The Bookworm: The Stepsister and First Date
The Stepsister, by R.L. Stine. 165 pages. Pocket Books. November 1990.
First Date, by R.L. Stine. 165 pages. Pocket Books. May 1992.
“Your sweater — it’s ruined,” Nancy said, tears in her eyes. (The Stepsister, p. 75.)
There are better quotes in The Stepsister but I do not feel like searching for them. Unlike the other books I read, I do not annotate the pages of my Fear Street novels. It seems sacrilegious, like defacing a historical monument, so I do not have blog-worthy quotes easily marked. Nonetheless, the opening quote is a good representation of both books; the total “body” count includes an unsuspecting teen girl, a teddy bear, a dog, a kitten, a report on Chile, and three sweaters.
The Stepsister and First Date are the most brutal, heartless, senseless, and aggravating Fear Street rereads yet, and The Stepsister was especially egregious.
After their father’s tragic death, Emily and Nancy’s mother remarries and they welcome into the family a stepfather, stepbrother (a quiet, 13-year-old who listens to heavy metal and reads a lot of Stephen King), and stepsister, Jessie. (Dun dun DUUUN!) Emily and Jessie share a room and the beginning of their sisterhood is unsettling. Emily’s most cherished teddy bear is decapitated, then Jessie starts wearing Emily’s clothes (including an ill-fated sweater). Emily’s report on Chile is erased from the family computer, her shampoo is spiked with peroxide, discoloring her hair, and Tiger, her white terrier, is found dead in the kitchen, a large stab wound across his chest. Emily is convinced Jessie is the perpetrator but no one believes her. There is no concrete proof, either, leaving readers unsure and ambivalent. The truth is revealed, however, during a winter camping trip in South Carolina (which, frankly, came out of nowhere).
I like how The Stepsister touches on common domestic issues dealt with by Gen Xers and Millennials: divorce and relationships with stepsiblings. What I did not like was the unbelievable amount of convenience involved, especially when the customary plot twist at the end is factored in. Most aggravating for me was the fact nobody, including Emily’s mother and stepfather, wanted to act like adults and openly resolve the dispute between Emily and Jessie. Instead of making an effort to discuss each tragic event and unravel their mystery, everyone pointed fingers, yelled, and Jessie inevitably ran away crying. Simple discussion would have gone a long way. However, this is drama and young adult fiction, where reason and civility need not apply. Nonetheless, the constant bickering and hysterics annoyed and entertained me. In a nutshell, The Stepsister is a mystery wrapped inside an impenetrable candy shell of immaturity.
The Stepsister features a common element of the Fear Street series: once revealed and captured, the true perpetrator is always sent away to get “the treatment he/she needs.” Whenever I read that in the final pages I cannot help thinking how laughable it is. I suppose there is a little truth to it, but it seems like sugar coating. Plus, given the erosion of support and financing for mental health institutions since these Fear Street books were written, I find it unbelievable and unlikely.
First Date is a different bag of confusion and convenience. Here is the basic premise from the back cover:
Chelsea Richards is shy, lonely, and looking for love. She would give anything to finally go on a date. Soon there are two new boys in town, and both ask her out.
Well, what’s a girl to do? See a movie and park with the one who seems less crazy, of course. However, unbeknownst to Chelsea, there is a serial killer on the loose, stalking young women who remind him of his mother. The reader is led to believe it is one of the guys interested in Chelsea. Which one is it and will she save herself before it is too late?
Like many other Fear Street novels, First Date is packed with semi-useful backstory and distracting, but somewhat relevant, facts and events. Her father has opened a little café in a bad part of Shadyside and Chelsea works there after school. The café is robbed and her father is hit over the head with a pipe; he is sent to the hospital and gets “the treatment he needs” (but never makes another appearance in the book). Chelsea plays the saxophone, a vital fact that provides a woefully convenient twist to the end. And Chelsea’s mom works a lot at a nursing home and is rarely home.
Smells like teen horror.
Much like many of her fellow female Fear Street protagonists, Chelsea is insecure and self-conscious. She is apparently on the chubby side, short, and has curly or wavy hair — totally opposite of everything she wants, of everything every girl wants, it seems. “Why isn’t my hair straight?” Chelsea bitches. “Why can’t I be thin?” Emily, in The Stepsister, voices similar complaints. “Why isn’t my hair straight? Why doesn’t it bounce perfectly? Why are my hands so big?” Bitch, bitch, bitch. Goddamn is it annoying! Each insecure female protagonist idolizes someone as a model of beauty, usually a sister or friend; for Chelsea it is her mom. Chelsea’s insecurity plays a major role in her desperation for a date, even if it is with a potential serial killer: she has extremely low standards and will say “yes” to anyone — including someone she suspects of playing a role in the robbery at her father’s café. That is low.
Though Chelsea is the main character, the two “boys” are also given a couple chapters of narration, especially the serial killer. At the end the POV alternates between Chelsea and the killer, which was a first so far among my rereads. I did not care for it, though; mainly, I think Stine used it to develop the serial killer so readers had an understanding of him. Plus, Chelsea was not that interesting. No wonder she had never been asked out.
There is not much more to say about either of these books. However, each Fear Street book I read seems to be set in the season opposite of the one we are in. The Stepsister is set in early-winter and First Date takes place in the fall.
