Another spooky book by the king of spooks himself! I love the nostalgia of going back to the Goosebumps books. Honestly, it's such a nice change up to disappear into my childhood classics and see what I remember and what ones I actually paid attention to when reading.

This book is a delightful sequel to Monster Blood. We follow Evan yet again as he has to deal with the pesky monster blood, and it almost ruins his reputation at his brand new school. As pictured on the cover, the class hamster may end up getting too close to the Monster Blood...

I found this book to be a delightfully fun read! It had great jump scares, twists and turns I didn't see coming, and it was super engaging. Sure, it is a wee bit childish but this book is made for middle graders, not adults like myself. I can see why I loved it so much back in the day.

Four out of five stars! ( )

It's Baaack... Evan Ross can't stop thinking about Monster Blood and what happened last summer. It was so horrible. So terrifying. Too bad Evan's science teacher doesn't believe him.

#18 "He's one hungry hamster!"
Oh no! Evan is back with another Monster Blood adventure! But this time it's the classroom pet cuddles the hamster who gets a taste of the green oozing goo. ( )

I'm going to confess something now.

I don't entirely get the appeal of the Monster Blood books. I know they are an extremely popular series within the Goosebumps canon. I know they provide the slime by which the original run of Goosebump books had their covers adorned in. I know they even spawned sequels in the later Goosebump 2000 books.

I just don't get them.

Evan is an idiot, but Andy is fun. The idea of the Monster Blood itself isn't entirely idiotic (a substance that, upon ingestion, makes whoever/whatever ingested it grow for an indeterminate amount of time) but the execution is so often lacking. The books begin to follow a trend in which Evan is Upset About Someone, Andy suggests Monster Blood, eventually it is used. Oh no! Not again!

In this book, as the cover portrays, a gerbil is the recipient of the Monster Blood. Why is Evan angry? Because nobody believes Monster Blood is real. Who would believe it, after all, Evan? Wrapped up in your story is also a witch that was cursed to become a cat. The climax of your story is a rip-off of The Blob That Ate Everything.

Why would people believe you? ( )

## He's one hungry hamster!

Monster Blood II is where Goosebumps started really infecting kids with the series' collectability. It was the first sequel, and the first to build on its own lore. It was a hit already, but I remember this being about the time the series took off and produced tons of offshoots like the POG line and Escape from HorrorLand videogame. Cuddles, the Monster Blood-fueled hamster (seen on the iconic cover) was even an early mascot to rival Slappy, but, like Curly, has been left behind for the more popular critters.

[N.B. This review includes images, and was formatted for my site, dendrobibliography -- located here.]

Monster Blood's a bit of an oddball choice to dedicate sequels to. The series-within-a-series follows one of the more bland Goosebumps heroes. Evan's a nervous goof who spends his time worrying while his friend Andy steals the spotlight with her energy and enthusiasm. The concept of Monster Blood is probably the best part of the series: A creepy, goopy substance with infinite power depending on whatever the plot demands. In Monster Blood II, the goopy goop's power is still limited to turning animals (and people) into scary giants.

Evan's having a hard time adjusting to his new school after his original adventure: He has no friends except Andy, and suffers daily embarrassments at the hands of bullies -- including his wonderfully-stereotypical science teacher -- who refuse to take his stories of Monster Blood seriously. Every day's misfortunes end with him taking care of the classroom hamster, Cuddles, and nothing much interesting happens until Andy makes her return with the Monster Blood necessary to propel the plot forward. Of course, cute little Cuddles gets his hamster paws on that Monster Blood (of course!), and it's up to Evan and Andy to use their experience to save the day -- and get Evan some much-needed respect.

I loved this one. I loved it as a kid, and still love it today. Evan's a bore, sure, but thankfully this isn't told in first-person. Andy, too, really enhances the mood (and has more character than Gooseboops' audience expects). A hamster turning into a cuddly monster made for a silly, fun adventure, without overdoing it on the silliness. Recommended for series fans.

R.L. Stine's Goosebumps (1992–1997):
#17 Why I'm Afraid of Bees | #19 Deep Trouble ( )