What do You think about Monster Blood II (1994)?
Evan is playing with Trigger when he notices his dog has gotten larger. He picks up on this while inside his giant dog's mouth. Evan frantically begs Trigger not to bury him in the backyard. Suddenly Evan wakes up screaming in his science class. Mr. Murphy, his science teacher, mocks Evan for having fallen asleep in his class. Evan calls his teacher dumb. Mr. Murphy punishes Evan by forcing him to stay after class to clean out the cage of the class hamster, Cuddles. Evan defiantly walks up to th
—Iris Gamino
This book was just silly. Even for a Goosebumps book - and that's saying a lot.Evan, the main character, is a FLIPPIN' MORON. Really, really, deeply stupid. I mean, I couldn't even believe how stupid the character was.He tells everyone in his school about Monster Blood. What it did (turned his dog gigantic when he ate some) and insisting that it's real. Yeah, that's going to make you a lot of new friends at your new school, bub. What an idiot.And there's a bully that always picks on Evan. One of his favorite tricks is offering Evan his hand to shake while apologizing, and then crushing Evan's hand into pulp. Evan NEVER learns. He ALWAYS takes the proffered hand. The bully uses this trick on Evan three times in the course of the book. THREE TIMES.In another scene, the bully uncharacteristically apologizes for punching Evan and offers Evan a free punch. "Go on. Hit me as hard as I can. I won't hit back." Even a 4-year-old could tell you that this is a trap and a stupid idea. But Evan does it. Of course, a teacher is watching and Evan's the one who gets in trouble. He's an idiot.Luckily, Evan's non-girlfriend (I mean, come on, they're 12) Andrea aka Andy shows up. She is about 50x smarter, stronger, braver, and more able to kick ass than Evan. And Evan never fails to act like a total jackass with her. I have no idea what she sees in this kid. But at least she offers the reader some relief from the onslaught of stupidity.But the plot is stupid also. A hamster eating Monster Blood and turning giant? A hamster. Seriously??!!? And the ending (view spoiler)[ of the Monster Blood suddenly reversing it's effects because "today is it's expiration date" (hide spoiler)]
—Carmen
Monster Blood II is another slog with whiny protagonist Evan. I found the first Monster Blood book to be a boring, unevenly-paced mess, but it did have a bit of atmosphere, with Evan moving in with his creepy deaf aunt in her old house. The sequel loses all of that atmosphere in favor of the cheap gimmick of having a hamster grow extremely large and not really do much. Once again, the first half of the book is made up of useless scenes that don't matter, which are then wrapped up with an unsatisfying conclusion and a total cop-out of an ending. While not an abomination deserving of one star, this is the kind of Goosebumps book (distinctly below average, yet never reaching the depths of memorably-bad) that is so forgettable I think R.L. Stine forgot about before he finished writing it.
—Colton
