Welcome to the second discussion for the Goosebumps-Read-A-Long. If you are interested in my other review and discussion check it out here.
Monster Blood by R.L. Stine
2 stars
Monster Blood is a huge success within the Goosebumps series. Monster Blood has its own series within a series, which is an interesting contradiction. The probably is that I don’t get it. I don’t understand why Monster Blood is one of the more popular Goosebumps and why it is so heavily recommended by librarians and elementary teachers alike.
I feel as though I had seen the TV show for Monster Blood, but can’t remember I do remember getting a copy from the library and being excited to read it. I flipped through the first half and then left it abandoned because I didn’t care. Even as a young child this remained to be a Goosebumps novel I wasn’t interested in picking back up. This read-a-long promoted me to give it a shot since my library had a copy of it when I went, but I honestly don’t think I would’ve missed out on anything if I hadn’t read this.
Monster Blood falls flat in several places- ranging from plot to characters to dialogue and to the conclusion. This story doesn’t pack the some level of suspense that the previous novel I’ve read and published before this one Stay Out of the Basement does. The story in general wasn’t climactic or enthralling. The overall point of Monster Blood just seems rather pointless.
Whimsical Writing Scale: 2
There are so many plot holes in Monster Blood. Evan obtains this mysterious toy that seems similar to Silly Putty from a mysterious toy shop. This toy shop closes and it leaves all kinds of gaps in the plot as to how it even obtained Monster Blood in the first place from the creator. After Evan reluctantly purchases it from the store owner he and Andy share the toy. Evan’s dog ends up consuming some of it and begins to expand along with the Monster Blood still in the can, which eventually finds itself in a bathtub and a trashcan.
The characters that Monster Blood focuses is on are again not very fleshed out, but at least I liked the characters in Stay Out of the Basement. I couldn’t stand Evan or Andy. They were snot-nosed spoiled brats. Evan was rude to his aunt, who honestly seemed cool, and Andy was an entitled child who was too much of a jerk for me to even like. Aunt Kathryn’s sass levels were extremely high and I loved her. I’m not sure why the twins, the goons of the neighborhood, were even a part of this story. They were there to beat Evan up and then get eaten by the “monster”.
Character Scale: 2
Villain Scale: 1.5
I was not a fan of the conclusion to Monster Blood at all. The reason Monster Blood was created felt forced and silly. The creator was the aunt’s cat, Sarah, who was a witch who had a spell casted on Kathryn to make her do her bidding. What kind of plot is that? It sounds confounded and like it was pulled from the sky. Stine’s biggest problem seems to be writing plots from out of his ass, but at least they can be fun. Sadly Monster Blood’s plot wasn’t fun, but annoying.
Plotastic Scale: 1
Cover Thoughts: The covers for this book are fun to look at, but some are worst than others.
I don't like the colors used for this novel. They give this weird over-washed look to the cover.
This is the most hilarious cover. I don't know why anyone thought this was a good idea.
I love this cover. The tone and colors are creepy and as a child this cover always peaked my interest.
I'm not a fan of this whole scary monster design. It doesn't seem appealing to me. Although little boys will race to it.
TV Show:
Monster Blood was turned into a TV episode that can be viewed on YouTube for free.
My Thoughts:
The level of suspense in the episode is more palpable than the book. I'm not a big fan of the change of making Aunt Kathryn allergic to dogs and not deaf. She wasn't as sassy also I'm not a fan of the whole "don't go into the room across the hall" thing it's cliche. Andy is really nosy in the TV show, but still as bratty. I do like them coming across the Monster Blood in a closet in the forbidden room it makes more sense than a toy store. I did enjoy the TV episode more than book and recommend giving it a go instead.
What are your thoughts on Monster Blood? Was it a childhood favorite or flop? Let's talk about the book, covers, and episode down below in the comments!
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