The Bookworm: 'Into the Dark'

Into the Dark, by R.L. Stine. 147 pages. Pocket Books. October 1997.

“You think everything has to do with you being blind. But it doesn’t. I wouldn’t want to be alone if this happened to me. Someone wants you dead, Paulette.” (p. 32)

Before October ended, I was able to finish an October-released Fear Street novel: Into the Dark, the story of Paulette Fox and her near-deadly encounter with the proverbial new boy with a troubled and mysterious past.

When Paulette meets Brad Jones, she is immediately smitten. Despite the leeriness of her friends, who have heard rumors that Brad is bad news, and a series of suspicious and threatening incidents that coincide with her encounters with him, Paulette continues an awkward courtship with Brad. She still can’t get over him even after his supposed bad side becomes evident and is never convinced he is the bad guy people think he is. Can Paulette figure out what’s going on and get her dream guy before she ends up dead?

This is a pretty good Fear Street book, another whodunit with a twist. It is especially notable because Paulette, the main character, is blind, so certain aspects are unique and different from other books in the series. Stine is careful not to provide visual details since Paulette is unable to see them, and I think he did a good job of that. I am sure it had to be a challenge, and it made for good reading. Case in point are these lines that describe the autumn scene: “The spicy scents of leaves and fall wildflowers surrounded her. And she could smell the sharp, sweet scent of wood smoke from a fireplace” (p. 6).The book touches on the difficulties and discrimination the blind endure on a daily basis, and Paulette’s blindness heightens the danger and scariness of the situations she finds herself.

Into the Dark kept me guessing until the last chapters, though I developed a (correct) suspicion early, which was shaped in part by an ominous prologue. It employs the typical misdirections and has the same conveniences as others in the series. Paulette is annoyingly naive, stubborn, and (forgive the pun) blindly smitten, but there are definitely kernels of truth to all those characteristics: we are all blinded by love and attraction at some point.

Here are some noteworthy items:

• Cindy, Paulette’s friend, has to end their phone conversation because her dad wants to get “on line” (p. 17). Oh, the days of dial-up—which are still with us, though I have not used dial-up in a while. After her kids complained about buffering and the internet being slow, my stylist said she made them watch a YouTube video about using dial-up and America Online in the nineties. They shut up after that.

• Brad takes Paulette to an abandoned house on Fear Street. Though he uses a flashlight instead of turning on the lights so the neighbors do not see them inside, he and Paulette play a piano—which I assume the neighbors can hear. Makes sense…