Seen at Bookish Antics! 
 I feel like I missed out as a kid because I never read Goosebumps, after watching an episode or two of the TV show, I was too scared to even consider picking up any of R.L. Stine's novels. Many years later, I finally decided to read Party Games and I can definitely see the hype behind the Fear Street novels. Though this novel and I got off on the wrong foot, I quickly became immersed in Rachel's adventures and even managed to overlook some of this book's faults. This isn't a perfect book by any means, nor is it a particularly scary novel, but it did hit the spot. 
 Rachel is invited to a party at Brandon Fear's private island and she thinks this is a perfect opportunity to get closer to her crush. Despite ominous warnings Rachel goes to the party and becomes wrapped up in a deadly game, where teens are dropping like flies. Could the vicious rumors about the Fear family be true?? 
 Party Games started off a bit rough; I wasn't impressed with the writing style and this book lacked realism. When Rachel finds a DEAD animal in her bed, she gets a bit angry and never decides to tell anyone about this animal as if it's no big deal. Later on when Rachel's ex decides to stalk her and warn her about Fear Island, she acts as if stalking is normal. Also, Rachel is continuously warned about Fear Island by multiple people, but she doesn't even consider not attending the party for a second. I didn't like Rachel too much and I found her lack of common sense to be a bit mortifying. 
 Party Games feels like there's two major sections of it; the first half was a bit cliche, yet entertaining and the second half was extremely thrilling. The first half of this novel felt like a medley of scenes from various popular B-list horror movies and Stine maintained some of the cardboard, trite dialogue from these films. I did enjoy this part of the book, but it felt too much like it was regurgitated and uninspired. The second half of this novel was filled with surprising twists and moments that were an interesting change of pace. Though some of the cliche dialogue was still evident, this section enthralled me almost immediately. 
 There a few creepy moments in this novel, but nothing feels remotely scary and those looking for a fright will probably be unimpressed by the horror aspects of this novel. This novel felt more like a thriller than a horror to me and calling it a horror novel feels like a bit of stretch. The few Goosebumps episodes that I saw as a kid were more frightening than this book (especially the one with the dummy that comes alive) and this book certainly didn't send goosebumps down my spine. 
 Party Games was a pretty impressive return to the Fear Street series and I'm fairly confident that fans of R.L. Stine and newcomers alike will enjoy this novel. I look forward to reading more of the Fear Street books and some of Stine's older novels as soon as possible. I'm so glad that my first time reading a R.L. Stine novel was such a positive experience and I really raced through Party Games. After reading Party Games, I can definitely see why generations of readers have fallen in love with R.L. Stine's horror novels.