Goosebumps: Night of the Living Dummy was written by R. L. Stine. This is the 7th book in the Goosebumps series, published in May of 1993. The Cover Artist was Tim Jacobus.
SUMMARY
Twelve year-old twin sisters, Lindy and Kris, have a bit of a hard time getting along. Lindy tends to tease Kris a little too harshly at times, leaning over to the side of bullying. The rivalry really kicks into high gear once Lindy finds an old ventriloquist dummy in a dumpster near their home. Lindy’s excitement over the dummy is sincere, and it sparks a new hobby. She gives the dummy a name, Slappy.
Kris is desperate for her own dummy to prove that she can be a better ventriloquist than Lindy. When she finally does get her own old puppet that she names Mr. Wood, the competition really begins. One day, Kris finds a note in the dummy’s pocket, written in a strange language. She reads it out loud, which casts a spell over Mr. Wood. The dummy becomes a living object, ready to make the twins his slave.
THOUGHTS
I really enjoyed this book. The competitive spirit between twins really drives the story. Lindy, full of tricks, really torments her sister. The plot is reminiscent of the old tale, The Boy Who Cried Wolf. The jokes Lindy makes at the expense of her sister aren’t so funny when a magic spell is cast over Kris’s dummy.
There were a few moments that I thought the creep factor was dead on. Even though this is a kids book, some parts really did give me the creeps! As an adult, you won’t be terrified reading the story… but R.L Stine may give you some goosebumps!
I laughed out loud when Lindy discovers her dummy, slappy. Her sister, Kris, thought it was a small child that was tossed in the dumpster! I know, it’s not really funny, but it was so unexpected. There weren’t any other humorous moments in the book, which I liked. I thought going into it, that because it was a kids book, there would be many silly moments… there weren’t. This is a creepy tale, not a comedy.
The rivalry between the sisters was done very well. Right when I found myself routing for one sister, she does something too extreme, so I’d flip to the other one, and the cycle would continue. I found myself equally liking and despising both of them throughout the story. I like that the relationship between the two felt authentic, siblings getting after each other, and at the end of the day, they loved each other as such.
I liked how R.L. Stine closed out the book. He created an eerie atmosphere and delivered a nice twist at the end.
RATING
I give Night of the Living Dummy a B+