The Best Friend (Fear Street, No. 17) [School & Library Binding]

R. L. Stine (Author), Patricia R. McDonald (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1992

A chilling tale from the "Fear Street" range of books.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

R.L. Stine invented the teen horror genre with Fear Street, the bestselling teen horror series of all time. He also changed the face of children's publishing with the mega-successful Goosebumps series, which Guinness World Records cites as the Best-Selling Children's Books ever, and went on to become a worldwide multimedia phenomenon. He lives in New York City with his wife, Jane, and their dog, Nadine. --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• School & Library Binding: 176 pages
• Publisher: Topeka Bindery (December 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0785744525
• ISBN-13: 978-0785744528
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (44 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,516,721 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The book that got me reading., July 8, 2006

By 

Mr. Phillips - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Best Friend (Fear Street, No. 17) (Mass Market Paperback)

I was never much of reader until the late 80s and early 90s saw an amazing boom in teen thrillers. I quickly got hooked and devoured every single one I could buy off the shelf. I particularly liked the Fear Street series; even though R.L. Stine is, in my opinion, a pretty bad writer, the stories moved quickly and you could guiltily enjoy them for a couple of hours and forget about them immediately afterwards. He was basically a James Patterson for the under-15 set.

The Best Friend was one of the first books I read, but it was only when I re-read it recently that I realised it was one of the best in the series. Yes, the chapters are all short and end with one ridiculous cliffhanger after another, but the story is much more subtle - and manipulative - than your average teen thriller. The story is about Becka Norwood being stalked by the strange Honey Perkins, who claims to be her best friend. Honey is presented as being a few beers short of a six-pack, but we are never explicitly told Honey committed all the acts attributed to her - and Becka herself has a propensity for flying off the handle and acting quite melodramatic herself.

The ending, though I won't spoil it here, is much more ambiguous and creepy than the norm, and very much in keeping with the rest of the book's tone. Of course, most readers hated the ending, and a competition was even created where readers could submit their own ideas for the sequel. The sequel was much more routine and silly, with no ambiguity, and Honey was just a flat-out psycho.

But with many of years of hindsight aiding this review, I can easily say The Best Friend is one of R.L. Stine's more ambitious and clever tales, written just before his output reached ridiculous proportions, rendering most future stories rushed, predictable and dumb.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars To help you decide wether you should read it or not..., August 5, 2003

By 

"maximumed" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Best Friend (Fear Street, No. 17) (Mass Market Paperback)

The Best Friend is a creepy book about a girl named Becka whose new neighbor claims she and Becka are and always have been best friends. Slowly, Honey starts to drive Becka mad. She steals Becka's things and claims Becka gave them to her, wears Becka's clothes, even cuts her hair exactly like Becka's, and more horrible things! Then, when Becka lashes out at Honey and tries to cut her out of her life, th gruesome accidents begin. One by one, th epeople closest to Becka are being murdered. Is it Honey being jealous? Someone else? In the book it's obvious but the real shocker is the last page. I personally didn't like the ending, but that's why there's a sequel! It's worth reading, to answer your question.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sad, thrilling and brilliant!, January 24, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Best Friend (Fear Street, No. 17) (Mass Market Paperback)

I am a R.L.stine addict, i have over 136 books of his :) All his books show excellent writing skills and i can't wait to read many more, i prefer the fear street books to the goosebumps because i am 15:) Anyone who will read a book by r.l.stine is in for a bone chilling read! :)