My Hairiest Adventure (Goosebumps #26)

This Goosebump book is infamous for its utterly ridiculous ending.

Yes, the ending didn't get any better this read through. Knowing the ending, in fact, only heightened my enjoyment of the book for all the ridiculous hints at it littered throughout. What could have been, and likely was, a massive metaphor for puberty (omg, my hands are hairy, my body is hairy, what is happening to meeeeeee?) became instead just a ridiculous romp through the lovely mind of [a: R.L. Stine|13730|R.L. Stine|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1194380070p2/13730.jpg]. The man just keeps getting better.

Throughout this book you'll be treated to... a band with three guitars and a keyboard but no other instruments, people who can't sweat, people who take show more strange bottles of lotion out of dumpsters and use them without thinking, the word heterochromia, people with no sweat glands, and other such wonders.

Truly a classic Goosebumps book. Like [b: Why I'm Afraid of Bees|125583|Why I'm Afraid of Bees (Goosebumps, #17)|R.L. Stine|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1328866712s/125583.jpg|120948], everyone should read it at least once. show less

## It keeps growing... and growing... and growing...

After the fun R.L. Stine clearly had creating believable, funny adventures around believable, funny kids in Phantom of the Auditorium and Attack of the Mutant, My Hairiest Adventure feels as run-of-the-mill and shallow as the title suggests.

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

It's not a bad yarn by any means -- it's just...uninteresting. 'Hairy' Larry, our protagonist, is uninteresting. His friends and their band are uninteresting. The antagonists, a rival band, are uninteresting. The light-hearted mystery around Larry growing thick, black, greasy hair in unusual places is -- you guessed it -- uninteresting.

Stine's show more usual stories are surface-level spooks and jokes meant to connect with kids and keep them turning the pages -- this, however, may deserve some credit for branching out a bit to craft a metaphor around puberty and the awful, awful changes that brings. Maybe.

It's a decent, silly story to pass the time, but there are so many better Goosebumps adventures to pick from, whether you want spooky horror (Ghost Beach), or you're more craving R.L. Stine's silly sense of humor (Go Eat Worms!). The problems lie not just in how boring the entire concept is, but that the ending is telegraphed a bit too obviously early on with the neighborhood dogs, and Larry's fixation on a can of tanning lotion is too obviously a red herring. Not one of the better Goosebumps entries, and likely out of print for a reason.

(I still loved it....)

## "Do you think the stuff works?" Jared asked, adjusting his cap and staring at the bottle.
## "It has to," Lily said. "They couldn't sell it if it didn't work."

R.L. Stine's Goosebumps (1992–1997):
#25 Attack of the Mutant | #27 A Night in Terror Tower show less

The first book of the series I've ever read, all those many years ago and was highly worth the time I took to read it (I think I was only six) I could not actually remember a lot from that particular read but around two years later, I watched the TV adaptation of the title and had a quick re-read very recently and I still find the storyline very gripping and very hard to put down, although the ending was a little predictable, though very shocking. But that was probably from all the re-reads. A great read, I highly recommend the book!

After trying out an old container of "Insta-tan," Larry discovers hair growing in strange places- dark, thick hair. He does everything he can to shave it off and hide it, but he keeps having problems, and with the Battle of the Bands looming, he doesn't know what to do. Two of his best friends have moved away inexplicably, and things are getting stranger and stranger. Luckily he makes it home in time for an explanation- he's turning back into the dog he's been all along! I did notice some inconsistancies in this- Larry supposedly has a sweat gland problem, but he keeps sweating. Now, we find out that sweat glands aren't the problem, but wouldn't Larry have suspected something when he kept sweating despite the fact that he supposedly can't?

#26 "It keeps growing... and growing... and growing..."
Larry is a boy picked on by not only the kids in the neighborhood but the dogs as well. One day he finds a can of instant spray tan in the trash and takes it to his friends for all of them to try. When Larry starts to chicken out saying that the can is terribly expired his friends start to mock him until he finally tries it on. Suddenly Larry has hair growing out of his hands and face. The hair comes back after every shave. What in the world is Larry to do?

Goosebumps. This is the series that kept me reading through my childhood. More than any other series, Goosebumps kept me interested in reading, and R.L. Stein is a wonderful children's writer. I applaud his efforts, and can't express enough my gratitude for the series.

A scary story about a boy who grows mysterious hair. A good book to teach about adjectives and imagination in writing stories.