Book Review: HIT AND RUN

Hit and Run by R.L Stine

Not many readers have R.L. Stine on their radar but he is a vastly popular writer in America. He is the author of the Goosebump series as well as the Fear Street series. In 2003, the Guinness Book of World Records named Stine as the best-selling children’s book series author of all time. In fact, he reminds me of James Lee of Mr Midnight fame. Both write horror stories catered for young readers.

R.L. Stine - the man, not the skeleton

The similarity does not end here. Because their books are intended for the young, the language they use is necessarily simple. Also, do not look for any deep insight in their stories. Even the plots are straightforward and characterisation is shallow.

Run and Hit is that way too. Written for teenagers, in this case, the language used is slightly more advanced than that of the books from the Mr Midnight series but nothing that will win the Nobel Prize for Literature. It is essentially a tale told in the undemanding format of B-grade horror movies.

Four teenagers – Cassie (the only girl in the quartet), Scott, Eddie and Winks – drove without licenses one night. They were all going to take their driving tests and they wanted the extra practice. However, Eddie ran into a person and because they were driving illegally without licenses, they simply drove off, leaving the dead man on the spot, giving rise to the title of the story. What ensued next was a series of baffling and hair-raising incidents. The corpse disappeared from the morgue. They received phone calls from the dead man who warned that he was coming after them. Polaroid photographs of the dead man in a car and at Cassie’s doorstep were also received. Winks was run down and the driver sped away without stopping. All these seemed to point to only one conclusion – the dead man was coming after them.

I won’t spoil the ending but one of Stine’s strengths is his ability to create twists that catch the reader by surprise. You could see some of them coming but there were also others that were completely unexpected. Pupils would do well to learn from him how to create hooks that reel the reader in.

Stine writes in an informal and natural manner. This is both an advantage and a disadvantage in Singapore’s context. It is an advantage because children are naturally drawn towards such writing. How many parents had helpfully but cluelessly steered their children towards classics like Black Beauty, The Secret Garden, Peter Pan and such only to have the children baulking because of the archaic language? Hence for parents who are desperately trying to get their children to read, authors like Stine are a godsend because children do not find his writing intimidating. At the same time, his language is advanced enough that there is something for the school-going reader to learn from.

The disadvantage though is that currently in PSLE continuous writing (the component of the examination that focuses on story-writing), the bias is towards a more formal style of writing so if children write too informally, like if they use slang outside of dialogue, they may be penalised. Hence parents, if you do get your children to read Stine, you would also need to keep an eye on their writing and restrain them from applying the informal elements in their own writing.

Another debatable point about Stine’s books is that they are mainly focused on horror. He does write some science fiction but if I’m not mistaken, most of his books, especially the ones found in our national libraries, are horror stories. Some parents ban their children from reading horror stories. In that case, most of Stine’s books would be a no-no. However, I do observe that a significant number of children tend to gravitate towards such stories. The popularity of the Singapore Ghost Stories and Mr Midnight series would attest to that.

Mummies, zombies, monsters, etc -
children like to read about them,
earning writers like Stine and James Lee a fortune

Thus I would actually recommend Stine’s books to reluctant readers. Here is a subject matter that children are curious about, written in an approachable and easy-to-read manner. Such books are actually great launching pads to develop the crucial habit of reading.

Rating: 3/5

Recommended for children aged 10 and above


By TCC