body - and soul . . . (book back blurb)

Loved it. I need to get the sequels sometime in the near future.

I really liked Smith's writing. Unlike Pike's and Stine's, it didn't feel like a teenager's voice forced. It felt so much more natural, like something I'd likely read today that has a better grasp on the teenage voice. I really felt it and I believed it. Smith made a hit where her counterparts' weaknesses fell.

It had a slight Labyrinth feel to it but not as much as I originally thought. There's the puppet master aspect, taking the victims away into his own playing field and putting them through a maze made out of aspects of their own minds. But the similarities ended there. Still, I liked what Smith did, turning everyone's minds against them. Not to mention she isn't afraid to make some kills when she needs to. They're necessary for the plot, not serving it. I was creeped out a bit by Julian taking a liking to Jenny so young. I think she was about six? I didn't have that creep factor with Labyrinth (I have no idea why because it makes no sense) but I was a bit squicked by it here.

I liked how the strongest characters were broken down and exposed. No one was safe and no one made it out of their nightmare undamaged. Even characters I didn't really like to start off with I ended up liking at the end because any facade they had came crashing down. They were torn apart and the plot felt more real for it.

I haven't read any of Smith's other works (this was the one that appealed to me the most so I figured it was the best starting place) but I'd highly recommend THE HUNTER. I think it's a great showcase of Smith's writing and she ranks up there with Pike and Stine when it comes to not sparing her characters. It's realistic and fantastically frightening all at the same time and I couldn't get enough of it.

The Prom Queen by RL Stine

Published March, 1992.

A spring night . . . soft moonlight . . . five beautiful Prom Queen candidates . . . dancing couples at the Shadyside High prom - these should be the ingredients for romance.

But stir in one brutal murder - then another, and another - and the recipe quickly turns to horror.

Lizzie McVay realizes that someone is murdering the five Prom Queen candidates one by one - and that she may be next on the list! Can she stop the murderer before the dance is over - for good? (book back blurb)

Despite the fact that none of the characters are all that likable, THE PROM QUEEN is still en epic foray into old school cheese. I seriously just can't get enough of these books.

For the bad, the characters really aren't redeeming. They all go on dates with one of their friends' boyfriends behind her back and they do it shamelessly. They're all self-centered, one's exceptionally bitter and it's not like these girls have revelations at the end of the book that fix these issues. That's just how they are. They're just not appealing.

But the plot? Pretty awesome. I was definitely wrapped up in it, trying to figure out who the murderer was and why. Quite frankly a plot to kill prom queens is kind of dumb but the girls come up with some pretty good motives for why. None of them were right but at least their heads were in the right place.

I didn't see coming who the murderer was. Even in hindsight it was hidden pretty well. Granted I don't actively look for this kind of stuff and I'm not someone that picks up on it too easily so someone else could rightly guess the murderer immediately. I didn't and was kind of shocked when I did find out.

You guys know me by now; I'm a sucker for cheese and THE PROM QUEEN has it in spades. But I love it. Despite it's gouda essence, it'll still make you think twice about sitting in your room alone at night. It'll still make you wonder about your friends. It's still a good horror book and I've said it before and I'll say it again, the YA world needs far more of them.

The Last Vampire 3: Red Dice by Christopher Pike

Published May 1995.

Alisa and her partner, Joel, are vampires. But Joel is also an FBI agent, and someone inside the government has discovered their secret. The government wants their blood, to study it, to duplicate it. They send a massive manhunt after Alisa and Joel. But using skills and abilities developed over five thousand years, Alisa manages to elude the hunt. Unfortunately Joel is caught, and taken to a top-secret base in the Nevada desert. Now it is Alisa's task to free him before the scientists break the DNA code of their blood, and transform the whole world into vampires. (book back blurb)

The body count had to have hit at least 20 within the first chapter. That's always a set-up for a win if I've ever read one. Pike doesn't pull any punches. If people need to die, then they're going to die. And do they die.

Alisa is still Alisa: a five thousand year old vampire just trying to survive and stay in her god's good graces while she's at it. The thing is, all of these human interactions are starting to wear on her and it shows. First Ray and then Joel. It's no surprise that as the series went on, Alisa has become less like a vampire and more like a human, grievous mistakes and all. Her barrier is breaking down. She's getting sloppy and it's getting people killed. And I love it. Well, not the people-killing thing but Alisa's vulnerabilities. It still reads like this slightly stilted, breath of old air type of vibe but her actions are breaking down. The words are becoming just a facade as the vampire dies and she leaves the grace she found protection under for so long.

I like the whole scientific/spiritual aspect of the story, how it started back in history and looped around to the present. I think it makes total sense that should a vampire get captured, the government would want to experiment on it. Imagine the cures! The undead armies! Kind of scary, though, don't you think? Alisa thought so.

Again, Pike doesn't spare anyone's feelings by the end of the book. Alisa was born to suffer, and suffer she will. But you care about her. She's not a floofy, sappy type of vampire. Yes, she feels love and compassion but when a job has to get done, she makes sure it gets done. Alisa is equal parts selfish and altruistic. She sure as hell doesn't want to die but if it means it'll save the greater good, she will. But she'll do everything she can to make sure that she doesn't have to make that kind of sacrifice before actually having to do it.

RED DICE is a great addition to THE LAST VAMPIRE series. I know there are three more books left that I must get my hands on. I need to see where the story goes, especially after the ending in this one. What a cliffhanger! Kind of cruel, really, since I don't have the next in the series to sate my interest. But I'll get it eventually. You can count on it! If you haven't started THE LAST VAMPIRE series yet, I'd highly recommend you do. There's a reason why it was re-released now. It's just that level of awesome.

The Last Vampire by Christopher Pike

Published May 1994.

Alisa Perne is a five-thousand-year-old vampire. For ages she has hunted humanity, loved humanity, but now someone hunts her. Who is this person - what is he or she? Another vampire? Alisa is not sure. She thought she was the last of her kind.

Alisa has only one lead to follow. A detective, Mike Riley, has tried to blackmail her. In haste, before she could learn everything he knew, she killed him. Now she must go after the detective's son and find out what his father knew. Fifty centuries old, and she must enter high school and befriend Ray Riley, a handsome, shy boy who will attract her like no mortal has in centuries. Ray will make Alisa think the unthinkable, to make another of her kind, something she hasn't done since ancient times.

But will Alisa use Ray to help protect her from the mysterious enemy? Or will she just use him as bait? (book back blurb)

Love it! It'd been so long since I've read this book that, for the most part, it was like I was reading it for the first time all over again. Sure, some things were vaguely familiar but in a sense like trying to remember if something was real or just a dream. But it was fantastic whatever it was.

It doesn't read like a traditional YA book because you're being the eyes of a 5,000 year old vampire and it shows. She doesn't think like a teen, she doesn't act like a teen. She acts exactly how you'd think someone her age would act. But I don't think it detracts from the story at all. In fact I think it stands out more because instead of a moldy boy with sparkly semen swooping in to commit statutory rape, it's a chick who's far smarter and probably better looking too.

Pike makes Alisa ruthless and I love him for it. She's a vampire and therefore acts like one. You piss me off, I kill you. Dead. I'm hungry, I need to feed. Dead. You're a fly in my way. Dead. Sure it can leave a slightly messy trail but it's realistic, isn't it? Well, as realistic as a vampire book can be.

What I loved most about this was the history. There were flashback chapters that showed the beginning of vampires in this world and how it centered around an ancient people and their religion. It was fascinating and written in such a way that it could have happened. Why not, right? Also in that history is shows Alisa's vulnerabilities that even after 5,000 years are still soft spots. Enter Ray and you'll see why.

Now this is the original THE LAST VAMPIRE, not the repackaged and updated THIRST omnibus so I still had to read things like Alisa communicating with Slim via fax like two people would talk over IM. Kind of strange. I don't know this for sure but I have a feeling it's probably been updated to cell phones and emails in THIRST. What teen knows what a fax machine is, what it does and how it works let alone is going to believe that people actually had conversations over such slow mediums? Considering they're pretty much obsolete now, there's no sense in keeping them in the book, right?

This is truly what I remember of YA horror from my kiddy days. There's a hint of something sinister in this book, terrifying. Alisa functions with such a cold demeanor that there's pretty much no getting around that you wouldn't be anything special and couldn't win her over if you tried. She's far too clever for something like that. Her character hits home the way older vampires do. There's an authenticity and a true horror about it that actually makes you think instead of making you swoon. She's mesmerizing because she is a beast; Alisa is something evil that should be feared. She's a freakin' vampire!

And yeah, there is some type of love interest in this book but I think it'll take the reader by surprise. It surprised the hell out of Alisa so why not you? It very much stands apart from what's available today. I only wish there were more books out there now like THE LAST VAMPIRE. YA horror would be all the better for it.

Party Summer by RL Stine

Published May 1, 1991.

Cari Taylor and her three friends look forward to a "party summer," working at The Howling Wolf Inn, an old hotel on a tiny island off Cape Cod. But to their dismay, the hotel is completely deserted, and someone warns them to leave immediately.

The mysterious owner, Simon Fear III, allows Cari and her friends to stay, giving them the run of the hotel. The four teenagers are thrilled . . . until they realize they have been put up in the "haunted wing" . . . until Simon's weird and frightening brother appears . . . until they hear a woman screaming, "No party--please, no party!" . . . until the walls and faucets begin to drip blood!

When Simon Fear is murdered, Cari and her horrified friends want out. But they can't escape! They're trapped on the island. And that's when the "party" begins . . . (book back blurb)

Why would something be put in the back blurb when it wasn't in the book at all? There's an element in the blurb above that just doesn't exist in the story. That's like the non-sequential events on the back of Christopher Pike's Immortal. Very weird. And talk about misleading. It didn't detract from the story any but I can't help but wonder why.

Pike and Stine have very similar writing styles although I think Stine is a little more kiddish, even in his YA books. It doesn't hurt the story but I think it hinders the storytelling just a little bit. So much more could be put into it if the aim was a little higher.

But it was creepy enough. It had me on the edge of my seat at the end of a lot of the chapters. I didn't want to stop reading when something crazy was about to happen! Damn hour lunches! And it was creepy. It carried that sense of foreboding with it, that anything could happen to anyone. No one was safe.

When people start disappearing and strange events started happening, your comfort zone gets destroyed and the more the story gets into it, the more unsure you get of the characters' survival. Will they make it?

The supernatural elements are kept to a barely there minimum; yet even more proof that you don't need insanely spooky stuff to be not of this world. Sometimes other humans are all that you need to be totally creeped out.

Whether its the short, almost choppy sentences or the fact that nearly every chapter ends on a cliffhanger, Stine's writing is compelling. You'll want to figure out what's going on, and fast. The events are as grounded in reality as a cheesy teen horror book can be grounded in reality and I think that makes it all the more frightening. Who wouldn't want to go fart around a private island in a swanky hotel? The very premise is the start of how many good horror stories? But it's what's done with it that makes it truly horrifying and Stine does an awesome job. The horror is in the helplessness and it'll have you clawing at the pages until you know just how it all ends.

Die Softly by Christopher Pike

Published April 1991.

Herb just wanted to photograph the cheerleaders in the school showers. He planted his camera high in the corner where no one could see it, and rigged it to a special homemade timer. He did this Thursday night, and he hoped by Friday night to have an exciting roll of film to develop.

But a girl dies Friday afternoon. On the surface it appears to be nothing more than a tragic car accident. But when Herb finally does collect his roll of film, he develops a picture that shows a shadowy figure sneaking up on the girl who dies - sneaking up on her with a baseball bat.

It makes Herb wonder if the girl was dead long before the car accident.

But unfortunately for Herb, he doesn't wonder if the murderer knows he took the picture. (book back blurb)

It's not often you get a creeper as the MC whose eyes you read through. But even despite the fact that this guy rigged up a camera to take pictures of his naked classmates, Pike wrote it in such a way that Herb was still an appealing guy. I didn't get skeeved out at all while reading. In fact, I empathized with Herb a little. He was just setting himself up for a stupid prank but he ended up getting handed a lot more.

Pike has an excellent way of teetering guilt from one character to another. You can't tell who's lying, who's being genuine or who has some tracks to cover. Everyone (except Herb) looks guilty. I just love how it's all woven together so seamlessly. Until it was made obvious who the culprit was, I was constantly trying to figure out who was the big bad in this story. And why. Now I'm not the best at these kinds of whodunnit type of stories but I'm able to connect the dots decently enough. But Pike's dots were masterfully all over the place in a kind of organized chaos. I truly think that the truth is hidden so well that not too many people would be able to figure it out until close to the reveal.

The only thing I'd change would be the villain dialogue at the end. It's kind of classic in a cliche sort of way how the villain ultimately suffers from verbal diarrhea and just can't shut their damn mouths, destroy evidence and be done with it. It was a definite unload that I think could have been better worked into the plot but I'm over it. I liked the rest of it too much.

Pike did a great job of keeping all of the characters (except Herb) at arm's length. Each had something about them that I could empathize or sympathize with but each had a motive, just a little hint of guilt that kept me from getting them too close. I had no idea who I could trust. That feeling of unease that Pike created isn't found often, I don't think, and it really made me uncomfortable at times. As do all good creepy thriller books. And don't go in expecting a cookie cutter ending either. Pike is fearless with his characters. No one is safe and he sticks to that.

While it didn't have anything paranormal in it, it still rates pretty high on the creep scale. Good horror doesn't need paranormal elements in it to make it horror. Just amazing writing that makes you uncomfortable and some level of afraid. Die Softly did just that.

The Immortal by Christopher Pike

Published July 1993.

Josie is on vacation in Greece with her father, his new girlfriend, and her best friend. While visiting the sacred island of Delos, she accidentally stumbles upon an ancient artifact - a tiny statue of a Goddess. Immediately Josie is enchanted by the statue and she takes it with her when she leaves the island.

Then the trouble starts. A guy takes her for a boat road and she is almost killed. Then the image of the Goddess begins to haunt her dreams. The Goddess wants something from Josie that she doesn't want to give.

The immortal wants to be mortal.

The goddess wants Josie's life. (book back blurb)

First, the chronology of that blurb is off. Josie stumbles upon the statue after a few of those events already occur and she starts dreaming about the goddess. Second, personally, I think that blurb is a little misleading but once you start reading the story, it makes more sense in context. But from just reading the blurb, the story's not exactly how it sounds.

My biggest (and pretty much only) issue with this book was the voice. It makes me wonder about the difference in perception of the YA voice from 20 years ago against what it is now. There were just some parts that I felt were so contrived I couldn't help but laugh. Like when Josie was snorkeling and she saw some fish. She then thought to herself that they made her horny. I was so jarred by that I actually laughed out loud. Aside from the complete blindside of that statement, am I missing something? Are swimming fish supposed to be an aphrodisiac? Not to mention Josie isn't a very likeable character. Not that I wanted to stop reading about her, but her actions were on this side of bitchy and uncaring. She's a very self-centered chick but it all works itself out. There's a redemption of sorts to her actions.

While I feel the plot meandered a little too long at the beginning, fleshing out Josie's life up until things start happening, I felt like I was propelled through the story. I felt a little like I was on sea legs reading it. Things were a little choppy, a little discombobulated and some of them didn't make a lot of sense, but once things started to round themselves out, all the little seemingly uneven nuances pulled themselves together in a nice straight path.

I'm amazed by the ending. Pike has this uncanny ability to weave all of these little bits and bobs together to create a climax that'll blow you away. I'm so glad I picked up The Immortal first. It has a great balance of history and present, not eye-rollingly blended at all but convincing enough that maybe, just maybe, if you went to Delos, it might just happen to you. It weaves two seemingly unrelated plotlines together excellently, only coming together completely within the last few pages, leaving you salivating for more because while it ends nice and completely, it doesn't really end. Catch my drift?

The best part? Pike isn't afraid to royally screw with his characters. They will be put from one end of the ringer to the other and back again before the book is over and you will love every second of it. He's fearless and it makes the story all the better. If you have to start somewhere with Pike's work, make it The Immortal. You won't be disappointed. While it's not crazy spooky ooky horror, it's got a creep factor to it that may just leave you questioning your friends.

2011 Old School YA Reading Challenge

COMPLETED

If you're familiar with my blog at all, then you know about my Freaky Friday feature that highlights one old school piece of horror of the YA variety published between 1980 and 1999 a week. Why? Because the market now is so unbelievably lacking in good YA horror and I yearn for those days when there was a bit of a flood of it. And it's because of my feature that I've started collecting all those old school copies of YA horror and I've developed a little bit of a pile already.

So when I saw The Book Vixen's YA of the 80s and 90s Reading Challenge, if course I jumped all over it. I do, after all, have a stack of books waiting in the wings to be read that fit this mould exactly. So for now I'll start with 10 although I have a few more than that in my TBR pile. We'll see how the year goes.

1. The Immortal by Christopher Pike

2. Die Softly by Christopher Pike

3. Party Summer by RL Stine

4. The Last Vampire by Christopher Pike

5. The Last Vampire 2: Black Blood by Christopher Pike

6. The Last Vampire 3: Red Dice by Christopher Pike

7. The Prom Queen by RL Stine

8. The Forbidden Game, Volume 1: The Hunter by LJ Smith

9. Let Me Tell You How I Died by Sinclair Smith

10. The New Girl by RL Stine