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Library | Call Number | Status |
|---|---|---|
Searching... Monmouth Public Library | YA Fic Stine, R. 2013 | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Newberg Public Library | TEEN STINE | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
In R.L. Stine's A Midsummer Night's Scream , the Master of Horror takes on the Master of Theatre!
Oh, what fools these actors be!
It was a horror movie that turned into real horror--three young actors lost their lives while the camera rolled. Production stopped, and people claimed that the movie was cursed.
Sixty years later, new actors are venturing onto the haunted set. In a desperate attempt to revive their failing studio, Claire's dad has green-lit a remake of Mayhem Manor-- and Claire and her friends are dying to be involved.
At first, Claire laughs at Jake's talk of ghosts and curses. He's been too busy crushing on her best friend Delia to notice that she's practically been throwing herself at him. What does he know? And anyway, this is her big chance to be a star!
When shooting starts, though, the set is plagued by a series of horrible accidents--could history be repeating itself?
Author Notes
R. L. Stine was born in Columbus Ohio on October 8, 1943. He graduated from Ohio State University in 1965. Under the name Jovial Bob Stine, he wrote dozens of joke books and humor books for kids including How to Be Funny, 101 Silly Monster Jokes, and Bozos on Patrol. He also created Bananas, a zany humor magazine which he worked on for ten years.
His first teen horror novel, Blind Date, was published in 1986 under the name R. L. Stine. His other works include Beach House, Hit and Run, The Babysitter, The Girlfriend, the Goosebumps series, and the Fear Street series. He also wrote an adult novel entitled Superstitious.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 9 Up-Claire and Jake's parents run a Hollywood movie studio. It has always done well, but lately they've been churning out more flops than blockbusters. In a last-ditch effort to save the studio, they decide to remake Mayhem Manor, a horror film from the 1960s that was never completed. The original cast all met gruesome deaths during the filming. Most of Hollywood thinks the movie is cursed, but that doesn't stop Claire and Jake's parents. After all, the publicity surrounding the actors' deaths and the notoriety of the curse just might save the studio-if the curse isn't real. Stine doesn't disappoint with this remash of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Teens unfamiliar with Shakespeare's play might consider the use of magic a little out of place, but it won't detract from their enjoyment of this story. For the most part, Brittany Presley's narration perfectly fits the characters, but her bizarre interpretation of the villain's voice is distracting.-Jennifer Furuyama, Pendleton Public Library, OR (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Stine returns with this chilling reimaging of a Shakespeare play that features murder, fatal accidents, and the (low-budget) movie industry. Narrator Brittany Pressley delivers a solid performance that's slightly rushed at times, but manages to draw in listeners via her age-appropriate tone and likeable energy. Pressley's youthful voice is mixed with just enough life experience to give her the perfect amount of teen angst and youthful optimism-and this renders the story all the more immediate and realistic. However, the male characters sound similar and come across as caricatures, making the scares slightly less effective when they spring up. Ages 12-up. A Feiwel and Friends hardcover. (July) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
Landing a role in the remake of a famously cursed horror film delights sixteen-year-old Claire, until the deaths that plagued the original production begin to repeat. Although she suspects the mysterious Puckerman, her interest in romance and a snazzy birthday party obliterate any other concerns. Murder and magic mix awkwardly in this novel, but the vapid portraits of teenagers are the real horror here. (c) Copyright 2014. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
It's the ultimate publicity stunt for a failing Hollywood studio: remake an infamous horror movie in which the actors were literally killed on set. While the original was never completed, it became legend, and, for Claire, landing her first lead role in the film is her ticket to stardom. Even the footage of the gruesome deaths and rumors that the set is cursed don't discourage her. Her first day, Claire meets Puckerman, a strange little man who possesses magical potions, and soon she's trying them out on her friends. But the potions are a diversion: Puckerman intends to finish what he started 60 years ago. Stine's latest is rife with shallow characters, implausible behavior, and laughable dialogue. It's hard to believe that filming would continue when actors are being murdered on camera again and even harder to believe that Claire would continue to steal potions, making her friends violent, old, and (in a nod to Shakespeare) in love with a dog. Diehard Stine fans exist in droves, though, and they might approve of this array of bloody murders.--Hutley, Krista Copyright 2010 Booklist
Library Journal Review
Stine (Red Rain), master of the macabre for the elementary school set, attempts to serve young adults goose bumps coupled with a side order of contrived Shakespearean references in this uneven suspense thriller. A teenage actress named Claire and her friends have been cast in the remake of a movie called Mayhem Manor; 60 years earlier, the cast members of the original film each met gruesome deaths on the set, and production of the film was canceled. Early in the filming, the teenagers cast in the remake begin to meet similarly terrifying fates, and Claire must find the cause of the deaths before she becomes the next victim. At the same time, she seeks the aid of Benny Puckerman, an eccentric little man who offers her a potion that could help her win the love of her dream guy, Jake. Verdict Stine's fans may enjoy the obligatory scenes of murder and gore, but some of the plot contrivances are hard to swallow. Recommended only for libraries in which Stine's young adult works are in high demand.-Claire Abraham, Keller P.L., TX (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.