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Goosebumps SlappyWorld #13
Monster Blood Is Back
This is Slappy's world -- you only scream in it!
Sascha Nelson and her best friend Nicole Miller love to cook! After school, they spend their time concocting new dishes in the kitchen. So when their favorite TV show Kids Big Chef Food Fights comes to their school for a special competition, they're ecstatic! But with school cheaters Ashli and Diggs also in the show, things don't seem as fun anymore. When Sascha and Nicole buy a mysterious can called Monster Blood is Back, they use it to get back at Ashli and Diggs. But as the Monster Blood grows and grows, can the two get the slime under control or will it swallow up the competition?
Sascha Nelson and her best friend Nicole Miller love to cook! After school, they spend their time concocting new dishes in the kitchen. So when their favorite TV show Kids Big Chef Food Fights comes to their school for a special competition, they're ecstatic! But with school cheaters Ashli and Diggs also in the show, things don't seem as fun anymore. When Sascha and Nicole buy a mysterious can called Monster Blood is Back, they use it to get back at Ashli and Diggs. But as the Monster Blood grows and grows, can the two get the slime under control or will it swallow up the competition?
135 pages, Paperback
First published March 2, 2021
22 people are currently reading
314 people want to read
About the author
R.L. Stine
1,733 books18.8k followersRobert Lawrence Stine known as R. L. Stine and Jovial Bob Stine, is an American novelist and writer, well known for targeting younger audiences. Stine, who is often called the Stephen King of children's literature, is the author of dozens of popular horror fiction novellas, including the books in the Goosebumps, Rotten School, Mostly Ghostly, The Nightmare Room and Fear Street series.
R. L. Stine began his writing career when he was nine years old, and today he has achieved the position of the bestselling children's author in history. In the early 1990s, Stine was catapulted to fame when he wrote the unprecedented, bestselling Goosebumps® series, which sold more than 250 million copies and became a worldwide multimedia phenomenon. His other major series, Fear Street, has over 80 million copies sold.
Stine has received numerous awards of recognition, including several Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards and Disney Adventures Kids' Choice Awards, and he has been selected by kids as one of their favorite authors in the NEA's Read Across America program. He lives in New York, NY.
http://us.macmillan.com/itsthefirstda...
R. L. Stine began his writing career when he was nine years old, and today he has achieved the position of the bestselling children's author in history. In the early 1990s, Stine was catapulted to fame when he wrote the unprecedented, bestselling Goosebumps® series, which sold more than 250 million copies and became a worldwide multimedia phenomenon. His other major series, Fear Street, has over 80 million copies sold.
Stine has received numerous awards of recognition, including several Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards and Disney Adventures Kids' Choice Awards, and he has been selected by kids as one of their favorite authors in the NEA's Read Across America program. He lives in New York, NY.
http://us.macmillan.com/itsthefirstda...
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
March 10, 2021
Monster Blood is a reoccurring Goosebumps menace, with an astounding four books appearing in the original series. More even than Slappy and The Haunted Mask. Its iconic—though inconsistent—ability to cause rapid growth always results in memorable disaster. Symbolically, Monster Blood seems to represent both the anxieties over adolescent growth and the desire to expedite maturity. The strange slime serves as a kind of test run for children to experience adulthood, or at least foresee the (monstrous?) bodily changes of puberty. They quickly realize that height isn't everything and, by the end, are significantly relieved to have returned to normal.
After a decade since its last appearance, Monster Blood is Back gives us another 'taste' of the villainous green slime. Like many Goosebumps titles, the structure relies heavily on build-up to an inevitable finale where the beast goes berserk. This method is not always effective, especially when the build-up is overstuffed with fake scares.
In this case, however, the story is consistently entertaining as we're dealing with a televised cooking show and interpersonal battle with nasty kids from school. These brats are constantly cheating to win competitions, and the cooking show is no exception. After acquiring a mysterious can of Monster Blood, Sasha and Nicole decide they've been bullied enough and play a prank of their own. You can guess how that turns out!
Unable to simply write a straightforward story, Stine adds a few twists and fake-out twists. Ordinarily this is the stuff that turns a so-so book into a marvel, but here the twists actually transform a pretty great book into a disappointment. Still, if you block out the last few pages from your mind, you can remember all the spooky fun and consider this yet another excellent entry in the Monster Blood saga.
After a decade since its last appearance, Monster Blood is Back gives us another 'taste' of the villainous green slime. Like many Goosebumps titles, the structure relies heavily on build-up to an inevitable finale where the beast goes berserk. This method is not always effective, especially when the build-up is overstuffed with fake scares.
In this case, however, the story is consistently entertaining as we're dealing with a televised cooking show and interpersonal battle with nasty kids from school. These brats are constantly cheating to win competitions, and the cooking show is no exception. After acquiring a mysterious can of Monster Blood, Sasha and Nicole decide they've been bullied enough and play a prank of their own. You can guess how that turns out!
Unable to simply write a straightforward story, Stine adds a few twists and fake-out twists. Ordinarily this is the stuff that turns a so-so book into a marvel, but here the twists actually transform a pretty great book into a disappointment. Still, if you block out the last few pages from your mind, you can remember all the spooky fun and consider this yet another excellent entry in the Monster Blood saga.
November 14, 2022
R.L. Stine's original Goosebumps series (1992-97) had four Monster Blood books—more than any other "villain"—but Monster Blood Is Back in 2021 was the first revisitation since 2008's Monster Blood for Breakfast!, a long gap for a franchise staple. Twelve-year-old friends Sascha Nelson and Nicole Hilliard have a passion for cooking, which is why they aim to compete on Kids' Big Chef Food Fights, a reality television show that offers a small fortune to the duo of youngsters who most impress the judges. Sascha has a few annoyances in her life—her eight-year-old brother Toby, for one, who habitually invades her space and takes her things—but whenever she and Nicole are designing an exciting new dish, everything feels right with the world. Are they a shoo-in to win the Silver Spatula at the end of the television contest? Sascha is confident they are.
What could derail their train to success? Perhaps Ashli Lorraine and Nathan Diggs, a couple of kids from school who are notorious cheaters. Will their subterfuge vault them into first place on Kids' Big Chef Food Fights? Off the set, Sascha finds a local toy store she's never noticed: VERY EVIL TOYS has an assortment of weird amusements that would appeal to Sascha's brother Toby, but she knows she's found the right thing to buy as his birthday gift when she spots the canister of "Monster Blood". Sascha knows Toby would get a kick out of playing with the oozy slime, but when he sneaks into her bedroom and opens the Monster Blood before his birthday, it's soon apparent the stuff is dangerous. Sascha won't give her brother a gift that could hurt him, so she takes it back to Very Evil Toys for a refund...if she can find the place again. But what if Sascha and Nicole find a new use for the Monster Blood? What if Ashli and Nathan push them too far with their cheating? Would Sascha unleash the ooze on her rivals...and what will be the consequences?
I've always liked the Monster Blood mini franchise within Goosebumps. It strayed from excellence with Monster Blood III and Monster Blood IV, but the first two were clever fun, and Monster Blood for Breakfast! is one of my favorite Goosebumps books. Monster Blood Is Back, however, fails to live up to the legacy. The story is way slower than most of what R.L. Stine writes; the Monster Blood barely plays a role until the end. The narrative focuses on the rivalry drama between Sascha and Nicole and Ashli and Nathan, which dilutes the horror factor considerably. I won't spoil the final twist, but it hugely detracts from the ultimate meaning of the story. I rate Monster Blood Is Back one and a half stars; I'm glad to see R.L. Stine return to his roots, but I'd hate for a kid who has never read Goosebumps to get their impression of the series from this book. If that's you, then please believe me: Goosebumps is better than this. Try Deep Trouble or A Night in Terror Tower, and I think you'll agree.
What could derail their train to success? Perhaps Ashli Lorraine and Nathan Diggs, a couple of kids from school who are notorious cheaters. Will their subterfuge vault them into first place on Kids' Big Chef Food Fights? Off the set, Sascha finds a local toy store she's never noticed: VERY EVIL TOYS has an assortment of weird amusements that would appeal to Sascha's brother Toby, but she knows she's found the right thing to buy as his birthday gift when she spots the canister of "Monster Blood". Sascha knows Toby would get a kick out of playing with the oozy slime, but when he sneaks into her bedroom and opens the Monster Blood before his birthday, it's soon apparent the stuff is dangerous. Sascha won't give her brother a gift that could hurt him, so she takes it back to Very Evil Toys for a refund...if she can find the place again. But what if Sascha and Nicole find a new use for the Monster Blood? What if Ashli and Nathan push them too far with their cheating? Would Sascha unleash the ooze on her rivals...and what will be the consequences?
I've always liked the Monster Blood mini franchise within Goosebumps. It strayed from excellence with Monster Blood III and Monster Blood IV, but the first two were clever fun, and Monster Blood for Breakfast! is one of my favorite Goosebumps books. Monster Blood Is Back, however, fails to live up to the legacy. The story is way slower than most of what R.L. Stine writes; the Monster Blood barely plays a role until the end. The narrative focuses on the rivalry drama between Sascha and Nicole and Ashli and Nathan, which dilutes the horror factor considerably. I won't spoil the final twist, but it hugely detracts from the ultimate meaning of the story. I rate Monster Blood Is Back one and a half stars; I'm glad to see R.L. Stine return to his roots, but I'd hate for a kid who has never read Goosebumps to get their impression of the series from this book. If that's you, then please believe me: Goosebumps is better than this. Try Deep Trouble or A Night in Terror Tower, and I think you'll agree.
November 14, 2022
So if you haven't followed me for long you would know I'm a thematic reader. Halloween reads go with Halloween. Christmas themed books go with Christmas.I find some way for the book I'm reading to relate to real life ,which is a little weird.But I don't think I'm the only one that does this. Anyway this brings me to my first book of November. Monster Blood Is Back. What does Monster Blood Is Back have to do with November you ask ? Does Monster Blood it self make a turkey giant or something? Well no, although that would be cool. This book has alot to do with food. Yeah. The story starts with friends Sacha and Nicole. I have no idea how to pronounce Sachas name. So I kept pretending it was Sasha. They are very excited ,because they get to go on this show about cooking.It's kinda like Master chef, only no Gordon Ramsey.Anyway this chef place picked three teams to try out to be on the show, Sacha and Nicole, plus two ransoms and two rich kids that our protagonist dosnt like, and I can see why. The two rich kids end up sabotaging Sacha and Nicoles food to make it spicy , or put worms in it.But before all of this Nicole and Sacha are walking to this place and almost get ran over by a car the car runs on not stopping, which was weird for a Goosebumps book. Before all of this cooking stuff ensues Sacha has to get something for her little brother for his birthday. She ends up going to this store that claims all of the toys they sell are evil. She ends up with the Monster Blood. They go home and toby ends up playing with it ,after sneaking inside her closet where she hides it. It ends up getting stuck and she claims it's to dangerous.So she decides to take it back the toy store, only now their is more, because it's growing. We get the girls hiding it in a locker. That didn't work so they end up putting it in a instrument case and bringing it to the filming location of the chef show.The other team of the rich kids end up cheating again,turning their oven off. So Sacha is done. She has a plan to get revenge and it has something to do with Monster Blood and a casserole. This is where the "horror" starts..Sort of. The climax to this book is actually really good. We get tidal waves of Monster Blood, and giant kids and their were even scenes that made me a little nostalgic, inside the toy store and the whole monster blood aspect as a whole. But there is one thing that messes this book up,and it's the ending. The very last page before Slappy's epilogue. Yeah that .Without that paragraph, this would've been atleast a three out of five stars. But right now I'm settling on a two out of five stars.This is officially my least favorite of the Slappyworld series.
March 2, 2021
Just when I thought I was out, Monster Blood pulls me back in. Yep, we've got another one but since Monster Blood for Breakfast was decent, I had hope for this since Evan isn't involved. And honestly, it's about as good as Breakfast, if not a bit better. That still had some annoying dumb stuff in it, while this, for any flaws, doesn't quite have that.
The main thing going for it is the whole thing with the protagonist being on a kids' cooking show. That offers a decent setting and for some unique type of scenes we don't usually see in the series. Outside of that, it's pretty standard for a Monster Blood book. Once they introduce these rivals, I knew exactly what was gonna happen with that.
But that's generally the only real issue here, everything else is at least fine. Monster Blood is just kind of a limiting idea so there's not much reason to even do another one. But for it is, it works fine. It does spend time on other stuff before we get to the Monster Blood like the others but at least it's not as annoying as in those.
But then came the twist ending. Without spoiling it, I can say it's pretty bad and annoying. But the story reaches a conclusion of sorts right before then, so it's not quite as bad as others that do the same kind of twist. Still an annoying cop out though.
But before then, it's fine. Monster Blood is a real threat again and there's not much focus on people growing big, finally. It's more noteworthy for what it doesn't do wrong like the others than anything else but what we have here is still good, just nothing super memorable. If you ignore that last chapter, it's perfectly acceptable and still one of the better Monster Blood books.
But honestly, the More Monster Blood TV episode will always be the best thing with the Monster Blood name, This was a fine effort though.
(Also, the can they find is called "Monster Blood is back" but this isn't addressed, so I assume Stine kept autofill on and didn't fix it)
The main thing going for it is the whole thing with the protagonist being on a kids' cooking show. That offers a decent setting and for some unique type of scenes we don't usually see in the series. Outside of that, it's pretty standard for a Monster Blood book. Once they introduce these rivals, I knew exactly what was gonna happen with that.
But that's generally the only real issue here, everything else is at least fine. Monster Blood is just kind of a limiting idea so there's not much reason to even do another one. But for it is, it works fine. It does spend time on other stuff before we get to the Monster Blood like the others but at least it's not as annoying as in those.
But then came the twist ending. Without spoiling it, I can say it's pretty bad and annoying. But the story reaches a conclusion of sorts right before then, so it's not quite as bad as others that do the same kind of twist. Still an annoying cop out though.
But before then, it's fine. Monster Blood is a real threat again and there's not much focus on people growing big, finally. It's more noteworthy for what it doesn't do wrong like the others than anything else but what we have here is still good, just nothing super memorable. If you ignore that last chapter, it's perfectly acceptable and still one of the better Monster Blood books.
But honestly, the More Monster Blood TV episode will always be the best thing with the Monster Blood name, This was a fine effort though.
(Also, the can they find is called "Monster Blood is back" but this isn't addressed, so I assume Stine kept autofill on and didn't fix it)
June 1, 2021
A fun, young adult spin on The Blob which also mixes in a dash of master chef and a sprinkle of questionable double to cloud a light hearted horror.
October 25, 2024
Kitchen Nightmares but it’s actually a nightmare. That’s essentially what this book strives for, turning a cooking show into a horror show—using Monster Blood! Admittedly, it’s a dope concept, but how well is it executed? Well, not good. The bit of praising begins with the concept, like I mentioned. It’s great, and should’ve worked well if executed properly. The characters are good, the pacing is excellent, and the Bardo guy is a fun (yet extremely minor addition) to the story. I also like the return of buying the green goo at a toy store, which we haven’t seen since the very first story. Woah. But the story’s execution is half-baked (pun intended). There isn’t much done with the idea of Monster Blood invading a cooking show. It does the bare minimum, in fact. I wanted something more out of that… as well as something different. The final 20 pages with the Monster Blood finally attacking (wow, huge spoiler) is underwhelming thanks to the horrible twist, and the setting being underused there. It goes into a typical setting instead of utilizing the other more advertised setting, which is dumb. And then the twist… dear fucking god. Yeah, one of the worst endings ever. Period. Absolutely awful. The story is kinda boring, Toby is annoying as hell, and not a lot happens… I mean, 135 pages of crap could’ve been done in 50 here, like come on? Overall, 4.5/10. Not a huge fan of this one, clearly. Second worst monster blood story, of course second to the fourth installment in the shitter dome that is this mini-series.
January 13, 2022
I was LOVING this until that horrible cop-out ending. What a disappointment.
February 11, 2025
Language is understandable and makes this story nice, easy to understand while reading and listening. Story was nice, I was curious what will happen next!♥️🥰
October 19, 2025
it was ok
April 6, 2021
I haven't read a Goosebumps book since 1997, when the last in the original series was published. That was an entry in the Monster Blood saga as well, so Monster Blood Is Back feels like a homecoming in more than one way.
To be honest, I only picked this up as my ticket to live-stream an author's chat between R.L. Stine and Victoria Schwab (whose latest book I also bought). The chat was fun. (Stine admitted that most of the autobiographical details he relates in interviews are lies.) The book, surprisingly, is also fun. I say "surprisingly" because my memory of the series is all cheese and facepalming. I remember feeling like I was outgrowing the books even as I continued to read them. But maybe that's an unfair assessment, informed more by the TV show of low production values and stale child acting. The harmless fun of a Goosebumps story in print came back to me as I read Monster Blood Is Back over the course of an hour and change. '90s kids like myself, returning to the vaguely bland yet menacing suburbia that encompassed our childhood imaginations, will find the world very much as they left it.
The updates are more or less cosmetic--the characters have iPhones, the pop culture allusions are contemporary (and perhaps unintentional: the main characters attend Adam Driver Middle School, though whether that's a conscious reference to indie-darling-Kylo-Ren is unclear), and much of the action is motivated by a reality competition show that's more or less a proxy for Master Chef Junior. From reading the teaser on the back I thought the reality-television angle might be obnoxious and pandering, but it's actually integrated into the plot pretty well, a fun modern milieu for familiar antics. It reminded me a bit of the X-Files meta-episode in which Mulder and Scully find themselves in the cross-hairs of the camera crew from Cops.
Psychologically, though, it's still 1992 GB as far as the characters are concerned. Twelve-year-olds still scream out loud at things as non-threatening as a plastic skull mask; bullies and siblings still exist only to torment the protagonists; adults still refuse to believe children even in the face of hard evidence. Ah, it's good to be home. Respectably, however, there are few if any fake-out cliffhangers, and the narrative flows smoothly and energetically with no major cheats or aggravating cop-outs. Despite a few lapses in reason, narrator Sascha and best friend Nicole are likeable, if nondescript.
I also enjoyed the framing device of Slappy's commentary. Any time he's given half a chance, Stine talks about the influence of EC Comics on his work, so it makes sense that he would find a Cryptkeeper analogue of his own (a role he himself fulfilled occasionally in the television adaptations). I think this may be the best use of Slappy to date, since I remember getting tired of the "dummy comes to life but nobody believes it" formula inherent in the Night of the Living Dummy entries.
My only major complaint is the out-and-out ridiculousness of the pre-teen antagonists, Nathan and Ashli, described by Sascha as "the two biggest cheaters on earth". The gruesome twosome manage to repeatedly sabotage Sascha and Nicole's culinary attempts in ways that would be incredibly transparent on a small shooting set such as you see on actual cooking competition shows. I really don't think anyone would be able to spike a dish with a full bottle of hot sauce without a single person among the contestants, the host, the judges, the camera crew, the producers, or the assistants noticing. Fortunately, by the time the Monster Blood takes control of the story as we all know it must, those two are relegated to irrelevancy.
My other, minor, only-half-serious demerit comes from the lack of cameos by original Monster Blood survivors Evan and Andy. It would have been neat to see them show up as adults and issue warnings that our plucky protagonists would, in due course, ignore. Then the nostalgia trip would have been complete.
To be honest, I only picked this up as my ticket to live-stream an author's chat between R.L. Stine and Victoria Schwab (whose latest book I also bought). The chat was fun. (Stine admitted that most of the autobiographical details he relates in interviews are lies.) The book, surprisingly, is also fun. I say "surprisingly" because my memory of the series is all cheese and facepalming. I remember feeling like I was outgrowing the books even as I continued to read them. But maybe that's an unfair assessment, informed more by the TV show of low production values and stale child acting. The harmless fun of a Goosebumps story in print came back to me as I read Monster Blood Is Back over the course of an hour and change. '90s kids like myself, returning to the vaguely bland yet menacing suburbia that encompassed our childhood imaginations, will find the world very much as they left it.
The updates are more or less cosmetic--the characters have iPhones, the pop culture allusions are contemporary (and perhaps unintentional: the main characters attend Adam Driver Middle School, though whether that's a conscious reference to indie-darling-Kylo-Ren is unclear), and much of the action is motivated by a reality competition show that's more or less a proxy for Master Chef Junior. From reading the teaser on the back I thought the reality-television angle might be obnoxious and pandering, but it's actually integrated into the plot pretty well, a fun modern milieu for familiar antics. It reminded me a bit of the X-Files meta-episode in which Mulder and Scully find themselves in the cross-hairs of the camera crew from Cops.
Psychologically, though, it's still 1992 GB as far as the characters are concerned. Twelve-year-olds still scream out loud at things as non-threatening as a plastic skull mask; bullies and siblings still exist only to torment the protagonists; adults still refuse to believe children even in the face of hard evidence. Ah, it's good to be home. Respectably, however, there are few if any fake-out cliffhangers, and the narrative flows smoothly and energetically with no major cheats or aggravating cop-outs. Despite a few lapses in reason, narrator Sascha and best friend Nicole are likeable, if nondescript.
I also enjoyed the framing device of Slappy's commentary. Any time he's given half a chance, Stine talks about the influence of EC Comics on his work, so it makes sense that he would find a Cryptkeeper analogue of his own (a role he himself fulfilled occasionally in the television adaptations). I think this may be the best use of Slappy to date, since I remember getting tired of the "dummy comes to life but nobody believes it" formula inherent in the Night of the Living Dummy entries.
My only major complaint is the out-and-out ridiculousness of the pre-teen antagonists, Nathan and Ashli, described by Sascha as "the two biggest cheaters on earth". The gruesome twosome manage to repeatedly sabotage Sascha and Nicole's culinary attempts in ways that would be incredibly transparent on a small shooting set such as you see on actual cooking competition shows. I really don't think anyone would be able to spike a dish with a full bottle of hot sauce without a single person among the contestants, the host, the judges, the camera crew, the producers, or the assistants noticing. Fortunately, by the time the Monster Blood takes control of the story as we all know it must, those two are relegated to irrelevancy.
My other, minor, only-half-serious demerit comes from the lack of cameos by original Monster Blood survivors Evan and Andy. It would have been neat to see them show up as adults and issue warnings that our plucky protagonists would, in due course, ignore. Then the nostalgia trip would have been complete.
October 9, 2023
TLDR;
Sascha Nelson and Nicole Hilliard have a strong passion for cooking and it came out strong in this one. I did enjoy reading about their trials and tribulations. Ashli Lorraine and Nathan Diggs are enjoyable—although, somewhat flat—antagonists. Toby is an annoying, bratty, nuisance of a little brother, but relatable for many readers. The story was good, fast-paced, and the ending had promise until it twisted on a terrible trope. Please stop using this dumb trope. PLEASE. I would just stop reading at page 132.
The Secret Ingredient:
Sascha Nelson and Nicole Hilliard are best friends and have a passion for cooking. The girls jump at the opportunity to be on their favourite TV series: Kid’s Big Chef Food Fights. They can’t wait to showcase all the “crazy dishes [they’ve] dreamed up. Slapping food together in the craziest combinations.” While the girls are preparing for the show, Sascha’s parents are preparing for Toby’s nineth birthday party, which means Sascha needs to find Toby a gift. Sascha and Nicole go into a store called VERY EVIL TOYS, which is fitting considering how much of a brat he is. But Sascha does wonder: “Maybe we should have taken the hint—and beat it. Maybe we should have hurried away from there as fast as we could.” But what good is a Goosebumps character who doesn’t go into the creepy and ominous store that magically popped up overnight? Sascha picks out two cans of Monster Blood, the shopkeep, Bardo, thinks it’s a fine selection: “It’s just green slime. . . Kids love to play with slime. It’s perfectly harmless.” Tell that to Evan Ross, Andy, and Matt Daniels, Bardo. Sascha buys two cans and the girls can now focus on the competition. Unfortunately, Ashli Lorraine and Nathan Diggs, “the two biggest cheaters on earth”, are also competing.
After a humiliating day, Sascha and Nicole go home and have to deal with annoying Toby. He storms into Sascha’s room and steals the Monster Blood. Things start going downhill from here. The Monster Blood starts growing and Sascha isn’t exactly sure how to contain it. She now has to contend with the dangerous Monster Blood and manage to beat Ashli and Nathan. Will Monster Blood be exactly what she needs to defeat the two cheaters?
I enjoyed Ashli’s and Nathan’s characters. They were a little flat and corny, but they weren’t extra. R.L. Stine has a tendency to make some pretty over-the-top annoying antagonists (Ari Goodwyn, Bradley Wormser). I really appreciated Sascha’s bout of self-doubt: “[D]id we really belong here? What if the two other teams knew what they were doing and were a lot better than us?” So many children go through these thoughts when they are competing, even if it’s a small competition with very little on the line. Another gem that Stine threw at us was: “What a stressful day. It made my bones feel tired! [. . .] I just wanted to drift off to sleep and escape for a while.” Do twelve-year-olds ever think that? I know I didn’t back then, but I can completely relate to that feeling now!
I have noticed that a lot of Goosebumps characters have an odd habit of pressing their hands against their face in tense or frightening moments. Why? I have never done this and I can’t recall seeing anyone actually do that. I imagine the Home Alone movie posters and cringe. Another thing is dads getting names but not moms. Sascha’s dad’s name is Frank, but Mom is Mom for the entire book. Why?
I thought Stine had a knack for strong endings? Am I being proven wrong? This book had a good ending but then it went squirreling back to a weird plotline that was dumb. So, the ending went from good and enjoyable to dumb and a waste of time. Please stop ending your books like this. PLEASE.
2.5 because I am sick of these stupid endings. STOP IT STINE.
This is Day #8 of my October Goosebumps Challenge.
Day: 8/31
Books: 8/31
Sascha Nelson and Nicole Hilliard have a strong passion for cooking and it came out strong in this one. I did enjoy reading about their trials and tribulations. Ashli Lorraine and Nathan Diggs are enjoyable—although, somewhat flat—antagonists. Toby is an annoying, bratty, nuisance of a little brother, but relatable for many readers. The story was good, fast-paced, and the ending had promise until it twisted on a terrible trope. Please stop using this dumb trope. PLEASE. I would just stop reading at page 132.
The Secret Ingredient:
Sascha Nelson and Nicole Hilliard are best friends and have a passion for cooking. The girls jump at the opportunity to be on their favourite TV series: Kid’s Big Chef Food Fights. They can’t wait to showcase all the “crazy dishes [they’ve] dreamed up. Slapping food together in the craziest combinations.” While the girls are preparing for the show, Sascha’s parents are preparing for Toby’s nineth birthday party, which means Sascha needs to find Toby a gift. Sascha and Nicole go into a store called VERY EVIL TOYS, which is fitting considering how much of a brat he is. But Sascha does wonder: “Maybe we should have taken the hint—and beat it. Maybe we should have hurried away from there as fast as we could.” But what good is a Goosebumps character who doesn’t go into the creepy and ominous store that magically popped up overnight? Sascha picks out two cans of Monster Blood, the shopkeep, Bardo, thinks it’s a fine selection: “It’s just green slime. . . Kids love to play with slime. It’s perfectly harmless.” Tell that to Evan Ross, Andy, and Matt Daniels, Bardo. Sascha buys two cans and the girls can now focus on the competition. Unfortunately, Ashli Lorraine and Nathan Diggs, “the two biggest cheaters on earth”, are also competing.
After a humiliating day, Sascha and Nicole go home and have to deal with annoying Toby. He storms into Sascha’s room and steals the Monster Blood. Things start going downhill from here. The Monster Blood starts growing and Sascha isn’t exactly sure how to contain it. She now has to contend with the dangerous Monster Blood and manage to beat Ashli and Nathan. Will Monster Blood be exactly what she needs to defeat the two cheaters?
I enjoyed Ashli’s and Nathan’s characters. They were a little flat and corny, but they weren’t extra. R.L. Stine has a tendency to make some pretty over-the-top annoying antagonists (Ari Goodwyn, Bradley Wormser). I really appreciated Sascha’s bout of self-doubt: “[D]id we really belong here? What if the two other teams knew what they were doing and were a lot better than us?” So many children go through these thoughts when they are competing, even if it’s a small competition with very little on the line. Another gem that Stine threw at us was: “What a stressful day. It made my bones feel tired! [. . .] I just wanted to drift off to sleep and escape for a while.” Do twelve-year-olds ever think that? I know I didn’t back then, but I can completely relate to that feeling now!
I have noticed that a lot of Goosebumps characters have an odd habit of pressing their hands against their face in tense or frightening moments. Why? I have never done this and I can’t recall seeing anyone actually do that. I imagine the Home Alone movie posters and cringe. Another thing is dads getting names but not moms. Sascha’s dad’s name is Frank, but Mom is Mom for the entire book. Why?
I thought Stine had a knack for strong endings? Am I being proven wrong? This book had a good ending but then it went squirreling back to a weird plotline that was dumb. So, the ending went from good and enjoyable to dumb and a waste of time. Please stop ending your books like this. PLEASE.
2.5 because I am sick of these stupid endings. STOP IT STINE.
This is Day #8 of my October Goosebumps Challenge.
Day: 8/31
Books: 8/31
May 12, 2021
I had to read Monster Blood Is Back twice because I didn't know how to wrap up my final thoughts. For me, it feels like two entirely different stories re-edited to make one complete tale, which in the end felt a little uneven. There's the cooking show plot, and then there's the Monster Blood plot. The two don't mix well with me because of how the protagonists, Sascha and Nicole, find the Monster Blood. The girls visit the Very Evil Toys shop and stumble upon the Monster Blood, which they both agree would make a great birthday gift for Sascha's younger brother. It's a separate plot that comes into play later during the cooking competition, but it has already been used countless times in Goosebumps' books. Maybe it's because I'm older than the average Goosebumps reader, but the plots are becoming a bit redundant.
The cooking show competition part of the story is a first for the Goosebumps franchise, and for the most part, it does work. The protagonists were likable characters until they decided to use Monster Blood. The bullies in this tale are the typical Goosebumps bullies. The ending twist is generically surprising. I expected more of a shocker. Instead, all we get is whimper.
Overall, Goosebumps SlappyWorld: Monster Blood Is Back is an average entry in the series. Was I disappointed with it? Yes. Was it fun? Sure. If you don't nitpick every single thing, then it can be an entertaining read. I'm sure younger readers will enjoy the story. There's a sneak peek at the next book, Fifth Grade Zombies, and it looks like it'll be a bit more exciting, so keep your eyes out for it.
The cooking show competition part of the story is a first for the Goosebumps franchise, and for the most part, it does work. The protagonists were likable characters until they decided to use Monster Blood. The bullies in this tale are the typical Goosebumps bullies. The ending twist is generically surprising. I expected more of a shocker. Instead, all we get is whimper.
Overall, Goosebumps SlappyWorld: Monster Blood Is Back is an average entry in the series. Was I disappointed with it? Yes. Was it fun? Sure. If you don't nitpick every single thing, then it can be an entertaining read. I'm sure younger readers will enjoy the story. There's a sneak peek at the next book, Fifth Grade Zombies, and it looks like it'll be a bit more exciting, so keep your eyes out for it.
November 16, 2025
**2.5**
I kind of liked this one just for how random it was. Not only did we get even more new info about monster blood, but i also like the cooking contest format
Having slappy be the storyteller is another level of absolute chaos and it was a fun ride
- Story told by slappy the living dummy
- Goes to find birthday present for pest brother
- Cooking contest where there is a pair that seems to always sabotage somehow
- During big cookoff, mc’s were sabotaged by oven being turned off. Tried to sabotage the meanies by putting monster blood in their dish.
- Nothing happened to judges after they ate dish
- Left monster blood at the studio in a bag with name on it. Go back to get it. It’s gone
- Brother found other can of monster blood. And read the fine print. THERE WAS FINE PRINT!?!? Basically instructions
- Director is changing cooking show to a horror show
- The whole thing was a dream. She even tossed the idea earlier
I kind of liked this one just for how random it was. Not only did we get even more new info about monster blood, but i also like the cooking contest format
Having slappy be the storyteller is another level of absolute chaos and it was a fun ride
- Story told by slappy the living dummy
- Goes to find birthday present for pest brother
- Cooking contest where there is a pair that seems to always sabotage somehow
- During big cookoff, mc’s were sabotaged by oven being turned off. Tried to sabotage the meanies by putting monster blood in their dish.
- Nothing happened to judges after they ate dish
- Left monster blood at the studio in a bag with name on it. Go back to get it. It’s gone
- Brother found other can of monster blood. And read the fine print. THERE WAS FINE PRINT!?!? Basically instructions
- Director is changing cooking show to a horror show
- The whole thing was a dream. She even tossed the idea earlier
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 18, 2025
Would you buy anything from a place that sold very evil toys? Well, that’s where the girls got this monster blood. What could be so scary about green slime, right? Well, that’s what I was asking as I was reading this book. Things heat up when the girls enter a televised cooking competition. The play-by-play on the cooking and the judging was too descriptive and slowed things down a lot. It was so disappointing when the girls finally use the monster blood and it does nothing. Quite honestly, there’s not much that happens here. I expected much more from this scary blob. Eh, the read was okay and the story wasn’t too great.
December 2, 2023
Pretty decent wasn't bad, but it's the repeated scenarios he adds in almost every book where the protagonists friends house is beside her like she can run or walk there? It's pretty dumb. Even the way that there's the two rich kids that always try to bully the protagonist is really really annoying now. Every monster blood book is the same thing. Basically, it's just in another narrative.
January 1, 2026
Absolutely enjoy reread these books. It may be childish but it’s an escape from reality. What’s better than enjoying a thrilling childhood favorite? We need R.L. Stine to write an adult thriller book!
March 12, 2021
One of the weakest endings in Goosebumps history.
January 5, 2022
The twist at the end made it so either the whole story was a dream or the main character can't tell if it was. Hmm.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 21, 2022
Shallow and pointless, even for a juvenile book.
June 20, 2023
Great ending! Loved it.
March 31, 2024
Good book
September 8, 2024
And it was ALL A DREAM.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 14, 2026
4/10
Predictable Monster Blood story with a horrible ending. I liked the cooking show elements, but that’s it.
Predictable Monster Blood story with a horrible ending. I liked the cooking show elements, but that’s it.
Read
February 8, 2026Och, Slappy jako komentator pojawiający się między niektórymi rozdziałami, cudowne!
January 26, 2026
the ending wasn't good. the rest of the story is good so im giving it 2 star's. but the ending ruined the book.
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