AUDIO

A Midsummer Night's Scream

4 CDs. retail ed. unabridged. 5 hrs. Macmillan Audio. 2013. ISBN 9781427231642. $24.99; Playaway digital; digital download. F
COPY ISBN
Stine (Red Rain), master of the macabre for the elementary school set, attempts to serve young adults goose bumps coupled with a side order of contrived Shakespearean references in this uneven suspense thriller. A teenage actress named Claire and her friends have been cast in the remake of a movie called Mayhem Manor; 60 years earlier, the cast members of the original film each met gruesome deaths on the set, and production of the film was canceled. Early in the filming, the teenagers cast in the remake begin to meet similarly terrifying fates, and Claire must find the cause of the deaths before she becomes the next victim. At the same time, she seeks the aid of Benny Puckerman, an eccentric little man who offers her a potion that could help her win the love of her dream guy, Jake.
VERDICT Stine's fans may enjoy the obligatory scenes of murder and gore, but some of the plot contrivances are hard to swallow. Recommended only for libraries in which Stine's young adult works are in high demand.
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