You May Now Kill the Bride

"Not a great reboot of the beloved Fear Street series. Unlike the original books, which generally weigh in at around 150 pages, You May Now Kill the Bride is nearly 350 pages in length. Don't be fooled into thinking this means there are 200 extra pages worth of story. Stine struggles to move the plot forward mid-book, and there are long stretches where nothing of note occurs until it suddenly picks back up toward the end. <br/><br/>The length was clearly demanded by the publishers in order to increase appeal to adult readers with Fear Street nostalgia, not because the material justified it. The effect this has on the story's pacing is to kill its sense of urgency and results in some strange character behavior; after a character goes missing at her own out-of-state wedding, her family essentially gives up on finding her and travels back home to Shadyside, before the protagonist doubles back to try to find her again. The brief return to Shadyside serves no purpose other than to put a few dozen pages of distance between the mystery's inception and ultimate resolution. Another example of how the book was fattened without justification is its plethora of characters who play no meaningful role in the plot and whose threads are left unresolved.<br/><br/>Now, I did go into this book knowing it was a Fear Street novel. So I didn't expect the greatest writing, or characters who aren't total idiots. But I did expect fun and some light suspense. This book delivered boredom.<br/><br/>Two stars because it expanded on Fear family lore, which is always welcome."

"So quick personal background. Born in 1988, huge fanatic of goosebumps then fear street (as well as Christopher pike, Caroline b Clooney). I’m still haunted by the cheerleader books and her puking green sludge to get the demon out. Listened to the two available “feat street reboots” (from the late 2010s?) and was unimpressed/disappointed <br/><br/>Anywayssss..this newest “reboot” kept me hooked until the end. I loved the link between past and present. Reminded me of original fear street...not a lot of frills..just pure horror."