From Goodreads: Catch the most wanted Goosebumps characters–undead or alive…

The infamous, Most Wanted Goosebumps characters are out on the loose and they’re coming after you! There is no place to hide. Nothing is safe!

Jay Gardner is a mischievous kid who can’t stay out of trouble. Unfortunately, Jay gets in so much trouble, his family is forced to move. The new neighborhood offers Jay a chance at a fresh start. But there’s something odd about Jay’s new town. Why does everyone have lawn gnomes in front of their homes? And why is everyone afraid to go outside at night? The lawn gnomes don’t come to life at night-do they? Jay is about to learn that mischief can quickly turn to horror.

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When I was a tween, I loved Goosebumps.  I read them whenever I could, and I just thought R.L. Stine was the best author ever.  His plotlines were just crazy enough to entice and glue my middle school self to the pages, and I liked that they were a little bit scary with a little touch of chill, though they never gave me nightmares.  And the covers, with the ooze?  I loved them.  I loved to touch them and I had a small collection on my bookshelf… at one point I actually  planned to begin with book 1 and eventually own them all—a feat that never did happen as, you know, middle schoolers can quickly be overcome by some new phenomena and forget all about their previous loves, which is what happened with Goosebumps.

But, nearly 20 years later, I came across a new release from R.L. Stine on Netgalley, and I just had to read it… I wanted to know if the novels still held as much appeal to me as they once did.  The verdict?  Well, no, not really—my logical side whispered to me throughout my reading of this novel, telling me just how ridiculous the plot really was, and I was thinking to myself that it’s such a shame that I’ve changed so much.  And then… the ending happened.  That’s right.  The ending threw me out into left field and I was like, “whoa.” R.L. Stine’s still got it!  And I’d give these books to any MG/tween out there looking for something a little weird, a little scary, and something that’ll definitely make them think, and wish the novel kept right on going.  So, while I’ll admit that R.L. Stine’s books don’t appeal to me like they once did, because I’m not a tween anymore, R.L. Stine hasn’t changed a bit, and his books are still awesome, and I have to give this novel four stars because the twist at the end really was “kick butt.”  This novel is definitely a winner.

Scholastic Inc has been very gracious in allowing me to read a copy of this novel, via Netgalley.