Final Exam

This was a nifty little book I read as a teen. I reread it as an adult as few years ago, and surprisingly, it stood the test of time. A lot of books I've reread from the teen Point Horror series haven't fared so well (re: R.L. Stine).

The Basics: Kelly (if I recall her name correctly) is taking her senior year final exams. She accidentally finds a journal of the villian/psycho of the novel, but has no idea who owns it. Unable to return it, she hangs onto it for the duration of the story, searching out the owner. The psycho has written some nasty stuff and is unhinged enough to think Kelly will use it against them--and so proceeds to stalk Kelly and play increasingly horrible pranks on her. The psycho is one of the people in her immediate show more circle. Slowly the novel reveals who it is. Will Kelly succeed in discovering the owner of the journal before they can kill her?

I gave the novel 4/5 stars in relation to other teen novels, as it had a subtle but surprising depth. The novel was written for the bloodthirsty and sometimes fickle Point Horror imprint but you could tell the author actually cared about the story she was telling (unlike other Point Horror authors who seem to be doing it by formula and only for the money). As a teen I found the novel to be average; but as an adult rereading, I discovered levels to the novel I missed as a teen, and was very impressed. The style and setting are spare (basic teen reading level standard), but the characters have a depth I wasn't expecting on the reread. And Kelly's reaction to revelation of the villian/psycho was different but believable.

One of the best of the Point Horror series. Good for easing a Goosebumps type reader into more thoughtful novels. show less