Be Careful What You Wish For... (Goosebumps #12)

Be Careful What You Wish For... by R.L. Stine is a thrilling (but not as scary?) addition to the always awesome Goosebumps series.

My life goal is to read all of the Goosebumps series, so I shall continue on this resolution! I remember reading this one over and over as a kid, because for some reason we only had a couple Goosebumps available to read in our little library. Still to this day, I don't find this one all that scary. It was thrilling, sure, because you didn't know what was going to happen but definitely not scary. A lot of the other Goosebumps books I live for the little cliffhangers and can see why younger audiences might be creeped out or scared. Just not... this one.

I will say, this is one of my favourite endings for a show more Goosebumps book. If you aren't already thinking of what might happen by the time the final wish comes about... well, it'll surprise you. It's a good ending that makes you wonder what happened next.

Two out of five stars. show less

## It might come true.

The cliche of Be Careful What You Wish For... is exemplified in its title. It's a predictable premise, but also a classic in the series, sticking to its simplistic roots to deliver effective spooks.

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

Despite being the tallest girl in school, Samantha Byrd's the gawkiest, clumsiest girl on her basketball team. Her height and lack of skill makes her an outsider, subject to frequent bullying by her team- and classmates (especially one cruel beast named Judith!). On her way from from school one day, Samantha extends a small act of kindness towards a lone gypsy woman named Clarissa, helping her get home. In gratitude, show more Clarissa offers Samantha three wishes. Just be careful....

The stereotyping of gypsy culture is perhaps benignly offensive today, showcasing an ignorance that's characteristic of '90s fiction (and R.L. Stine's work). Still, it's an excellent folktale for poor Samantha Byrd. She's a kindhearted character to the end, and nothing ever goes right for her, even when she is careful.

How can her three wishes go wrong? Imagine you want...:

1. To be the strongest player on your team....
2. To make that cruel bully disappear....
3. To simply make your bully like you....

Be Careful What You Wish For... is one of the darkest early Goosebumps tales, and features one of the series' best, darkest, most shocking twists -- Samantha doesn't deserve that! Goosebumps' twelfth entry may not feature the most original premise, but it's still a wonderful read.

R.L. Stine's Goosebumps (1992–1997):
#11 The Haunted Mask | #13 Piano Lessons Can Be Murder

N.B. Be Careful What You Wish For... is one of only two original Goosebumps books to not feature cover art by Tim Jacobus. (The other is Stay Out of the Basement.) show less

This was one of my absolute favorite Goosebumps books. Samantha is bullied, and when she is offered wishes and tries to use them to stop the bullying, you can't blame her for it. She just wants her bully to be nice to her, is that too much to ask for?

Well, when you get exactly what you ask for, it can be too much. The signature twist ending might seem sad to some, but at least Samantha finally becomes free of her bully...

I have always enjoyed reading R.L Stine's Goosebumps books, so I knew I wanted to write a review about one. The pick I picked is called Be Careful What You Wish For. It tells the story of a clumsy 12-year-old girl named Samatha Byrd, who often faces bullying from two girls named Judith Bellwood and Anna Frost. One day, Sam encounters a bewitched woman who offers to grant her three wishes. However, things do not go as planned, and each of Sam's wishes ends up backfiring on her. A central theme of this story revolves around the idea that seeking revenge on others may not bring the satisfaction one hopes for. To elaborate, Sam's three wishes were made to spite Judith, but she doesn't learn her lesson until her last wish is used. At first, show more Sam was vengeful and hated the bullying she was going through. But Sam realizes that her efforts to change her situation keep failing. By the end of the book, Sam finds the witch and pleads for a fourth wish, which the woman allows. She wished that the women had met Judith instead of Sam. Then, the woman goes to Judith, and she wishes that Sam would turn into a bird and fly away. As Sam transforms, she is at peace with this change, which indicates that she has finally accepted the circumstance and isn't fighting against it. This moment shows how she has come to terms with the outcomes of her decisions. This book is perfect for preteens and middle schoolers to read, as it may be relevant to them. Many children, including me at this age, wish to change aspects of themselves or their lives. The book uses the idea of changing things, but highlights how it might not turn out as you would hope. Sam's situation with bullying and low self-esteem might be relevant to some pre-teens, but the book's overall lesson of self-acceptance is excellent for other kids. show less

So, I'm finally reading through all of the Goosebumps books if you couldn't already tell by how I'm spamming the updates feed on your GoodReads accounts. While my second grade classroom had some of them available, as well as friends and libraries, I never was able to read them all and now that I'm old and sick with a cold it seems like the appropriate time to dig in.

[b: Be Careful What You Wish For...] suffers from terrible title syndrome. Aside from that, though it's a generally pretty cool book. It doesn't suffer from a terrible ending like the bulk of the Goosebumps series, instead oddly faltering in the middle when Sam makes her second wish. I still don't understand how that one worked. Oh well.

This book's strength once more lies in show more the depiction of human cruelty rather than supernatural woes. The way Judith and Sam interact is more horrifying that the Crystal Lady and the wishes she grants, and it reminded me far too much of some bullying that I've experienced over my life. Still, at times I wish Sam would just stick up for herself... She could have done, you know.

Anyway, this is one of the stronger Goosebump books in my opinion. And kudos for a hilarious ending. show less

The books in the Goosebumps series regularly seem to take the vein of a morality tale (of a twisted sort) where one virtue, evil, personality flaw, or issue is taken up as the focus of the story, and Be Careful What You Wish for is no exception. The order of the day here is being careful about what you wish for...in this volume we meet Samantha Byrd a tall young lady who is given heck by Judith Bell and her friend Anna who seem to have no reason for their treatment of Samantha outside of the fact that she's something of an easy target. She's tall, but clumsy...on the basketball team (where Judith is queen) but not a good player. Samantha is constantly miserable about her lot in life...complaining about how mean Judith is and taking one show more insult after another from her without much protesting at the time.

One day on the way home from school Sam helps a woman named Clarissa find her way...she's become turned around and Sam is kind enough to walk her practically across town to get to the right street. As a reward, Clarissa offers her three wishes. Sam is incredulous, but hastily makes a wish anyway...to be the strongest basketball player on the team. As with all wishes, this one goes awry...instead of making her a better player, she becomes the strongest player when ALL her other teammates become ill and bedridden. In a panic, she tries to right her wish but only manages to make it progressively worse...until in misery she makes a final wish...and...well, you'll have to read to find out how it works out. I will say that what you get is always different than what you expect with these stories, and Be Careful What You Wish For is no exception, it does have a signature Twilight Zone--esque twist at the end.

Overall, Be Careful What You Wish For is well written and the characters are simple but adequately written, but this one just doesn't work as well as some of the previous stories in the series. Samantha doesn't come across as sympathetic and at the end I was left with a kind of eh...whatever, feeling. I just didn't really care about her enough and it came to rather swift ending. I give it three stars, it's entertaining, but no great shakes. show less

Samantha Byrd is just a clumsy girl in middle school trying to fit it. If it weren't for the constant torment from her nemesis Judith Bellwood, life would surely be easier. If only Judith were nicer. Then one day Samantha is awarded 3 wishes for helping a stranger. Wishing seems easy at first, but as Samantha learns there's always unseen consequenses. Be Careful What You Wish For...by R.L.Stine is a fun, quick read for kids who enjoy horror.