How embarrassing is it that we were obsessed with this book in highschool? Very. Except that it’s somehow still entirely readable, and absolutely engrossing… Smith plays on our obsession with bad boys in the worst (best) way possible, with the introduction of the mysterious Julian, a game store keeper who tricks protagonist Jenny into playing a game that puts her life on the line – and the lives of her friends. The concept is simple, as are Smith’s plot points, which revolve around Jenny and her friends having to face their worst nightmares to move closer to escape, but she plumbs some pretty interesting thematic depths as we play along with Jenny and her friends. Friendships are put to the test, secrets are revealed, and we discover just how ridiculous some fears can be – or how deadly others are. Throughout it all, Smith weaves in folkloric elements, giving Julian a role that plays with Nordic trickster motifs which raise his character further than a simple human stalker (though he is that as well…). While Smith doesn’t reach the magical complexity here that she does in her other series, we can clearly see her playing well in the lightly magical teen horror genre that was coming into popularity in the late 1990s. ( )

It is really hard to review something I have read half a dozen times, but am re-reading for the first time in a decade.

I really love the creepy nightmare house game set-up. It made it easier to get to know several of the characters, and I just liked watching them overcome their worst nightmares. It felt like a sadistic game show and gee whiz am I a terrible person for taking such pleasure in that kind of thing.

I remember spending a great deal of time the first time I read this trying to figure out what I could draw that would seem realistic as a horrible fear for me but not be what I was most frightened of (probably spiders). I knew I could never make it through a room full of terrible tarantulas or something, so I was going to have to improvise so I didn't die (or get laughed at). As far as I remember, I never did come up with anything plausible, but it is strangely fun to think about while reading.

In general, the characters are good. Julian is kind of fascinating in a way that seems overdone today but that didn't seem so when I first read it. He seems very much the type of character made to appeal to a teenage girl, and thus my affection for him (while never fangirl-ish to begin with) has faded a bit.

Dee and Audrey are amusing as foils. I liked them both, although their bickering is annoying. Their nightmares taught me a lot about them. I feel like Jenny is easy enough to like, though I don't feel terribly attached or anything. Michael and Zach are completely adorable for obviously very different reasons.

I feel bad about not liking Summer, but there is really nothing there to like. She exists to be pathetic, sort of, and we don't ever really get to know her through her nightmares, unlike the rest of the group. She is very much like a small child, but without having the excuse of actually being a small child.

Tom is a lot more questionable. I feel like I know almost nothing about him even at the end of the book, and those small parts of what we know I don't really like. Mostly he seems to exist to take Jenny for granted and be kind of annoyingly boisterous. I don't really care for either of these character traits, and his relationship with Jenny seems to be due entirely to "they've known each other forever," which is not a terribly valid reason to remain together, I don't think. Especially when it was a relationship formed when they were actually children.

This is fun. That is kind of what I look for in an L.J. Smith book, honestly--she was a go-to author for a hefty chunk of my teenage years because I always enjoyed reading her stuff. Her plots are interesting, even when they aren't super detailed, her universe feels just different enough from ours to seem almost-barely plausible. ( )

It started sort of weird... descriptions of characters were a bit disjointed and cliche. But it got better as the story continued. Other reviews compare it to the Labyrinth, it's sort of like that... I'll see how the sequel is! ( )

Read this book but I must admit I did fly through it but not in a good way.
I just skimmd through it so I do not think I can give it a rating if I want to be fair. I guess it was a bit too childish. Not The Hunger Games

Julian is one of the sexiest characters in the whole of literature, seriously. Even if the story hadn't been a wonderful and gripping adventure with an array of colourful and interesting characters, it would still have been worth the read for Julian. But that aside, the book was wonderful, as soon as I finished it I instantly picked up the sequal. What a great and original story, a bit scary in parts but always entertaining - I couldn't put it down. ( )