Tagline: When midnight strikes… they all die.
Back tagline: Ring in the New Fear
Summary: P.J. wasn’t supposed to die. It was just a practical joke, no big deal. But P.J. had a bad heart….
The kids at Reenie’s Christmas party couldn’t tell the police what they’d done, so they hid the body …and then it disappeared.
Now someone is killing them, one by one. Someone is taking P.J.’s revenge… but who?
By midnight they’ll know. Because when the clock chimes, they’ll all get a kiss. The kiss of death.
First impressions: The first thing I’d like to say is, what kind of a name is Reenie? Yuck. Anyway, this sounds very promising and I am very excited to read it! As overused in horror as it is, I’m a sucker for a group of friends being murdered one by one after being involved in some kind of accidental death. The slasher subgenre is absolutely saturated with this sort of plot, but that really doesn’t bother me because are we really watching these movies/reading these books for an original, award-worthy storyline?
I know nothing about this book, so we are going in completely blind, which is fun [Sometimes lol].
Onto the cover – very simple, but still captivating enough to make me want to read. The dripping, blood-red letters on the banner and black balloons are a nice touch, but what I’m really interested in is this girl’s intense gaze. Why is she staring at me like that? Is she our bad guy? Is the cover a spoiler? Only one way to find out!
Recap
R-r-r-roll call:
Beth and Jeremy – The main characters from 1965 who have a very obvious link to our modern-day heroes.
Reenie – The protagonist who’s the least fond of the group’s practical jokes.
Greta – The best friend who is getting fed up with her boyfriend, Artie.
Sean – Reenie’s boyfriend who might be one of the most decent dudes in Shadyside.
Artie – Greta’s boyfriend who doesn’t see college in his future.
Ty – The newest member of the friendship group before P.J. and Liz move to Shadyside.
P.J. – A shy, awkward guy who has a heart murmur.
Liz – Ty’s love interest who becomes distraught over P.J.’s apparent death.
Marc – Artie’s friend who Greta thinks is a bad influence.
Sandi – The hottest girl at Shadyside High.
Part 1 – 1965
[Ooooh, we’re going back in time!] The book begins on New Year’s Eve, 1964, five minutes before 1965 takes over. Our protagonist in this time period, Beth Fleischer, is at a New Year’s party thrown by her best friend Karen, dancing with her date to the party, Todd. All the girls at school think he’s fab, ‘but Beth wasn’t sure how much she really liked him’ and this makes her feel weird. Her mind is preoccupied by another guy, Jeremy, even though she knows she shouldn’t be thinking about him while dancing with Todd [It’s not explained why though, so it’s unclear whether she’s got feelings for Jeremy, or he’s a close friend, or he might even be her brother]. Jeremy ‘looks so cool tonight,’ but instead of dancing with anyone, he’s over by the kitchen guzzling soda.
Beth realises she hasn’t seen Karen for a few hours [How did you not realise this sooner?], and she’s still nowhere to be found by the time 1965 begins. Beth’s too worried about Karen to enjoy her New Year’s kiss with Todd, but her missing bestie isn’t the only thing on her mind – she’s also still thinking about Jeremy, who doesn’t have anyone to kiss tonight [Why is she so obsessed with Jeremy?].
The next time she glances at Jeremy, he’s surrounded by a group of tough-looking guys who are clearly bullying him. Jeremy does nothing to defend himself as one of them pours a Coke over his head [What a waste of precious Coke 😡 ], instead stumbling back and falling over. Everyone finds it hilarious except Beth, including Todd, who then wants to go make out in the den. Beth would rather go comfort Jeremy, but she knows he’d tell just her to mind her own business [Seriously, what is their relationship? Is it unrequited love? A close friend? A relative?], so allows Todd to pull her away.
Suddenly, two men in ski masks burst through the front door carrying pistols, and they order everyone against the wall. They demand everyone’s wallets and valuables, and one of the intruders presses his gun against Jeremy’s temple, threatening to axe him if anyone tries anything stupid [Oof, this is not Jeremy’s night :(]. Jeremy is absolutely petrified and urges everyone to do what they say, accidentally stumbling forward a step. Well, the gunman had warned everyone not to move, and decides to make an example out of poor Jeremy:
“Everybody pay attention,” the robber commanded. “This is an example of what happens when you don’t cooperate.”
Again, he pressed the gun barrel against Jeremy’s head.
Then he pulled the trigger.
The room is filled with screams, but when Jeremy stays upright, everyone realises the gun didn’t actually go off. The two robbers then pull off their masks, revealing themselves as two seniors from school playing some stupid prank. The guns are just plastic, and everyone starts laughing at and mocking Jeremy for being so scared [Even though they were all shitting bricks as well. Assholes]. Beth isn’t impressed, especially when she spots Karen at the doorway, congratulating the pranksters. Realising Karen was in on the whole thing, Beth angrily confronts her for being so cruel to Jeremy, but Karen just tells her it was just ‘”something to liven up the party.”‘ [Yeah, at poor Jeremy’s expense! Why couldn’t they pretend to shoot someone else?]
Jeremy is understandably furious and storms out of the house and is chased by Beth, which pisses off Todd because she’s been so focussed on Jeremy all night and ignoring him. Beth couldn’t care less and is livid with everyone’s treatment of Jeremy and rushes outside, hoping to calm Jeremy down. He just wants to be left alone but there’s no way Beth’s leaving his side when he’s this angry, so she jumps in his car and urges him to drive carefully because the roads are all icy [This ain’t gonna end well].
Jeremy ignores her warnings and floors it, running through a stop sign and getting dangerously close to a snowbank on the edge of the road [I definitely wouldn’t have gotten into this car with him lol]. Beth begs him to slow down, wondering why everyone has to torment him and why she has to be his only friend [Oh, so they’re just friends? I feel like there has to be more to it she’s literally obsessed with the guy]. The danger level rises as the windshield fogs over, making it borderline impossible to see since the defroster’s broken. Still, Jeremy doesn’t slow down and actually stomps harder on the accelerator [This guy is fucked]. Squinting through the windshield, Beth screams as she spots a dim figure in the road:
Jeremy swerved.
Something bounced on the hood with a heavy thud.
A face appeared through the foggy windshield. A boy’s face, his mouth open in a scream of surprise.
The boy dropped to the ground.
The car rolled over him with a hard bump.
[Was this guy actually walking on the road, or did Jeremy’s drive onto the footpath or something?] Jeremy slams on the brakes and brings the car to a stop, and Beth loses all my respect when she screams at him to drive off ‘”Before we get caught,”‘ attempting to convince him it wasn’t a boy that they just hit, but ‘”a raccoon or something.”‘ Jeremy really wants to go help the boy, but Beth urges him not to because ‘”You’ll lose your license—maybe forever!”‘ [That’s right, her first concern here is that Jeremy will fucking lose his license. Who cares about the guy they’ve probably just killed? Jeremy could lose his license! Beth is gross and I want her to die] She warns that Jeremy could be charged with murder if the boy’s dead because it was his careless driving that killed him. They hear a siren in the distance, growing louder [That was quick?], and Beth once again commands him to drive, declaring that if it was a boy [Bitch, you literally saw his face 😡 ], the police will help him.
Jeremy speeds away [Yes, he speeds again… fucking idiot], and this time Beth doesn’t ask him to slow down [I hope they both die]. The windshield is completely fogged over now, but still Jeremy doesn’t slow down [This is actually making me so fkn angry], and as you’d expect, the car skids out of control, smashes through a snowbank and plunges down a gorge beside the road [Good]. The car bounces and rolls and topples all the way down, and the chapter ends with Beth choking out ‘”You’ve killed us both.”‘ [Well, well, well, if it isn’t the consequences of your own actions!]
Part 2 – This Year
[Why not just set it in the year the book was published, 1995, since the book would already become dated within a few years anyway thanks to the technology of the 2000s?] We’re now with our main protagonist; tall, slim, light brown-haired Reenie Baker [Sounds like our cover girl! Surely Reenie is short for something. Please be short for something! Note from future: It’s short for Maureen, as we learn on page 139], who’s just arriving home. We don’t get an explanation as to where she’s arriving home from, which I think is needed because all her friends are in her room waiting for her, so she’s obviously late [Seriously, where’s she been?]. There’s best friend Greta, Greta’s jokester boyfriend Artie, and new student Ty. Greta and Artie have been dating since ninth grade, although she’s a lot more uptight compared to his carefree attitude, so they make ‘a goofy-looking couple.’ Although all the girls at school think Ty’s super cute, Reenie isn’t sure he’s aware of his looks since he hasn’t asked anyone on a date. Reenie’s boyfriend Sean is also supposed to be here, but he’s running late, which isn’t like him.
Anyway, they’re all here to work on a group project of 100 trigonometry problems, and Reenie has no idea how they’re going to get it all done before the deadline in a week [There’s five of you, it won’t be that hard, will it. Also I feel like this is a weird group project to have?]. Artie and Greta have a little lover’s tiff thanks to their different opinions on the importance of trigonometry in real life – they’ve been fighting a lot lately, and Artie’s uncertainty about a college future seems to be the root cause. Reenie reckons that if Artie decides not to go to college after graduation, Greta will probably break up with him [Ugh, who cares, Greta?]. Reenie takes off her sweater and goes to hang it in the closet, but is startled by a face behind the clothes, moving toward her:
She was staring at a corpse.
The body fell face-first to the floor.
A boy, Reenie saw.
She stared at the top of his head. Gooey blood, dark and caked, oozed over his hair.
Familiar hair.
Reenie bent down for a closer look. The head rolled to the side, revealing his face.
Sean’s face.
“Oh, no!” Great wailed. “Noooooo!”
“He’s dead!” Ty gasped. “Sean is dead!”
“Good,” Reenie said.
[How come she didn’t recognise his face as he was falling towards her?] If you’re question why Reenie doesn’t care about the sight of her boyfriend’s corpse, it’s because she knows it’s just a prank – this friendship group apparently does shit like this all the time [But what’s the point if no-one falls for it?].
They get started on their trig stuff after Sean washes the fake blood from his hair, and despite knowing Sean wasn’t hurt straight away, Reenie can’t get the image of his “corpse” out of her mind and asks herself if they should stop playing the game now, ‘before someone goes too far.’ [It’s just a bit of banter, Reenie!].
The next morning at school, Reenie’s complaining to Greta about how they only got seven questions done last night [Lol OK, maybe I underestimated how hard trig is]. Artie had been no help and Greta was constantly berating him about slacking off, and she confides in Reenie now that she knows she’s being too hard on him, but he’s changed a lot lately after he’s started hanging out with Marc, a guy who dropped out of school [Why does Greta hate the uneducated?]. Apparently Marc’s trying to convince Artie to drop out too, and every time Artie brings Marc up or Greta mentions college, they start fighting [A college education does not automatically make you successful, Greta! Let him make his own decisions].
Marc can get Artie a job at the car plant in Waynesbridge where he works, and Artie is genuinely considering it because ‘”Marc makes a lot of money and he didn’t have to waste four years in college to get it.”‘ It’s also entirely possible that Artie is considering this route because of his family’s financial troubles due to his little brother’s kidney problems, but Greta doesn’t seem at all sympathetic and continues to whine about how Marc’s a bad influence [He needs to ditch this toxic bitch].
As the pair are walking down the hall, Reenie spots an auburn-haired girl at her locker, and it looks like she’s trying to break in! The girls rush over to confront the girl and realise they’ve never seen her before – she’s a brand-new student who was assigned this locker, but they quickly realise she just read the number wrong – she wants locker B-9, not 89 [Is it weird that some lockers are just straight up numbers and others have letters? Seems weird to be].
Reenie apologises for yelling at her and they make introductions. The girl’s name is Liz and standing nearby, watching the girls, is her brother, P.J., [We’ve known these two for 30 seconds and I already know that Liz and P.J. are actually Beth and Jeremy. I’m not sure if they’re living corpses, or ghosts, or have stolen other bodies or something, though. Either way, I’m assuming Liz and Beth are both short for Elizabeth, and P.J. is probably Jeremy’s first and middle names backward or something], who has brown hair and beautiful green eyes. He seems really shy and nervous, but Reenie and Greta are super welcoming to both of them.
Opening her locker, Reenie’s startled by Ty crammed in there like a pretzel, who’s super happy that his stupid little prank scared Reenie. Reenie argues that she wasn’t scared, just startled by the surprise of a person in her locker [Were Beth/Liz and Jeremy/P.J. resurrected to punish the others for the silly pranks, like the one against Jeremy the night of their deaths? Have I already cracked the whole mystery so soon?!]
Liz and P.J. are just kind of standing there awkwardly and Ty can’t take his eyes off Liz when he finally notices her. Liz and Ty seem to bond over being relatively new students, and Ty offers to show her around, and they head off so he can show her to her locker. P.J. just stands there dumbly staring after them, slack-jawed and unblinking, before sprinting off after them, pushing people out of the way [Weird lol].
The book picks up sometime later [Revealed to be a month later further along in the book. I hate when a timeline isn’t fkn established as soon as a jump happens], and Reenie’s hanging out with Sean and Greta in the back of Sean’s car, out front of the Burger Basket where Sean, Ty and Artie all work [And where Felicia, Zan and Nick work in Runaway, which came out after this one, if I’m not mistaken]. Apparently this is a common pastime of the trio, although Sean doesn’t really understand why the girls find it so fun to watch people go in and out of the restaurant [It does sound boring].
Reenie spots Corky Corcoran [Of the Fear Street Cheerleaders] seemingly on a date with Ricky Shore [Of The Overnight. Ricky’s mentioned in so many other books! Although I’m pretty sure his last name is Schorr, not Shore… Different guy, or can Stine not keep up?] inside the Burger Basket, while Greta, who refuses to buy french fries because of how fattening they are, is helping herself to Sean’s and Reenie’s fries, a common occurrence [Keep your greasy mitts off, Greta!].
The trio starts talking about how cool Liz is and how they’ve enjoyed hanging out with her, but they’ve all noticed that Ty likes her the most – Sean even saw him waiting outside Liz’ fourth period today so he could accidentally-on-purpose bump into her as soon as she came out [Aw bless, Ty is adorable!].
Greta thinks they’d be perfect for each other, and apparently she loves predicting who’ll become a couple and who’ll break up – ‘What if Chris and Natalie got together? she’d ask. Or Gary and Randee?’ [I don’t think we’ve had a Chris in any of the Fear Streets I’ve recapped so far, but I think it’s highly likely that the Natalie and Randee she’s referring to are from Dead End which came out the same year as this book. And Gary is likely Gary Brandt The Overnight, and not Gary Foster from What Holly Heard, because WHH came out the year after this. It is so funny that all these books seem to take place in the same year; how are there even any teens left to be killed?].
Anyway, Reenie can’t believe the differences between Liz and P.J., who’s kind of weird and not much of a conversationalist, but Greta is super defensive because she thinks P.J. is cute, smart and super nice. Se blushes when Sean starts teasing her about Artie having competition, and Reenie wonders if maybe Greta really is interested in P.J., since her and Artie can’t stop fighting all the time. Greta quickly changes the subject, pointing out Lily Bancroft [From Final Grade!] and Pete Goodwin [Also from The Overnight! Where the hell is Shadyside bike Suki Thomas? She appears so often in the earlier books (which I need to recap more of), but we haven’t seen her on the blog since The Secret Bedroom!] together in a nearby car.
A shiny red car pulls up beside our trio, and Greta recognises Marc’s car right away. Artie’s in there with him, and Marc offers to take them all for a spin [The car is a V6, whatever that means]. Reenie thinks about how cute Marc is with his brown ponytail and forehead scar that runs into his eyebrow – ‘it made him appear a little dangerous—and older, different from the other high school guys.’ [Classic]
Reenie and Greta are reluctant, but agree to go for a spin around the block and they cram into the backseat with Sean. The girls aren’t impressed with Marc’s hoon driving and ask to be taken back, but Marc really wants them to see something and takes them to the top of a hill that overlooks Fear Lake, which is currently frozen over.
They follow Marc out of the car over to the edge of a drop-off, and Marc goes right up to the edge, insisting this is where they’ll get the best view. The others all hang back, nervous about how slippery the snowy ground is, so it’s not really a surprise when Marc’s foot slips and he slides straight off the edge, screaming ‘as he plunged from sight.’
Reenie’s in such a state of shock that she doesn’t even realise she’s stepped forward to the ledge herself to see if Marc’s OK… and then the ground crumbles beneath her and she goes sliding down the snowy hillside, landing on her back on the frozen lake [How high up was this ledge? I swear Stine wrote it as if it was a ledge jutting out from the hill, so I’m surprised she slid down the hill instead of plunged straight down].
The others come running down the hill as Reenie gets to her feet, realising with horror that the ice has cracked beneath her [Oop]. She begins to move ever so slowly, heading for the edge of the lake, but she loses her balance when Sean screams at her to stop and falls on her ass. The ice gives way beneath her and she slips ‘into the freezing, black water’ [Yuck, why is it black?]. She grabs for the edge of the hole but the ice breaks beneath her fingers, and soon she’s swallowed by the water. She frantically tries to pull herself up but her head hits the underside of the ice [This is fkn terrifying]:
I can’t breathe, she realized.
She pounded on the ice with her fists. Clawed at it.
Where is the hole? she asked herself. Where is the hole I fell through?
Where?
She couldn’t find it.
I’m trapped. Trapped under the ice.
Her last thought before the blackness engulfed her.
[This is genuinely one of my worst nightmares] Reenie awakens a short time later after some mouth-to-mouth from Sean, and we learn Marc is perfectly safe because his fall was just a prank orchestrated by him and Artie – they slide down the slope all the time, but have never landed as far out on the ice as Reenie [Wait I just remembered, this is happening at night, so how the fuck can any of these people see each other, let alone find Reenie beneath a frozen lake? And the water was black?]. As they head home, Reenie wonders if they’ll finally stop all the pranks after this incident [No, because the blurb says a practical joke leads to P.J.’s death, silly poo!].
The next day at lunch, Greta’s explaining to Reenie how Sean had called out to her to stop on the ice because he knew it would crack [Well, his solution wasn’t any better, was it?], and then he wiggled over to the hole on his belly and pulled her out of the hole [We don’t really have frozen lakes in Australia, so I’m not sure about the logistics here. I guess it makes sense that the ice didn’t crack beneath him, since his weight was more evenly distributed over the ice than it would have been if he was standing up. Is that how it works?]. Greta’s pissed at Artie for what happened to Reenie, but Reenie assures her it was just a simple accident. She heads off to get an ice cream as Sean sits down with his lunch, and Reenie explains to him why Greta’s so upset him with Artie.
Soon, they spot Greta at the back of the lunchroom with P.J., ‘so engrossed in conversation they seemed unaware of anything but each other.’ Sean reckons they’d be a weird couple, but Reenie assures him Greta and Artie will make up, although she only seems to think this because they’ve been dating for so long [… Reenie, please]. Either way, Artie won’t be too happy if he finds Greta flirting with another guy [Are they flirting, though?], so it’s very inconvenient timing when Artie enters the cafeteria, looking all angry because he’s immediately spotted Greta. Reenie dramatically raises a hand to her mouth as he stalks over to Greta and P.J., silently begging him not to do anything stupid. Sean makes a beeline for Artie, calming him down enough for Artie to leave the cafeteria without a confrontation, so the crisis is averted, at least temporarily – Reenie’s sure he’ll still argue with Greta next time they’re together anyway.
Sean has a chess club meeting after school so can’t drive Reenie home, so she makes her away across the parking lot, hoping to scab a lift with someone else [She’s not being lazy, it’s just snowing and freezing cold]. She bumps into Liz, who’d heard about Reenie’s dip in the lake, but Reenie quickly changes the subject to how Liz and P.J. are doing at Shadyside High. Liz admits she’s doing great, but P.J. isn’t coping as well as her. He’s awkward and shy and struggles approaching people, but Liz insists it’s not his fault – he’s got a heart murmur that prevents him from doing anything physical, although I’m not really sure how not being able to participate in PE [Which Liz specifically mentions] would affect him socially. Reenie feels bad about all the mean things she’s thought about him and decides to make him feel more welcome from now on [I mean, she’s only really had negative thoughts about him because he hasn’t really made an effort with anyone besides Greta, so I don’t know why she feels bad].
Liz also reveals that P.J. has never asked a girl out before [Why do these people think being in a relationship is so fkn important?!], and she really wants him to ask Greta out. Reenie reminds Liz that Greta’s still dating Artie, and then they’re interrupted by Ty, who wants to ask Liz a question. Reenie assumes he’s about to ask her out and quickly makes an excuse to leave, and as she searches for someone else to ask for a lift, Artie pulls up in Marc’s red car. He insists on giving her a lift because there’s a storm a-coming, and Reenie climbs in, despite having PTSD from Marc’s hooning last night. I’m sure she immediately regrets this decision because Artie immediately starts speeding while assuring her he’s a much better driver than Marc [Doubt that]. And wouldn’t you know it, directly after he says that he speeds into an intersection and is hit by a van [Hahahaha good. I can’t believe he was purposely driving like an idiot in someone else’s car, it’s very disrespectful to Marc].
Reenie and Artie are both OK, although Reenie’s pretty shaken because the van hit the rear door on the passenger side, just behind her [The universe really wants this girl dead]. Reenie goes to check on the other driver, who’s slumped over the steering wheel, and realises it’s P.J., immediately thinking he’s dead because of his heart murmur. He’s alive, though, not that Artie cares – he’s more worried about Marc’s reaction when he finds out what happened to his car. Artie’s fuming when he realises P.J. was driving the van, and shouts him for running through a stop sign [And if you weren’t speeding, Artie, you may have had time to react! Driving is all about anticipating the stupidity of other drivers, you know. Clearly no-one in this book should have their fkn license]. Artie gets mad at Reenie when she tries to calm him down, demanding to know why everyone is always defending P.J. Then he hops back into Marc’s car and drives off, screaming out the window that he won’t forget what P.J.’s just done.
The next day at lunch, Greta’s telling Reenie, Liz and Sean how mad Marc is about his car. Greta complains for the 4055865476th time about how much Artie’s changed since he started hanging around with Marc, and although Liz suggests the car accident may have ruined their friendship, Greta doesn’t think it’ll make a difference with Artie’s behaviour because ‘”Artie seems to have become permanently weird.”‘ [Well, maybe if you weren’t on his case all the time, Greta!]
Sean changes the topic to a potential Christmas party at Reenie’s house, since her parents are going away for a few days [We’re almost halfway through; I was wondering if this damn Christmas party was actually going to happen! Wouldn’t be the first time the blurb’s lied to us. How long til we’re at the New Year’s party though?]. Everyone thinks it’s a great idea, but before they can discuss who to invite, they’re interrupted by Sandi Burke [Who Reenie mentioned is super gorgeous at the start of the book], who urges them to get to the weight room quick smart!
So off they scurry, where Artie’s sprawled on his back beside the weight-lifting bench, with Coach Wilkins and a crowd of onlookers gathered around him. Everyone’s super worried, and Sandi explains to the gang that she and Artie were talking out in the hall when he started bragging about how much he can bench press [What a wanker]. Sandi didn’t believe him his claims, so he took her in here to prove it, asking the nearby P.J. to be his spotter:
“…I think he wanted to make P.J. feel bad. P.J. would never be able to lift as much weight as—”
“But what happened to Artie?” Greta demanded impatiently.
“Artie lifted the barbell off the stand okay,” Sandi explained. “But then he couldn’t get it back on. His arms were giving out. He yelled for help, but P.J. didn’t know what to do, or he wasn’t strong enough—or something. P.J. dropped the barbell on Artie. Artie fell off the bench, and the weight fell on top of him!”
[That’ll teach Artie for talking the talk but not walking the walk! Why would P.J. even agree to be spotter, though? Did he know he’d be useless and Artie would probably get injured? Not that I blame him if that’s the case, Artie sucks]. Artie’s alive [Where we supposed to think he was dead or something? I guess he was unconscious until just now?] and immediately threatens ‘”to get that little creep, P.J.”‘ but the coach orders him to stay put, scolding them both for being in here without supervision in the first place. P.J.’s sitting against the back wall of the room, with an angry Liz kneeling beside him, and Greta declares that Artie should never have asked P.J. for help before hurrying over to join them.
The coach leaves to fetch the doctor he’d called and Artie’s on his feet as soon as he’s gone and marches right on over to P.J., accusing him of trying to kill him. Greta begs Artie to leave P.J. alone, insisting it was just an accident, but Artie doesn’t care and lunges for P.J.. Greta blocks his path, pissing him off even more, and then Coach Wilkins returns before anything exciting can really happen [Boring]. Reenie, however, suspects this isn’t over…
That afternoon, the gang’s over at Reenie’s house to work on the trig project, and Artie’s arrived late. Reenie watches as he plops down next to Greta and gives her a lengthy hello kiss. Reenie realises they must have made up ‘for the millionth time since they started going together,’ even though she’s implied several times that the constant fighting is a recent thing. Anyway, Artie was late because he wanted to get in his weight training, despite what happened earlier [Come through, insecurities!]. Marc’s got his own set of weights, so Artie’s gonna work out with him from now on. And Marc also isn’t mad at Artie anymore, now that he’s realised the crash was P.J.’s fault [Oh yeah, because you’re completely blameless, Artie? I hate him]. Artie declares that P.J. is ‘”a bad-news guy”‘ who’s not safe to be around, based on his own experiences, and Reenie notices that Greta doesn’t jump to P.J.’s defence for once.
Ty couldn’t make it tonight because he’s got a hot date with Liz, and he sounded super excited about it when he called Reenie to tell her [Cute! We need more of Ty]. Sean wants to get started on the trig problems, but Reenie has a procrastination offer they can’t refuse because she needs help deciding who to invite to her Christmas party. Corky and Gary are namedropped again [but Gary’s last name, Brandt, is mentioned here, and he’s from The Overnight!], as well as Deena Martinson [From The Wrong Number], Julie Prince [From Final Grade!], and Bobby Newkirk [The two-timing ass from Double Date!], which gets a groan from both Reenie and Greta.
Surprisingly, Artie insists they invite P.J., revealing he’s cooked up a little surprise for him with Marc and the party is the best place for it. When Reenie and Greta protest, he insists no-one will get hurt and explains the plan – Sandi owes Marc a favour, so she’s greed to ask P.J. to be her date to the party:
“Sandi will give P.J. a long, hot kiss—a real sizzler! Right in front of everyone. Then she’s going to fall on the floor and pretend to die.”
Greta thinks it’s totally dumb [Yes] and mean, but Sean suggests that it’s exactly like the tricks they pull on each other all the time and it ‘”might make P.J. feel like he’s fitting in.”‘ [Lol, we know full well Artie and Marc didn’t conjure this up to include P.J. in the group]. Reenie thinks they should stop their practical jokes since she almost drowned the other night, but Artie insists nothing bad could happen during this one:
I guess if Marc and Artie have to get even with P.J., a joke is the best way, Reenie thought. “It would be kind of funny to watch is expression when Sandi drops dead from his kiss,” she admitted.
[Noooooooooo, Reenie, you’re better than this, even despite your stupid name!] Greta’s also keen now, and Sean advises that they can’t tell Liz because she’s sure to tell her brother. At Reenie’s insistence, though, everyone agrees to remind Liz and P.J. that they pull pranks like this on each other all the time, so they don’t think P.J. is being picked on [But that’s literally what this prank was designed for? You’re not doing it to include him, you’re doing it to embarrass him!].
We jump forward to the party now, and there’s a lot more people here than Reenie remembers inviting. Liz and Ty arrive in unintentional matching colours [Cute!], but there’s still no sign of P.J. and Sandi. Reenie kind of hopes they don’t show up since the prank might spoil the great party if P.J. takes it the wrong way [Wow, priorities, Reenie 😡 ]. Marc and Artie assure her the prank is still going ahead, and Reenie develops a conscience and starts feeling guilty that Liz isn’t aware of the plan. When she spots Liz standing by herself, she can’t help herself and hurries over to spill the beans.
Liz is mad about it, accurately insisting that this is very different to the pranks the gang usually plays on each other, and she can’t believe Reenie could be so cruel. ‘”You have no idea what you’ve done, Reenie. No idea at all,”‘ she says, storming out of the house, hoping to find P.J. before he arrives. Ty returns with drinks and asks where Liz went, but before Reenie can answer, there’s a commotion at the door – P.J. and Sandi have just arrived! [What, and Liz didn’t see them?? She literally walked out that door five seconds ago?] The party guests are all in shock to see mega-babe Sandi with someone like P.J., and Reenie spots Ty slipping out the front door to find Liz and hopes he can convince her they’re not trying to hurt P.J. [But you are though! This girl’s dumb. And does Ty even know about the prank? He wasn’t there when you were all speaking about it].
Marc and Artie start laying it on thick, asking P.J how he scored a date with Sandi, and Reenie’s regretting what’s about to happen more and more. Instead of, you know, telling P.J. what’s about to happen, she decides it’s too late and the prank is ‘going to happen, no matter what.’ [Omfg, I can’t with this girl anymore]
After everyone has a boogie, Sandi pulls P.J. in for a long pash that reminds Reenie of ‘a vampire sucking the life out of its victim.’ P.J. is obviously uncomfortable and is visibly trying to pull away [It’s not often we see female to male sexual assault in Shadyside!], but Sandi has her arms wrapped around his shoulders as the other guests watch on [Lol how awkward though?]. Sandi suddenly stiffens, shoves P.J. away and crumples to the floor, terrifying everyone. Marc and Artie rush to her side to perform CPR, and Reenie wonders why they look so worried, why they’re not revealing the prank already [Well, it literally just started so?]. He eventually announces they were just playing a joke, but Sandi really is dead [I’m not falling for that one, Stine]!
Artie quickly accuses P.J. of killing her, and the poor guy has no idea this is all part of a prank. ‘”Must have been one hot kiss,”‘ quips a cheerleader, because apparently everyone in the room is in on the joke [How? Why?]. Reenie silently urges P.J. to just look down so he’ll see Sandi clearly breathing, but instead, P.J.’s eyes roll up in his head and his body starts to convulse. Greta screams in horror but is quickly told to shut up by Artie [Wtf?], and Reenie rushes to P.J.’s side, as he collapses to the ground. Sandi sits up, confused, as Reenie fails to detect P.J.’s heartbeat:
It’s my fault! All my fault! Reenie thought. I’m the only one who knew he had a heart murmur. I could have stopped this if I tried. How could I have been so dumb?
[Honestly, Reenie, I’m asking myself the same thing] Artie starts shaking P.J. around, insisting he just fainted, but he doesn’t wake up. He also doesn’t swallow or choke when Greta tries to give him some water, and Sean finally confirms there’s no pulse after feeling P.J.’s wrist:
P.J. lay there. Pale. Not moving.
Not moving or breathing.
Reenie shuddered. Sean pulled her close, held her.
“He’s dead,” Reenie wailed. “We killed P.J.”
Part 3 – 1965
Back to Beth and Jeremy now as they hang upside down in the overturned car [As if these two aren’t dead! Maybe my theory is wrong… but come one, Beth? Liz? I’ve got to be right! Stine isn’t smart enough to misdirect us like that]. Neither of them seem to have any injuries whatsoever – ‘No blood! No cuts. No open wounds.’ [They’re probably dead and just don’t even realise it lol. How else could they not have any injuries?]. They quickly scramble out of Beth’s window, and Jeremy insists they go back and help the boy they hit.
So off they go back to the site of the collision [And it seems to only take them a few seconds to reach it even though they drove further along the road and then crashed], but the only sign of anything happening is a few blood stains on the road. Even more confusing is the lack of footprints in the snow – where the hell has the boy gone? They try to flag down an oncoming car for help, but it drives straight past them without even slowing [Yep, they’re g-g-g-g-ghosts!]. They stand in the centre of the road as a truck approaches so it will have to stop, but they’re forced to jump out of the way when it also doesn’t slow down for them. Beth also realises she’s not cold, despite how freezing it surely must be, but dismisses it as a side effect of the shock from the accident.
Beth notices a house with its lights on through the nearby trees, so they trudge on over to it and ring the doorbell. It makes a noise, but no-one answers the door, even after several more presses. They can hear the TV going and people talking inside, but still, no-one answers, despite the Beth and Jeremy pounding on the door now, too [They’re clearly making noise, so how come the the home owners aren’t hearing them? Are Beth and Jeremy on an astral plane within in the same universe, so any noise they make can only be heard by them? That’s the only way I can make sense of this]. They decide to go back to the road to try flag down cars again, but after a while it’s clear no-one is going to stop for them, so they decide to climb back in the upturned car to keep themselves from freezing [But it doesn’t say they’re actually feeling the cold, so I guess they’re just being proactive]. Beth goes first and starts sliding in through the window, but something brushes against her face – a hand!:
Beth peered into the dark car.
No.
It can’t be!
“Jeremy!” she cried. “There are two people in here. A boy and a girl. And…”
Jeremy sounded just as stunned. “Who are they? How did they get in here?”
[It’s you, dumbasses!] After taking way too long to recognise who the occupants are [Literally who else would it be? Do these idiots really think two strangers climbed into their overturned car and buckled themselves in upside down and then died?], Beth informs Jeremy that it’s their own lifeless bodies. Jeremy refuses to accept that and attempts to climb back into his corpse, but of course that doesn’t work. And then, before they can figure out what to do next, they both fade away into the darkness…
Part 4 – This Year
Back to the present [Or future?] now, where Reenie is basically in shock about what’s happened, blaming herself for not doing anything to stop the prank [Well you had plenty of time, bitch!]. Sean snaps her out of it and they attempt CPR while Greta hurries the other guests out of the house, promising to let them know what happens. Soon just Reenie, Sean, Greta and Artie are left, with Greta noting bitterly that Marc and Sandi didn’t bother to stick around [They’ll probably die first].
Unable to revive P.J., the gang is trying to deciding what to do now when a car pulls into the driveway. Petrified that it’s Reenie’s parents, Artie and Greta insist they hide P.J. because they need to get their story straight before telling anyone anything [But? his? death? was? witnessed? by? everyone? at? the? party? It’s not like you can make something up?]. Although Reenie knows hiding the body will just make them look more guilty, she helps carry poor, dead P.J. down to the basement and stashes him behind the furnace [Oof, so disrespectful].
Back upstairs, the group realises the car was just someone using their driveway to turn around. Reenie insists they call the police now and tell the exact truth because after all, it was just ‘”a horrible accident”‘ [I wonder if someone could actually be charged for something like this in the real world? I guess it could be classed as manslaughter, but would prosecution be able to build a strong enough case against someone?]. Sean calls the police, and then the group returns to the basement to bring P.J.’s body back upstairs so they don’t look extra guilty when the police arrive, but unfortunately for them, P.J.’s body is gone! [Did he get up and walk away? If my Beth/Liz, Jeremy/P.J. theory is correct, he probably never had a pulse to begin with, so I could see that happening]
They quickly decide P.J. is playing his own prank on them, and they’re all super relieved that he’s actually alive. It’s the only explanation that makes sense, despite how cold his skin and his lips were as Reenie attempted CPR. A policeman, Officer Jackson, arrives, and they inform him of the prank they pulled and the one P.J. seems to be pulling on them, explaining they never would have called the police if they didn’t think P.J. really was dead. Officer Jackson still needs to check the whole house anyway [A Shadyside officer actually doing his job?! 😱 ], but there’s nothing suspicious to be found and he leaves after filling out a report with everyone’s details.
The gang agrees to no more tricks and clean up the house, and we learn that this party occurred on a school night when Greta complains about having school tomorrow [A party on a school night just doesn’t seem right hahaha. Is that a common thing in America?]. What’s even weirder than that is Sean leaves with Greta and Artie instead of making the most of his girlfriend having a free house! [Sean might be one of the nicest Shadyside guys we’ve met so far!] Now home alone, Reenie makes sure all the doors and windows are locked, then leaves all the lights on as she heads to bed, still a bit uneasy by the night’s events. Soon, she gets a phone call from Liz, asking if P.J. is still at the house:
“Stop it, Liz. Please,” Reenie pleaded. “We figured out the joke. We know your brother is okay.”
“Excuse me? What joke? Did P.J. fall for that joke with Sandi? What happened, Reenie.”
“I’m sure P.J. will tell you all about it later—if you don’t already know,” Reenie replied.
“He isn’t still there?” Liz demanded. “Where is he, Reenie?”
“He … he isn’t her,” Reenie told her.
Reenie struggles to fall asleep that night, anxious about the whole situation, and P.J. is still missing the next morning at school. Reenie, Sean, Greta and Artie were all expecting him to show up to gloat about his prank, but by lunchtime he still hasn’t appeared, and Reenie grows more and more distressed – she’s sure he has to be alive since he wasn’t behind the furnace, but she can’t help picturing ‘his pale, pale skin. His cold, limp body.’
None of foursome have seen Liz or Ty yet today either, but Reenie finally spots those two down the hall after fifth period [Where The New Girl’s Lisa Blume gets a mention!]. Reenie realises Liz is crying as she approaches them, but they don’t notice her coming and hurry down the hall. Reenie still has some time before her sixth-period English class, so she heads to the empty gym for some quick reading and takes a seat in the fourth row of bleachers. “But Jack, why would climb up to the fourth row instead of just sitting in the first one, especially since she’s only going to be here for a few minutes?” I hear you ask! Well, because the plot calls for her to drop her pen so she can be underneath the seats looking for it and out of sight when Liz and Ty walk in, of course!
Liz is distraught her missing brother, and Ty suggests they drive around town and ask if anyone has seen him. They then have ‘a long, serious kiss’ that confuses Reenie because Liz was crying just a few minutes ago, ‘and now she’s kissing Ty as if everything’s wonderful.’ [I think she’s reading way too much into this kiss lol]. The bell rings and the pair leave, and after finding her pen, Reenie heads to English [Why the hell did Liz and Ty come into the gym to have this short conversation? Surely Stine could have figured out a natural, more realistic, way for Reenie to overhear that Liz genuinely thinks her brother is missing].
Reenie is pulled from her next class by the principal and taken to Officer Jackson out in the hall [The principal also introduces him as Sergeant Jackson, so did he get a promotion since last night, or is this a trademark Stine inconsistency?], who then leads her to the cafeteria, where Greta, Artie, Sean and Sandi are sitting across from a detective.
The group tell their version of events one by one, and despite something very clearly being off with the whole missing P.J. thing, Reenie just cannot comprehend why they’re being questioned [Her brain must have been deprived of air for too long when she was drowning in the lake because this girl is a fucking idiot now. She’s making me mad hahahaha]. Sandi finally demands to know why they’re being grilled over a silly prank, and that’s when the detective reveals that according to Liz [Notice how Liz and P.J.’s parents are never brought up?! Because these two are Beth and Jeremy!], P.J. never came home last night, and his jacket was found near the lake in the Fear Street Woods.
School is over by the time they’re done answering questions, and as the group heads to the parking lot, they discuss what could have possibly happened to P.J. Sandi believesit has nothing to do with their prank and whatever happened to him occurred after he left Reenie’s house, while Sean tries to keep it positive, suggesting P.J’s jacket being found in the woods doesn’t necessarily mean something bad happened [Do you know many people who randomly leave their clothes in the woods on purpose, Sean?].
Later that week, Reenie’s working on some trig homework at home with Greta, but they’re struggling to get any work done because they can’t stop thinking about P.J.’s disappearance. That’s not all that’s on Greta’s mind, though – she’s planning on breaking up with Artie! He’s going to drop out of school and get a job at the car plant because he thinks college is for spoiled rich kids, and she’s also fed up with him spending all his time with Marc – ‘”It’s as if he’s addicted to Marc or something. He can’t stay away from him.”‘ [Do I detect some queer subtext? Are Artie and Marc having an affair?!]
Greta keeps wimping out every time she’s planned on breaking it off, and convinces Reenie to come with her to Artie’s house right now for moral support so she can get it over with. So off they go to Artie’s house, almost running through a stop sign because Greta’s as bad a driver as the others [Seriously, how do any of these characters have their fkn license?]. Artie answers the door almost immediately, having seen the pull up from the garage where he’d been helping Marc with his car [So was the garage open? Why didn’t the girls just go to the garage instead of the front door?], and when Greta asks to speak to him privately, he returns to the garage to warn Marc he’s on his own for a bit, but the girls sprint to the garage too when they hear Artie’s blood-curdling scream:
A body lay sprawled over the shiny red hood.
Marc’s body.
Blood dripped from his mouth and nose.
And his head … his head …
Oh, his head …
It was twisted around on his neck …
Completely backward.
[Will Greta and Artie stay together now that Marc’s out of the way?] The trio hurries inside to call the police, and Artie points out that whoever murdered Marc not only has to be really strong to be able to kill him like that, but also super quick because Marc was only alone for about a minute, and none of them heard any commotion [Is that supposed to throw suspicion off P.J. and his heart murmur? It was definitely him and/or Liz]. Then a traumatised Greta realises it’s just like the tricks they play on each other, ‘”Except now someone is playing for real,”‘ [Ooky spooky!]. But who is doing it, and more importantly, who’s next? [I’m thinking Sandi, since she was an active participant in the prank like Marc. Artie needs to die though]
A week later, Reenie’s heading to the Burger Basket to give Sean and Ty a lift home, since there’s an issue with Sean’s car. The police aren’t any closer to finding P.J. or solving Marc’s murder, meaning there’s a killer on the loose, so Reenie is understandably nervous about being out alone right now. After parking her car, Reenie heads for the entrance when Sandi hurries up to her – she wants to give Ty a lift home herself, believing Liz knows more about P.J.’s disappearance than she’s letting on and Ty probably knows whatever she knows [Detective Sandi!]
Sean locks the doors behind the girls and heads to the back where Ty is cleaning up the stockroom [It’s literally just these two teens working right now, which seems like a safety issue… where’s a manager?], while Reenie heads to the bathroom to wash her hands, which ‘”feel all sticky”‘ for some unexplained reason [👀 ].
When she returns, Reenie finds herself all alone in the restaurant, and no-one answers when she calls out for her friends. She’s too frightened to be alone right now so she barges into the kitchen, heading for the back door, assuming everyone’s outside. She slips on the freshly mopped floors, though, and when she climbs to her feet again, she spots Sandi shoved facedown into a garbage can, her legs sticking out. Her scream lures the boys back inside, and instead of pulling Sandi from the bin, they tip it over onto the clean floors [????], and Sandi slides onto the tiles in a pile of food scraps and rubbish:
Sandi’s eyes stared blankly at the ceiling.
But she lay on her chest. On her chest.
Her head had been twisted around backward.
Just like Marc’s.
And her face held the same terrified expression. Her blue eyes wide with horror.
[Now kill Artie for orchestrating the whole thing!] We jump forward again to what I think is the day after Christmas, and Reenie’s in her room with Greta, Sean and Artie, discussing the murders. “It’s almost as if someone was out to get us,”‘ points out Reenie ‘Captain Fucking Obvious’ Baker, as if the killer would have any other motive. Greta’s also sure it has something to do with their pranks, since P.J. and the two dead people were involved in one of them [Literally WHY ELSE would any of this be happening? Why are they talking about it as if they’ve figured out some secret plot?]
Reenie entertains the idea that Ty’s the killer, since they hardly even see him anymore, but the others point out this is because he’s always with Liz, who is clearly avoiding them. And besides, Sean was with him outside the restaurant when Sandi was murdered. Sean theories that since P.J.’s body was never found, he’s probably still alive and hiding out somewhere while he kills them one by one. But still, no-one can explain how anyone could have gotten into the Burger Basket to murder Sandi since the doors were locked [Liz and P.J. are definitely solid, but I guess they can become intangible forms at will? That’s the only explanation I can think of].
Sean suggests they speak to Liz to figure out whether or not she believes P.J. is dead, and Reenie is nominated for the job since she was the closest to Liz. So off she goes to Liz’s house, but unsurprisingly, Liz doesn’t want to speak to her. Reenie apologises and insists they all need to stick together now that there’s a killer on the loose [Why? Liz ain’t being targeted? Hahaha], but an apology doesn’t change anything for Liz, who can’t forgive Reenie for her role in the prank.
A few days later, which is two days before New Year’s Eve, Reenie gets a letter in the mail. It’s an invitation from Liz, who has apparently come around to Reenie’s idea of sticking together! She’s throwing a New Year’s Eve party for all her closest friends and she hopes to see Reenie there [And of course Reenie is anything but suspicious lol].
We jump to about 9pm on New Year’s Eve now, as Reenie and Sean are arriving at Liz’s house [There’s like 30 pages left and we’re only now getting to the titular party lol… This book needs a new name]. There’s barely any other cars parked around here, but that’s probably because everyone is at Justin Stiles’ place [A quick google tells he’s from The Prom Queen and Bad Dreams], since he always throws incredible parties on New Year’s Eve. They’re so good that Sean even suggests bailing on Liz’ party early to head to Justin’s [You seem to think Liz is planning on letting you leave, Sean!].
Artie and Greta, still a couple, pull in behind them and they all walk up to the house together. Strangely, there doesn’t seem to be any lights on in the house and they can’t hear any music, but they still knock on the door and are greeted by the hostess, who’s wearing a red velvet dress that makes her skin look very pale [Oh, so that’s Liz on the cover? But Liz has red hair?]. Liz acts super cold towards them and barely says anything as she leads them to the living room, which is practically bare besides the black balloons and black crepe paper decorating the walls.
Liz takes their coats and disappears into the hallway as the gang help themselves to the bowl of punch on a table. Next to the punch is an old Shadyside High yearbook from 1965, and as they’re looking through it, Liz returns and screeches at them to leave it alone [Why did you leave it out right next to the punch then, dickhead?]. Ty arrives before the gang can ask what the big deal is and Liz leads two toasts ‘”to our departed friends”‘ before becoming overwhelmed with emotion. Ty leads her to the far corner of a room to talk while the others discuss whether they should just leave, but Liz quickly returns, her face twisted with anger as she announces why she invited them all here tonight – ‘”I decided it would be easier to kill you all at once—instead of continuing one by one.”‘
There’s no use trying to escape because the doors are bolted shut [From the outside? Who did that? Or if it’s from the inside, can’t they just unbolt it?] and the windows are barred, and Liz tells them how much she ‘”loved hearing the crack!”‘ as she broke Marc’s and Sandi’s necks. Reenie asks why Liz is doing all this [God know’s why she hasn’t connected the dots yet. A newborn baby fresh from the womb could figure this shit out], and of course it’s because their stupid prank killed P.J. [But I’m sure he’s not actually dead, so I wonder what the real reason is?]
Since Reenie was the first to pretend to be Liz’s friend, Liz opts to kill her first and plunges the knife right at her heart. Sean simultaneously dives for Liz and knocks the knife from her hand [Sean seriously might be the best boyfriend anyone’s ever had in Shadyside!], and they wrestle over it for a while until Liz bites his wrist and has the knife in her grasp once again. She then presses the knife to his throat [Why aren’t Reenie, Greta, Artie and Ty doing anything? Lol], and much to everyone’s shock, P.J. steps into the room [!!!!!!]. He begs Liz not to do it, and she eventually lowers her weapon:
Whew! It’s over! Reenie told herself. Thank goodness P.J. arrived when he did. It’s over. It’s over.
A grin slowly crossed P.J.’s face as he stepped up to his sister. “I’m glad you waited, Liz,” he said softly. “I would be so disappointed if you started without me. I want to watch them die, too.”
P.J. reveals he’s been here all along, watching all the fun as Liz killed Marc and Sandi. Sean, who is behind the siblings as they face the others, is able to sneak up behind them and pin Liz against his body with one arm while yanking the knife from her with the other. Liz quickly frees herself and lunges at him, but the knife ends up plunging straight into her chest [!!!]. Everyone is horrified except P.J. and Liz, who are perfectly calm, and even more confusing [To these guys, at least, since they have no idea about the 1965 plotline] is the fact that there’s no blood seeping from the would, even after Sean pulls the knife free!
Liz laughs at everyone’s shocked faces and reveals that she and P.J. have been dead since 1965, tossing Reenie the year book. Reenie finds an in memoriam page dedicated to ‘Elizabeth Fleischer and her brother Philip Jeremy Fleischer’ [Why did he go by Jeremy and not Philip? Is that weird? Also, at least we have confirmation on their relationship back then! Did Stine just keep it vague in 1965 so we wouldn’t think they were the same people as Liz and P.J.?]. Liz reveal they died due to a cruel prank played on P.J. [No, you died because he was recklessly hooning all over the snowy roads! Where’s the accountability for their own actions?!], and now, 30 years later, Reenie and her friends have done the exact same thing, and they’re going to pay for the 30 years Beth and Jeremy have lost [Lol, go kill the people who actually played the prank on you?]:
“P.J. and I waited a long time for this moment,” Liz continued. “We spent years and years trapped in a cold, gray place. As the years passed, we grew stronger. And then suddenly we were back. Back in Shadyside. Back in our old bodies. People could see and hear us again. I realized P.J. and I had been given a second chance—a chance for revenge.”‘
Liz can’t be bothered with anymore exposition and heads for Reenie with the knife, but Ty jumps between them [Omg, I just realised Ty is the boy Jeremy and Beth hit back in 1965!!! I knew he was going to have some relevance at some point, but I forgot all about the hit-and-run so it didn’t even occur to me despite how obvious it is hahaha], declaring that Liz/Beth has it all wrong – “You weren’t brought back from the dead to have your revenge. I was!” [Yep, definitely the hit-and-run victim!]
He quickly reveals his identity to the horrified siblings, explaining he didn’t know why he’d been brought back to life either until he met Liz and P.J. and recognised them as his killers [In case you forgot, he saw them through the windshield when they first hit him. Beth saw his face too though, so I don’t know why she doesn’t recognise Ty]. The only reason Ty’s been spending all his time with Liz is because he he was waiting for the perfect moment to strike – New Year’s Eve! [Poetic justice!]
The nearby clock starts to chime midnight [They got here at like 9pm, there is no fkn way it’s been three hours! It’s been, like, 10 minutes, and that’s being generous] as Ty grabs Liz, declaring all three of them were brought back so he could kill them. P.J. steps in to help his sister, and then the three of them ‘whirled around, tugging each other as if in a mad dance.’ Faster and faster and faster they spin as the clock continues to chime, and then the inhabitants of the ghostly whirlwind fade into shadows. The shadows then dissolve into smoke, and when the clock finally strikes midnight, the smoke also fades floats away [That seems very anti-climactic and unsatisfying for Ty… Like, I wouldn’t call this revenge; he literally just spun around with them and took them back to the world of the dead? Why did they even come back at all if this is all that was going to happen? Seriously, what was the point of this book?]. Relieved that the nightmare is finally over, the book ends as the survivors embrace:
And then Reenie turned to the spot where the ghosts had spun and whirled, had done their final dance.
“It’s all so sad, so sad and frightening,” she said. “What more is there to say?”
For a long moment no one answered.
Then Sean put his arm around her and pulled her close. “How about Happy New Year?” he said softly.
[How about no. Also, they’re still locked in this house hahaha. How are they gonna get out? Also, I want to know if Greta and Artie are gonna stay together??!]
Final thoughts
I felt like I was enjoying this one as I was reading, but realistically it was a bit of a disappointment. The blurb kind of built up my expectations and it definitely did not deliver – P.J. didn’t die until over halfway into the book, only two people died in the main plot and they were fkn side characters, and the titular New Year’s Party didn’t happen until the book was practically over! I guess the title works when you factor in both of the time periods, but still! I wanted more out of this, and it just didn’t provide. Maybe it’s my fault for having high expectations 🤷🏼♂️ .
I enjoyed most of the characters, but Reenie especially got on my damn nerves from the Christmas party onwards, which sucked because I was really liking her in the beginning! I’m not really bothered by how obvious the Liz and P.J. twist was, and now that I think about it, it is possible Stine was actually being super clever here – we let our guard down because we knew from the start Liz and P.J. were Beth and Jeremy, which turned out to be a misdirection so we wouldn’t suspect the real twist of Ty being the hit-and-run victim! But book after book of predictable twists has me thinking I’m just giving Stine a generous amount of unwarranted credit here hahaha. I guess the Ty twist only surprised me because he was such a forgettable character in both time periods.
I was hoping we’d have more of a slasher vibe with this one, but unfortunately it wasn’t meant to be. I feel the main plot line, up until the Christmas party, was practically all page filler. Stine really could and should have established the characters and reached the party a lot sooner, which would have allowed more time for the group to actually be killed one by one, you know? What’s even more sucky is that Sandi died the exact same way Marc did, for no apparent reason. What a wasted opportunity!
Anyway, I would not recommend this one, so 18 teens driving recklessly in extremely bad weather out of 42!
