‘Fear Street’ Trilogy: 3 R.L. Stine Books to Read After Watching the Netflix Movies
The Fear Street trilogy has come to a close, but many fans of the Netflix films are hungry for more. Some have already started brainstorming Fear Street spinoff ideas, including a television anthology series based on the Shadyside killers. Director Leigh Janiak has revealed her hopes for future installments, but unfortunately, nothing has been confirmed yet. In the meantime, Fear Street fans can always get their fix from another medium: the books.
The film trilogy took inspiration from R.L. Stine’s book series of the same name, containing more than 50 titles and spinoffs. The YA Fear Street novels were mostly released in the late ’80s to ’90s, but Stine picked the series back up around 2015. Those looking for a dose of nostalgia with modern flair can check out Stine’s latest Fear Street spinoff books: Return to Fear Street.
‘You May Now Kill the Bride’ (2018)
Stine released the first book in the Return to Fear Street trilogy in June 2018. According to Goodreads, You May Now Kill the Bride follows “two sisters divided by time. Each with a terrible resentment she can barely contain.” When disaster strikes at two Fear family weddings in different decades, the sisters discover that the curse of the Fear family “lives on” and “takes its toll in unexpected ways.”
As Goodreads’ reviews revealed, You May Now Kill the Bride explored the history of the Fear family curse, which dates back to the Salem Witch Trials. The book received 3 to 5-star ratings. If you liked the sisterly aspect in Fear Street Part 2: 1978, you might find this Stine read interesting.
“This was a stupid amount of fun to read. When you try to put all the pieces together in the end, logic isn’t necessarily solid, but who cares?” one review read. “The point of reading RL Stine is the creeps, the chills, the twists, and thinking about how someone comes up with such wild stuff.”
‘The Wrong Girl’ (2018)
The Wrong Girl, which Stine released in September 2018, takes readers back to Shadyside High School. As those who watched Fear Street Part 1: 1994 might recall, the students of Shadyside High are never safe from the town’s deadly curse.
As Goodreads notes, this Return to Fear Street book follows a teen named Poppy Miller, who wants revenge against Jack Sabers for playing a harmful and humiliating prank on her. Soon, Poppy’s classmates “start turning up dead,” and the town wonders if Poppy has something to do with it.
“Is Poppy being framed? Or did the kids of Shadyside High mess with the wrong girl?” the synopsis read.
The Wrong Girl received more mixed reviews than the first book in the series. Some critics disliked some of the book’s characters, while others liked the modern take.
“Fear Street books are campy, corny fun and always seem to end very abruptly with the killer confessing in like the last two pages, with hardly any explanation, but they bring me back to a time when the only thing I had to worry about was doing homework,” a review stated.
‘Drop Dead Gorgeous’ (2019)
Stine debuted the final Return to Fear Street book in February 2019. Drop Dead Gorgeous follows a new student at Shadyside High, Morgan Marks, who grabs the attention of everyone around her. She has plenty of friends and fans, but no one knows her dark past or where she came from. However, at Shadyside High’s Homecoming, Morgan’s secrets will be revealed.
Drop Dead Gorgeous received plenty of positive reviews, mostly praising the plot and Stine’s ability to capture Fear Street nostalgia.
“Drop Dead Gorgeous has a more complex, mature structure than the typical Fear Street formula. We piece together the story from various points of view, including adult characters, the central villain, diary entries, and first-person narration of murder victims,” one reviewer wrote. “The ending homage to the ’90s provides a delightful tribute to long-time fans of the series.”
Fear Street Part 1: 1994, Fear Street Part 2: 1978, and Fear Street Part 3: 1666 are available now on Netflix.
