Welcome to The Real World According To Sam! Today we are going to talk about another R. L. Stine book, because I have a lot of his books here that I have yet to read. I'm slowly, but surely making my way through it. Let's tackle this one!
The Dead Lifeguard
Author: R. L. Stine
Genre: YA Horror
Year: 1994
Synopsis:
In too deep...
The lifeguards at North Beach Country Club know they're lucky. While other kids are flipping burgers, they're sunning themselves by day and partying by night. So what if some people say the place is cursed, haunted. This is the life!
And then, one by one, the lifeguards start to die horrible deaths. Someone -- or something -- evil is stalking them. They all know how to save other people's live...but who will save theirs?
Review:
The Dead Lifeguard is a typical YA horror novel from R. L. Stine. There is a mystery, some creepy happenings, and eventually, a reveal and resolution. A bunch of teenagers have been selected to be lifeguards at a country club pool for the summer. However, rumor has it that a lifeguard died there the year before and strange things are beginning to happen. Then some of the lifeguards begin to meet untimely ends. Can they figure out what's going on and make it out alive? This is the sixth book in the Fear Street Super Chiller series. This is the first Super Chiller I've read, but the second standard Fear Street book. I've been enjoying going through these books quite a bit and plan to read several more.
This book is divided into four parts, with six total narrators. Each chapter is narrated by an indicated character and follows their perspective on what is happening. This allows for many viewpoints and insights into what each character is doing. There is also a mystery character narrator who is doing all the bad things, who we eventually get to see the reveal of.
Overall, this book is really straightforward. The lifeguards have enough personality to be distinct from one another, but not to be fully fleshed out characters that you can fully care about. This is just one of those standard R. L. Stine teen horror novels that you read for kicks. It isn't deep, it isn't complex. So if you want a complex, deep horror novel, skip this one. The most interesting part about this one is trying to find out why one of the girls can't seem to remember anything. That was a pretty fun plotline and I was kind of surprised when that was revealed.
I honestly don't have too much to say about this one. There was a twist at the end and the reveals were interesting. Generally though, it isn't a must read and I wouldn't say it is my top R. L. Stine read, even just for this year. If you stumble across it and want some light teen horror, this will do the job. It won't stay with you for a long while after and it won't freak you out too bad. If you're looking for a great Halloween read that will creep you out and be a thrill ride, this isn't it. I give The Dead Lifeguard a Lone Star review of ✯✯✯. Read it if you want to read through a lot of R. L. Stine's works, if you don't have other pressing reading, or if you just want a short teen horror drama. Don't expect a lot though. I think a middle grade casual reader would appreciate this book the most.
This concludes another review here at The Real World According To Sam, where I bring the books straight to your screen and even provide my own two cents about them. See you tomorrow!
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