Return to Horrorland by R.L. Stine (BOOK REVIEW) 4/5

A daring return to Horrorland! I enjoyed this follow-up to “One Day at Horrorland”, particularly the ingenious way that Mr. Stine brought it back to life: A television show to expose the Horrors! That’s brilliant, and it fits well with the story. The dynamic of Lizzy, Luke, and Clay continues to be a strong one as they follow Derek and Margo back to Horrorland. And all because their parents were paid off to let them go back! But the book itself was not as strong as the original. The testing of the Horrorland rides, while fun, dragged on a bit. In particular, the way the end looped things around was clever but anti-climatic.

Overall, I enjoyed this book, and it stuck in my head a bit more than the original, remembering it from my childhood. But I felt like there was something missing from the story. Then again, I suppose all of R.L. Stine’s books tend to leave the ending open with a twist, and it might just be me hoping for more.