Don't Stay Up Late

Another thrilling read from R.L. Stine, only this one is a bit more hair-raising than his other books in the Fear Street series.

The horror factor is high in this tale about a teen, Lisa, who is coping with the aftermath of a car accident that killed her father and left her with terrible hallucinations.

Lisa's mom and friends are her support system as she struggles to deal with the traumatic change in her life. And sharing her problems with a counselor seems to be keeping her moving forward, except for these sudden frightening images of a scary-looking creature that begins to appear.

Her support system is convinced that the trauma is making her see things, but that doesn't lessen the sense of terror that plagues her.

And it certainly doesn't alleviate the fact that people she knows are dying.

With this story, Stine leads us into a new kind of world that brings us face to face with darkness and what lurks just beneath its surface. Lisa is an easy girl to empathize with, in spite of the disbelieving family and friends. The reality of what is actually taking place is shocking and doesn't reveal itself until the very end.

Stine's execution of a teen coping with loss and change sails finely for a good chunk of the novel before sinking into a strange and dark world where something frightening is amiss, and the reader, as well as Lisa, knows it and is bent on uncovering it. A great thrill ride with spooky scenes.

Chilly factor: 5/5