The Perfume by Caroline B. Cooney

Welcome to the 8th installment of Summer of Fear,  a weekly series of posts where I will review/revisit a classic YA Horror/Thriller from the 70s-90s. This week I read The Perfume by Caroline B. Cooney which was originally published in 1992. 

When fifteen-year-old Dove Daniel’s friends discover the new perfume called Venom, they become infatuated. They have Obsession and Poison; now they simply must have Venom. When they discover it’s available at Dry Ice, the coolest store in the local mall, they rush over after school. But to Dove, Venom seems inexplicably terrifying, as does the store that carries it. If she breathes in its potent scent, she is sure something terrible will happen. At first whiff, she senses something primitive and dark. Once she’s inhaled the scent, she begins to feel something . . . different . . . and her heart beats in double time. What has Venom’s bite awakened inside her? 
-openroadmedia.com

I am a huge fan of Caroline B. Cooney’s book The Face on the Milk Carton and all the books in the “Janie” series. Prior to reading The Perfume last night, I hasn’t read any of her horror novels. This book is extremely well written but also bizarre. I couldn’t tell if was a commentary on what it may be like to have a mental illness such as Dissociative Identity Disorder or if Dove is truly possessed by an evil Druid spirit.  My heart broke for Dove in the beginning when she first starts to hear and respond to the voices in her head and thinks “she decided against describing what was going on inside her skull. The world did not sound sympathetic.” Ultimately Dove’s workaholic distracted parents take her for mental health counseling at a facility full of the worst bad stereotypes of mental health clinics which was truly horrifying. The resolution is also abrupt. 

🌟🌟🌟/5

Have you read The Perfume? Please share if you have, I’d love for some feedback as I’m still trying to process this book myself. 

The Perfume is currently physically out of print but is available as an e-book. Click on the publisher link above for ordering information. I borrowed my copy through Kindle Unlimited. 

Sweet Valley High Super Thrillers

Welcome to the 7th installment of Summer of Fear,  a weekly series of posts where I will review/revisit a classic YA Horror/Thriller from the 70s-90s. This week I’m looking at Sweet Valley High’s Super Thrillers.  Sweet Valley High by Francine Pascal (who like James Patterson came up with the stories for all the books then got ghostwriters to actually write them) was a publishing phenomenon in the 80s before ultimately ceasing in 1998 with 181 titles in the series. 

My favorite Sweet Valley High book, Murder in Paradise, is part of the Super Thrillers collection.  Super Thrillers were special editions that were longer than your average Sweet Valley High book and usually involved the twins in mortal peril. 

In May of 1993, the Sweet Valley High series “jumped the shark,” after the publication of A Night To Remember. After that book, the series was kind of like a telenovella with numerous miniseries following that which took normal high school drama to unbelievable, campy heights. 

All the Super Thrillers prior to 1993 were great because they could all conceiveably happen in reality aside from the fact that the twins had summer internships at the local newspaper for four different summers yet it was still a summer following their junior year in high school. Lol. They all revolved around one of the twins either witnessing or investigating a crime they heard about in the newsroom and then getting into disasterous situations as a result. 

After 1993, the Super Thrillers went wild ultimately producing my aforementioned favorite, Murder in Paradise which was published in 1995. Are you ready for the plot??! I’ve got to spoil the ending for once because it’s just THAT bananas and you’ll want to read the book even more because you’re not going to believe it. 

Jessica and Elizabeth’s mom wins a trip to an all inclusive spa resort and  invites her daughters but  instead of also inviting actual friends of her own she invites Jessica’s best friend Lila and Lila’s mother Grace and  Elizabeth’s best friend Enid and Enid’s mother Adele. Adele can’t attend as she couldn’t get time of work which is the only element of reality here. So the group sets off to the spa. Upon arrival the normal SVH shenanigans ensue. Lila hits on an older man and is embarrassingly rejected, Enid has many “woe is me” allow self esteem moments and Elizabeth sticks her nose in everyone’s business. Liz’s nosy nature leads her to uncover the dark truth about the spa - spoiler alert 🚨 🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨 the spa is run by a deranged former college classmate of Alice’s who is obsessed with plastic surgery. In fact nearly all the teenagers she “rescued off the streets” to employ there have undergone intense (like Heidi Montag) levels of plastic surgery and to top it all off, she wants to murder Alice and STEAL HER FACE!!!  😂😂😂😂.  After the twins and company finally rescue Alice, the book closes with them all making jokes and getting ready to return home to Sweet Valley while Jessica gushes about what was actually good about the spa. No trauma ever lasts long in Sweet Valley. 

Murder in Paradise 🌟🌟🌟🌟/5 for snark-tastic fun. I must confess that the “newspaper” Super Thrillers are more realistic they don’t quite rock the entertainment scale. Did you ever read the Super Thrillers? What was your favorite? 

Summer of Fear 1978 TV Movie

Welcome to the sixth installment of Summer of Fear,  a weekly series of posts where I will review/revisit a classic YA Horror/Thriller from the 70s-90s. This week I’m changing things up a bit by looking at the 1978 TV film version of Summer of Fear based on the novel by Lois Duncan.  

Summer of Fear stars Linda Blair as Rachel with Lee Purcell as creepy cousin Julia and was directed by Wes Craven before he went on to achieve horror legend status with Nightmare on Elm Street. Fran Drescher in one of her earliest film roles plays Rachel’s best friend, Carolyn.  

The film follows very close to the book with a few changes that to me actually benefited the story. In the book, Rachel’s beloved pet dog passes away under mysterious circumstances. In the film, it’s established that Rachel is a talented Equestrian whose normally horse timid horse goes wild when meeting Julia. The action with the horse continues to build with a devastating outcome. 

An awkward moment in the book for me was Rachel’s brother, Peter’s  romantic interest in Julia. It’s even more overt here. Julia ultimately sets her sights on Rachel’s boyfriend whom Julia hilariously referred to as Rachel’s “special feller.”  Also unintentionally hilarious was the photo Rachel had of her boyfriend. It wasn’t just framed, he’d signed it like an autograph. My boyfriend was watching this with me and I told him he’s clearly not my “solid feller” as he hadn’t gifted me an autographed portrait of himself yet. 

Blair does a great job at showing Rachel’s frustration at trying to get everyone to see that something isn’t quite right with Julia and that the cousin is the cause of all this misery. 

If you loved the novel Summer of Fear, you’d love the film. It’s a faithful but more dramatic adaptation plus the passage of time has added humor by way of corny dialogue and dated hairstyles. The 70s score that sounds straight out of an episode of Charlie’s Angels was a delight. It’s currently availabile for “free” with an Amazon Prime subscription. 

🌟🌟🌟.5/5 

Camp Fear by Carol Ellis

Welcome to the fifth installment of Summer of Fear,  a weekly series of posts where I will review/revisit a classic YA Horror/Thriller from the 70s-90s.  This week I read Camp Fear by Carol Ellis originally published by Scholastic in 1993. It’s currently out of print but I hunted down a copy on eBay for under $5. 

This book opens with a classic horror movie premise; a tragic event years prior results in deadly consequences several years later. Rachael is the new girl and one of only two of the seven teenage counselors who didn’t attend Camp Silverlake as a camper in their youth. Rachael soon discovers that the other five are all harboring a secret about a tragic deadly incident seven years prior.  As each of them face their deepest fears, Rachael becomes more and more determined to figure out just what happened all those years ago and who is threatening them now. Despite the opening, this is more of a thriller than horror and Ellis does a fantastic job of setting the scene showcasing the beauties of camp, the camaraderie of the counselors but also the cloud a dread that shadows the camp. 

Definitely look for this little gem at your favorite used bookseller or eBay seller like I did.

🌟🌟🌟🌟/5

Funhouse by Diane Hoh

If it weren’t for the Boardwalk, the small town of Santa Luisa might disappear altogether. The amusement park employs half the town’s workers, pulls in tourists, and gives teenagers like Tess Landers someplace to hang out on the weekends. Tess is eating a hot dog when the Boardwalk’s roller coaster—the Devil’s Elbow—jumps the track, hangs for a moment in the air, and then plummets to the ground. One of Tess’s classmates is dead on impact, two are forever maimed, and over twenty others are taken to the hospital. It’s the worst tragedy Santa Luisa has ever seen, but it’s only the beginning. As people rush to help, Tess spies a black-suited figure running away from the crowd. The crash was no accident. Five more teens will suffer before the killer is through, and Tess may be about to put herself on the list of victims. -openroadmedia.com

Funhouse was the first “retro read” I’ve done that was truly scary: as it seemed like something that could sadly happen in real life.   I remember always liking Diane Hoh’s work as it contained realistic sounding dialogue and relatable teens. However, the cops in this book didn’t take Tess’ claims of someone tampering with the ride and someone sending her threatening letters seriously. In reality, I believe and hope that a  more thorough investigation would’ve ensued but if this happened, "the kids" wouldn't get to save the day.  I did predict "whodunnit" about 3/4 of the way through but Funhouse was a fun, trilling quick read.  ****/5

Funhouse was originally published in 1990 by Point Horror/Scholastic.  It has recently been re-released as an e-book along with many other Point Horror classics.  This e-book edition included a nice biography of the author with photos.  Look for a print copy at your local used book store or visit the publisher's site for the e-book or access it through Kindle Unlimited. 

The Lifeguard by Richie Tankersley Cusick

Whom do you trust with your life?
Kelsey’s summer vacation will be perfect—a holiday on Beverly Island, where she’ll get to know her mom’s new boyfriend, Eric, and enjoy the perks of a sun-drenched beach and gorgeous lifeguards.
But Kelsey’s dream holiday quickly turns into a nightmare when Eric’s daughter, Beth, goes missing. When Kelsey finds a mysterious note from Beth, she doesn’t know whom to believe. Also terrifying is the number of suspicious drownings and the creepy fisherman . . . at least she has the lifeguards around to protect her, right? But what Kelsey doesn’t know is that these lifeguards don’t come to the rescue—they have other plans. ~ openroadmedia.com

This was a perfect summer thriller. Right from the opening we know something isn’t right on Beverly Island. Not only is Beth missing but there’s a creepy “Crazy Ralph” type living in the rundown lighthouse.  In addition to the pre-internet communication lags, Kelsey’s mom and her mother’s boyfriend are oddly not very concerned in their children’s crises. Throughout the book, there are POVs of the titular evil lifeguard and plenty of red herrings. 🌟🌟🌟.5/5

The Lifeguard was originally published in 1988 as part of the “Point Horror” series. All Point Horror YA novels were recently re-released in an e-book format. This edition included a great biography on the author including photos of her throughout her life. Presently all Point Horror novels are included as part of “Kindle Unlimited” so you can binge to hearts content or visit the publisher’s site for more ordering options.

Have you read The Lifeguard or any other Point Horror novels? Share with us in the comments below.

Fear Street: Lights Out by R.L. Stine

Welcome to the second installment of Summer of Fear,  a weekly series of posts where I will review/revisit a classic YA Horror/Thriller from the 70s-90s.  This week I re-read Lights Out, part of the Fear Street series by R.L. Stine.

Lights Out was the second Fear Street I ever got in the mid-90s. My first was The Knife. This was before the "Goosebumps" phenomenon. I was searching for something a little different than my favorite standbys The Baby-Sitters Club and Sweet Valley High. The cover intrigued me and a love of Fear Street soon developed.  My mom even paid for me to be in a “Fear Street Book Club" where I received two backlist titles a month. It even came with this rad magnet I still have today.  At the time I was adverse to horror movies, finding them too scary, but somehow I felt myself drawn to these books. In retrospect I see that they were horror “lite” and primed me for my current love of horror movies.

Lights Out has a lot of “jump scares” and a one very dark really good scare.  I loved the protagonist Holly. She was strong and resourceful in trying to solve the mystery and save her uncle’s camp. Early on one of the counselors references the Friday the 13th movies and one character is even described as resembling Kevin Bacon who started in the first Friday the 13th film. Light Out definitely had some subtle homages to my favorite 80s slasher film. This was a fun reread and I highly recommend seeking it out at your favorite used bookseller or secondhand online retailer. 3.5/5 Stars

I have had the pleasure of meeting R.L. Stine at Book Expo a few years ago.  His friendliness and humor in real life makes his books that much more enjoyable.

This year, R.L. released Return to Fear Street novels. My favorite of the new novels is You May Now Kill the Bride.  You can find more information about those here.

In my mid-90s copy of Lights Out, R.L. Stine has his author bio in the back pages. His son Matt referenced in the bio is now a music producer for Bettlejuice on Broadway. Clearly artistic talents for creepy fun run in the family. Good luck to the cast and crew of  Beetlejuice at this year’s Tony’s and check out Matt's production work on the recently released Beetlejuice Broadway Cast Album. You can find more information on that here.

Have you read Lights Out?  What is your favorite Fear Street book?

Summer of Fear Week One: Summer of Fear by Lois Duncan

Happy First Saturday of Summer! I know it's not officially Summer but it's June 1st already and it sure feels like it.  I'm kick starting a relaunch of this blog with "Summer of Fear" a weekly series of posts where I will review/revisit a classic YA Horror/Thriller from the 70s-90s.  The serial takes its name from my first review in the series.

I recently, so recently that it was literally just an hour ago, finished reading "Summer of Fear" by Lois Duncan which was first published in 1976 and subsequently republished throughout the years. Duncan is also the author of "I Know What You Did Last Summer," which was adapted into a blockbuster horror film in the late 90s although many elements were changed for the film.  "Summer of Fear" was adapted into a TV movie in the 1978 starring Linda Blair and directed by Wes Craven who went onto to achieve horror legend status for directing “A Nightmare of Elm Street” and my personal favorite “Scream” among many others.  "Summer of Fear," the film is currently available on Amazon Prime and I hope to check it out and bring you a review soon.  If you've already seen it, please comment with your thoughts below.

Covers Throughout the Years (cat image is just a placeholder)

From the moment Rachel's cousin Julia arrives that summer, she seems to seep into Rachel's life like a poison. Everyone else is enchanted by her - including Rachel's boyfriend. But what does Julia really want? - goodreads.com

This book reads like a "Lifetime Movie" and just like a "Lifetime Movie," it was predictable but to me that is the fun of those movies and this book.  I love watching the heroine try to figure out how to outsmart the "big bad."  From the minute Rachel meets Julia, she senses something is not quite right with her and Duncan does a fantastic job of slowly building the creep factor from mild to intense.  One of the elements of the book is a little too odd though but perhaps the fact that it was from the late 70s dates the novel.  Rachel's brother, Pete develops a huge crush on Rachel and tries to date her - his first cousin.  Ummm OK?  Julia ends up rejecting him for someone else.  The lack of cell phones and the internet though keeps this mystery going and makes it a fast, fun throwback read.  This book is light on gore and the relationships kept modest but the creep factor is marked.




Have you read "Summer of Fear" by Lois Duncan? Share your thoughts below.


One note of caution, I initially started reading the most recent reprint of "Summer of Fear," and some changes to include modern technology were added and seemed out of place so I hunted down an older copy.  The copy I began to read is the one with the graphic red head on the bottom right as pictured above and the one I then read was the copy with the photo in the developer solution.