Beware, the Snowman (Goosebumps #51)

## He's got a heart of cold!

Beware, the Snowman deserves credit for some truly terrifying moments. Jaclyn and her Aunt Greta moved from the big city of Chicago to a small village in the Arctic Circle. Think Barrow, Alaska for the setting: A small, isolated town caught in a perpetual deep freeze that spends half its year in the dark, barraged by snow storms. Even if Stine tends to write exotic locations on dated stereotypes -- and he does here, no doubt (Jaclyn can scale the neighboring mountain and be home in five minutes!) -- Beware, the Snowman doesn't suffer from this issue, as the entire story takes place in a claustrophobic series of snowstorms. It's always dark, always punishing -- and there are always creeping sounds just out of show more sight, lurking around every corner.

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

It's creepy. The paranoia of being chased by unseen animals or monsters makes for some dramatic scenes on par with Stephen King, but the sense doesn't last for the whole story.

Jaclyn, our hero, is grumpy and confused by the move. In adjusting to small-town life, she takes to exploring every nook and cranny, to questioning the lives of the superstitious locals in order to better understand and befriend them: It seems the whole town lives in a quiet fear of a living, evil snowman on the mountain overlooking the town. They pay homage to this monster by populating the streets with creepy snowman befitting its image. Jaclyn takes it upon herself to uncover this superstition, which everyone -- including her aunt -- want her to stay away from.

As the mystery surrounding the snowman unravels, so does the suspense. Beware, the Snowman's last third is a haphazard series of really corny coincidences, plot holes, nonsensical magic, and deus ex machina. It also rewards the worst possible kind of parenting: Complete abandonment. It's unfortunate, as the first two-thirds provide a lot of genuinely creepy moments, and the silly ending only serves to make this one of the more forgettable Goosebumps tales.

R.L. Stine's Goosebumps (1992–1997):
#50 Calling All Creeps! | #52 How I Learned to Fly show less

This book was everything I wished [b: The Abominable Snowman of Pasadena|320100|The Abominable Snowman of Pasadena (Goosebumps, #38)|R.L. Stine|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1389156249s/320100.jpg|2105973] was from page one. While it lacked the fearsome crevasse scene (all too quickly resolved in the other book), it made up for it with better snow descriptions, the fearsome ice cave, the general feel of seclusion and superstition that permeates so many small towns. The only thing I wish this book had done more was emphasize just how killer the cold can be.

Our main character is transported, largely to her chagrin, by her aunt to the town of Sherpia which is...somewhere. The town is tiny, a sharp contrast to Chicago, and covered in show more these weird sinister Snowmen. Plus, there's a strange hermit and his wolf living on the mountain, legends of a killer Snowman and sorcery, and the not so small matter of an odd poem that can't be forgotten back from the vestiges of childhood.

[b: Beware, the Snowman|125534|Beware, the Snowman (Goosebumps, #51)|R.L. Stine|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1344567513s/125534.jpg|120899] managed to be a good Goosebumps book by relying more on the unseen than the seen. For the bulk of the book the Snowman is nothing but a specter, unlike the pumpkin heads in [b: Attack of the Jack-O'-Lanterns|1801072|Attack of the Jack-O'-Lanterns (Goosebumps, #48)|R.L. Stine|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1359209350s/1801072.jpg|2161988]. The Snowman becomes scary through the legends that are told and the insular climate, which succeeds fairly well considering. Definitely would recommend this one to kids. show less

I read this book to get into the winter season a little more. It barely snows where I live, so the surplus of snow within the book was really nice. This is a very quick read, perfect for a wintertime snack. While not the best Goosebumps book, it is entertaining, even though it takes forever to figure out what is happening with the snowman. For a short book, it moves a little snow, but who doesn't enjoy the idea of a creepy snowman? I thought it was a creative idea and even thouh the execution of it wasn't stellar, it was still enjoyable. Its best in the wintertime, as it would probably feel awkward or extra peculiar at any other time of the year.

Jaclyn used to live with her aunt Greta in Chicago, but they move to Sherpia, a tiny village on the edge of the Arctic Circle. Jaclyn can't believe she's stuck in this place with no malls or movie theaters. Plus, there's something strange about the village. At night there are strange howling noise and A creepy snowman with a red scarf shows up outside of her house. This installment to the Goosebumps series is thrilling and action-packed and gets YAs interested in reading.

Let's just start off with who doesn't like a classic Goosebumps book. I can remember why they used to be so popular back in my day. The genre for Goosebumps: Beware, the Snowman would be a kid's horror fantasy novel. The way that the books are written is funny to read as an adult. Even as I was reading it, I was getting so into it, just as I did when I was a child. I think that children can really enjoy this book. Beware, the Snowman is perfect for children's imagination. They can also relate to the book, especially if they have ever been a new kid in an entirely different town. As a kid, I was a new kid in a different school, and I will say it is hard. Kids can also relate to how hard it is to try and make friends.

A quick read, to say the least. Cute book and surprisingly unpredictable. Clever enough short story although extremely cheesy - should we be surprised of that though, considering the cover, the plot, that it's Goosebumps, and the tagline? HE HAS A HEART OF COLD! Indeed...

A book that started scary and became increasingly unbelievable and stupid. I had to give it two stars instead of just one for the tension and suspense that Stine created expertly in the first half of the book. But I was waiting for him to take it to a very scary and clever climax and that just didn't happen. Instead he warped a good story and made it into a joke. He should have carried on down the path of horror, instead of rationalising a story about a snowman that comes alive to terrorize people.