Review: The Stepsister (Fear Street #9) by R.L. Stine

Title: The Stepsister

Series: Fear Street #9

Author: R.L. Stine

Genre: YA, horror, mystery thriller

Publication date: November 1990

Published by: Archway Paperback

Source: Purchased paperback

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Synopsis: Emily wants to like her stepsister, but it hasn't been easy. As soon as Jessie moves in, she takes over Emily's room, starts wearing Emily's clothes, makes secret late-night calls on Emily's phone - and that's just the beginning!

Before long, Emily is living in total fear of her stepsister. Emily tries complaining to her parents. But Jessie is such a good liar, no one will believe Emily!

Emily's terror mounts when she picks up Jessie's diary and learns a horrifying secret from Jessie's past. Did Jessie really murder someone? Does she plan to murder again? Emily knows she must find out the rest of her stepsister's dark secret. Her own life depends on it!

My rating: ★★★☆☆

This book was okay—I wasn’t totally impressed by it. Emily kept blaming Jessie for every little thing and it got old fast. She was so quick to place blame without evidence... What if it wasn’t even her doing all these things? To be fair Jessie’s personality switched so fast it gave me whiplash. Once she and Emily were alone upstairs, she was kinda bitchy and mean. So yeah, I get why Emily would blame her for all the terrible things.

I accidentally spoiled this book for myself when I skimmed the synopsis of book 2. Don't ask me why—I don't even know 🤦‍♀️ But going into this, I knew who the culprit was. What I wasn’t sure about was the motive. I really liked this person, so I guess I was a bit surprised even though I knew who it was. However, this motive was so cliché that I should’ve seen it coming.

All that being said, I didn't hate the book. I always enjoy visiting Fear Street and all the terrible things it has to offer. Lol.

Some fun Easter Eggs: Emily’s sister Nancy was dating Gary Brandt from The Overnight. Della and Ricky Schorr from the same book were also mentioned. Lisa and Cory from The New Girl also had a bit of a mention.

The Fear Street connection: Emily and her new family all live on Fear Street. And Emily’s dad died on Fear Island because of course he did. Lol.

Some of her friends teased her about living on this street that held so many dark legends for the town of Shadyside. Emily had lived on Fear Street most of her life, since she was seven or eight, and hadn’t witnessed any of the horrors her friends teased her about.

Oh girl, you just wait... 😂

Alternate cover:

Have you read this book? If so, what did you think about it? If not, what do you think? Does it sound like something you might want to read? Leave me a link to your review or comment below! 😊