Sunburn was an absolute blast to read, and without a doubt has to be one of R.L. Stine’s best books in the Fear Street series for teenagers. Once upon a time R.L. Stine and Christopher Pike almost cornered the reading market for both elementary school age children and older teenagers. Now these seem kind of retro cool, and this one in particular is a real gem!

It begins with a bang when Claudia Walker wakes up to discover she’s buried in the sand on the beach. Where are her friends, Marla, Sophie and Joy? She’s discovered just in time by a mysterious boy named Daniel, before the tide takes her. But she’s nearly burned to a crisp, and her friends, though obviously shaken, have a weak explanation regarding why they didn’t come back. Then more “accidents” occur to the girls who are visiting Marla for what should be a fun time at her parent’s beach house. Why does Claudia feel like Marla is hiding something?

It all goes back to the accidental death of Marla’s sister at Camp Full Moon a year earlier, which is slowly revealed in this page-turner. Stine does a terrific job of giving each girl a distinct personality, and making the obvious answer a bit too obvious, leading readers to wonder if one of the red herrings is not a red herring at all. What about the boy named Daniel who Marla teases is just a ghost? And what about Carl and Dean, the pushy boys the girls meet on the beach? Are they real trouble, or just good boys a little rough around the edges? Why does Marla seem so unfriendly to them, and what’s the deal with the butler?

This is a fun premise, with four friends tied to a past tragedy, brought together at a luxurious yet isolated beach house. Claudia likes the handsome “ghost boy” Daniel, despite his vague answers to everything, and Joy and Sophie are very into Carl and Dean. But picnics, water skiing and Ferris wheels are not safe when someone, or something, is trying to kill the girls. The death of Marla’s sister, Alison, at Camp Full Moon hangs over the sunny beach house like a fog. But Marla seems genuinely disturbed by all the “accidents” and is unable to explain them.

There are some exciting moments, some rescues, some menace, and a shocking reveal. Okay, if you’re an adult reader maybe it isn’t so shocking, and the twist is wildly implausible, but it’s just so much fun in a Scream/I Know What You Did Last Summer kind of way, that it’s irresistible. Highly recommended! ( )

One of the better in the series. I liked this book as a kid. ( )

Nice, quick read. ( )

Possible Spoiler Alert:

Okay the whole "Guess what- I'm actually Alison!" thing was just a little over the top and not believable. Even expecting Marla and thinking Alison was dead, they couldn't have been that similar. The shark incident also got to me. Grrr... enough with the making sharks look bad with phony "facts." ( )

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