Customer Reviews

Bruce Coville's Book of Spine Tinglers: Tales to Make You Shiver

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I recently dug this book out on a whim, after having not so much as looked at it for perhaps five years or more, and was genuinely surprised and delighted. The stories are a lot more mature than I would have expected for a book marketed to children. I say this not because they are in any way inappropriate, but because they deal with somewhat darker themes than most believe children can handle--love, death, loss, choice, sacrifice, abuse, and so forth. None of the writers "talk down" to the target audience, which is unfortunately a trend that has always manifested in cinematic family events. It's too bad these tales are considered "mere" children's fare; adults are apparently missing out on a number of fulfilling works.
The stories range from creepy to sad to humorous to simply bizarre, and are usually anywhere from five to thirty pages, with illustrations (the shortest story I've ever seen in one of these collections was less than a hundred words). I can't say that any of them gave me nightmares, but some of them actually came close, which is an accomplishment, given that it's very hard for me to reach a state of fear through books or even most movies.
The most notable entries, from my perspective, include the strange and darkly humorous "Letters from Camp," told from the perspective of a juvenile delinquent writing letters to his parents in which he expresses rather justified misgivings about his summer vacation establishment; a creepy and somewhat surreal entry called "Vampire for Hire," about a boy who orders a vampire through the mail thinking it will help cure his bully problems; "One Chance," a touching number about two misfit friends who find a way out of the cruel world that maltreats them; "Jenny Nettles," a nautical tale about a cursed figurehead that effectively conveys a sense of darkness and witchery on the high seas; "The Sight of the Basilisk," which tells of the meeting between an orphan and the dreaded creature that guards ancient tombs from graverobbers, a creature the sight of which means death; "The Teacher Who Could Hear"--by far the creepiest story in the book--about a teacher who can hear things most people can't--like death; "Life with a Slob", which relates a weird (and touching, in its own odd way) story about a boy and his relationship to the living, breathing Mess that accumulates on his bedroom floor; the short but rather frightening "Campfire", in which a sad outcast tells a rather unusual story in the deep, dark woods; and "Past Sunset," about a beautiful, hypnotic female ghost that wanders the streets of an Italian (I think) village after dark. This latter has something of a predictable ending, but the author builds a satisfying atmosphere of dread, wonder, and a strange sort of beauty.
Obviously that leaves only a few tales that I apparently wasn't so fond of. "Grendel" is entirely redundant for anybody who's read or even knows of Beowolf (and the lead characters explain how redundant the story is by repeating the major plot points, which parallel this quite closely). "The Thing in Auntie Alma's Pond" is good and haunting, in a way, but also feels somewhat familiar. And "Those Three Wishes" is pretty much worthless, with an annoying setup, an obnoxious main character, and a silly, predictable end.
Anyhoo, I guess my point is that just because something is designated as "Children's Literature" does not mean it offers nothing of value to adults. These 13 (imagine that) stories are equal parts good writing, entrancing imagination, fine characters, and well-handled life issues.

Perhaps I'm a little odd by thinking that the most spinetingling ones are the two saddest - One Chance and The Thing in Auntie Alma's Pond. Both are beautifully written and mournful beyond doubt. The others, well... Not so sure. Most are wierd and hard to understand.

Story one was sad. Letters from... was weird. Grendel was boring. What's a Little...? was good but not scary. Past Sunset was sad and dumb. I never liked that author. Vampire for... left me yawning. Jenny Nettles was sad but not scary. Basilisk was good but not scary. None of the stories was scary.