Welcome to my first review and discussion for the Goosebumps-Read-A-Long. My first novel of the month is Stay Out of the Basement. Stay Out of the Basement is the second Goosebumps novel and one of the more famous of the series.
Stay Out of the Basement by R.L. Stine
3.5
Stay Out of the Basement is one of the more popular Goosebumps novels, which makes sense because it contains basements. I think at one point or another all children and even adults are afraid of basements. I mean think about it, have you ever found anything good in a dark, dank basement?
See what I'm talking about? Naturally this is a novel that children are going to pick up because basements are a natural fear. Stine does a very good job of playing off of this normal fear. I am a seventeen-year-old girl and even I found myself flipping through the pages with nervous anticipation.
I've never read Stay Out of the Basement before, but I think I watched the TV episode as a child. I honestly wasn't sure what to expect going into this one. I was pleasantly surprised that I could enjoy a Stine novel still and that I found myself feeling very nostalgic over this even though I've never read it. Goosebumps will do that to a reader.
Whimsical Writing Scale: 4
Enough of about my experience, let's discuss the plot. This novel follows Margaret whose father has recently been layed off as his job. His job has become all he thinks and the basement becomes all he can think about and what lies within. As Margaret and her brother, Casey, become more and more curious strange things start to pop up not only out of the basement, but out of their father.
The characters aren't all that fleshed out, but I mean this is a children's novel that is less than 150 pages, so I'm not holding it against the book. I did like the characters even though I didn't connect or I found myself rolling my eyes at their antics. Although I did learn some things about children and scientists. 1) Children are always looking to dare someone. (Which after looking back at my childhood was what 45% of my playtime consisted of.)
2) Mad scientists who become plants are the oddest thing, but also a really cool concept.
3) Scientists really should follow lab safety procedure and fix all wounds before handling more equipment otherwise you could become a plant.
Character Scale: 3
Villain Scale: 3.25
In conclusion, this ending was weird and that last line tripped me out. Are you trying to tell me that her real father after all that may not even be her father, but a tiny plant?! Although that would explain why the fake dad kept looking in the rose bushes. Eh, guess this was one Goosebump that didn't need a follow-up. This is a fun novel that I think is great for children and even for the nostalgia seekers. Definitely worth reading if you are a Goosebumps fan!
Plotastic Scale: 3.75
Cover Thoughts: The evolution of Goosebumps novels are interesting.
This is the original Goosebumps novel and the one I was costum to seeing around my library as a child. This one is creepy, but not my favorite.
Thank God, I've never seen this cover because it is very unflattering.
I absolutely love this cover. The colors and illustration are the coolest. I wish they would've kept producing these editions. Maybe I love them because these were the editions I grew up seeing in bookstores, but I love it.
This is the edition I read from, but I'm not a big fan of it. I prefer this one after the first edition, but it's not horrible. I just think the illustration is too harsh for my liking.
TV Show:
Stay Out of the Basement is also adapted into the television for Goosebumps.You can watch the episode for free on YouTube.
My Thoughts:
Well, the acting is pretty horrible. It reminds me of one of those bad school specials that they show in class about drugs or safe sex or suicide. The dad isn't nearly as creepy as he was in the book. He even made me feel disturbed. It's kind of funny in an awkward way. The sound effects don't have their intent of freaking me out, but maybe because I'm older it's harder for me to be scared. There are also a few slight differences than the novel and they don't really help with creating the suspense that Stine was able to produce in his writing. I personally didn't think it was a great episode as a child and that still holds true today.
What are your thoughts on Stay Out of the Basement? Is a favorite of yours? Lets talk about the novel, covers, and TV Show down below!
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