Focusing On Fear Street - The Boy Next Door

WELCOME TO FOCUSING ON FEART STREET WITH THERESTHEGIRL

 

Book #39 in the original Fear Street Series

Published June 1996

Cover Art by Bill Schmidt

 

 

We see out titular boy next door, Scott Collins, looking upward into Crystal Thomas' room and looks can be deceiving because he doesn't look to threatening here. It says in the book that Crystal and her older sister Melinda look alike but that Melinda wears glasses but as it looks like this girl is getting ready for bed it could be Melinda but I'm not sure. The detail of the tree and the house is spectacular and my copy again has one of those stickers advertising to write The Best Friend 2 so I get some of my cover art hidden. For this blog I actually found the key art for this book by Bill Schmidt!

 

 

That's some really beautiful art right there! As always, Germany has some equally beautiful cover art for their editions and it hardly ever disappoints with its detail and even minimalistic focus so let's check it out:

 

 

A hand reaches out to grab a hold of a young woman's ankle, her foot in an open toed-high heel with a splatter of blood on the stairs. The ankle grabbing is something done in the book but I can't remember any blood being on the steps but I like that touch to add more to the thriller atmosphere and the suspense. So simple but gets the point of the story across. I don't really get a lot of countries popping up when it comes to cover art so I was surprised to find one from Italy!

 

 

The boy has almost a Terminator vibe and I like how he has both hands around the hilt of the knife he's holding. The double imagery of the screaming girl is nice as well and sort of reminds me of all those Italian horror films...it's very nice. Another country that I am sort of enjoying lately is finding Russian covers with their very romance against thriller juxtaposition so let's take a look.

 

 

Well this is a little less romantic than the last few Russian covers with Scott looking very creepy holding that huge knife! I suppose the girl in the foreground is supposed to be Crystal with her red tinted hair and her expression on the phone is slightly concerned. I like how it's also a mash-up of realistic in the forefront and illustration in the background (at least I think) and has a more appropriate cover. Lastly, the French cover which was disappointing last time so let's see if it can be redeemed this time:

 

 

I guess I just have trouble appreciating the artwork of these French covers when half of them use this yellow or green or blue tint that just makes me a little nauseated. The detail of the stuff in the background is wonderful and the glint on the knife blade is excellent but the color just makes Scott's face look like he has jaundice. He's also suppose to be good-looking and even though the shadowing is nice, his face just looks so sickly.

 

Taglines: On the front we have: "They were flirting-with death." and on the back: "This guy's got killer looks..." which are pretty good I must admit. The blurb on the back has the biggest mistake calling one of the girls in the book Lauren and not Lynne! I wonder how that got by someone and if they ever corrected that on other printings? Besides that, it gives us a good idea about the plot and is not too filled with any spoilers.

 

The First Line: "I stared into my girlfriend's open grave."

 

The prologue wastes no time in letting us know that we will get some first-person perspective from our titular boy next door as he let's know just what happened to poor Dana Potter. They went next door to the neighbor's house to swim in their pool but it had been drained and Dana dove in first...cracking her skull. It wasn't until she died that he screamed for help and the remorse he feels is for how it was her fault that he had to kill her. If she hadn't started to dress in short skirts, hadn't started painting her face with make-up and behaving so wild...her blood wouldn't be on his hands.

 

So in the first chapter, we meet Crystal Thomas talking on the phone to her best friend Lynne Palmer as she is trying on one of the new lipsticks that she bought at the mall. They talk about how they can't find a boyfriend even though Lynne has all the guys at Shadyside High trying to ask her out which brings them around to talking about Crystal's new neighbors as they finally arrive, Crystal peeking out the window. She tells Lynne the parents are good-looking and their son isn't half bad either as she sees him enter the house and take the bedroom right across from hers! He catches her staring at Crystal is mortified but not as much as he is in more of a disgusted manner at seeing the girl across the street in a low cut leotard under her jeans with red lipstick smeared on her lips...spying on him!

 



 

The next day or maybe a few days later, Lynne comes over to discuss Scott (know that they know his name so do we the readers) joining the football team and how every girl is wondering just who he will ask out. Crystal's sister Melinda wanders into the kitchen and it's clear that she and Lynne don't get along really well and that she might be at little jealous of how much closer Crystal seems to Lynne. When Lynne asks Melinda if she has talked to Scott (Crystal has only said like half a dozen words to him and Lynne probably not at all) Melinda says she has English with Scott and that he's nice but keeps to himself. It's very clear that Melinda thinks Scott is good-looking but Crystal knows how shy her sister can be around guys, always reading classic literature and wearing baggy tops over her jeans. Lynne decides that the girls should have a contest to see who can go out with Scott first with the only rules being they can't mess each other up on purpose and must be happy for whoever comes out victorious.

 



 

At lunch, Lynne sits herself down at the football players' lunch table, squeezing in between Scott and a boy named Jake Roberts, who is friends with her and Crystal and has a huge crush for Lynne. Lynne flirts with Scott like crazy and invites him to a party but he declines and Crystal can't help but be internally pleased but also wishes she could be as forward as her friend even though she and Scott exchange a few words. An opportunity presents itself for Crystal to go and talk with Scott when the mailman drops a magazine of his father's at her house by mistake and she decides to return it. Before that we get a little preview of just how messed up Scott is when he kills the dog of a woman who lives down the way :( The dog apparently had to die because the woman wears short shorts and makes kissing noises every time Scott passes by embarrassing him...and that's not nice.

 

Killing DOGS is what's not nice, SCOTT!



 

So Crystal comes over with the magazine and is a little disappointed that Jake is over there hanging out with his new buddy Scott but Scott invites Crystal to join them in his room to visit for awhile. When a knock comes to the front door, Scott comes back with Lynne in some skin-tight skating clothes with the excuse that she came looking for Jake and she's a little surprised to find Crystal on Scott's bed. When Scott tells them that he has homework and chores to do, Jake carries Lynne out of the room over his shoulder like a caveman which is pretty funny, leaving Crystal with Scott. Crystal tries to get Scott to kiss her but chickens out and awkwardly leaves and we learn that Scott was not amused. He accuses her of invading his room like a disease, probably stealing the magazine as an excuse to come over, feeling sick by her perfume and dreading that she would have kissed him with that cheap lipstick and have its taste on his mouth. With no outlet, Scott stabs the back of his hand with a pair of scissors!

 



 

A few days later, Lynne shows up at Scott's house with some Cokes and chips as Crystal comes home to see Scott arrive with Jake. He politely lets them in and while Jake watches football highlights, Crystal asks Scott if he had a girlfriend back home and when he says no it turns to why he hasn't asked anyone at Shadyside out. Scott doesn't answer and Crystal can understand what her sister Melinda meant about Scott being a little sad when they talked last. She thinks it's a little rude when Lynne tries to pressure him about the girlfriend thing, thinking Scott probably has a broken heart, and soon he tells Crystal, Jake and Lynne that they have to leave again. Lynne makes an excuse about forgetting her backpack (she really did but it's so obvious she has another motive) and later reveals to Crystal that she went back and kissed Scott. Crystal's is not happy but neither is Scott, brushing his teeth, using mouthwash and scalding hot water to try and get the feeling of Lynne's lips off his skin.

 

 

Scott is now set on making sure Lynne pays for being such a bad, bad girl and almost gets the chance but gets interrupted by a man asking for directions while he and Lynne are parked up on a ridge. When a week goes by and no word from Scott, Lynne starts to become depressed and driving Crystal crazy so the girls do a prank call to Scott's house but Scott recognizes Lynne's voice and says he's sorry but football practice keeps him busy and turns her down when she asks if he wants to do something. We get an interesting look at what it's like in the Collins home when we learn that the girls' call disturbed dinner and Scott's mother isn't happy with how persistent this Lynne girl has been calling the house. She can't have her son going out with a girl who just doesn't know how to behave...maybe Scott shouldn't have given her any indication that he cared. Mother's angry and that just won't do...

 



 

 

When Crystal discovers (WARNING SPOILER!) Lynne has killed herself by turning on the car in the closed garage and leaving a suicide note behind, she is devastated and has no idea Scott is behind it. Now that Scott has gotten rid of another bad girl he can focus on finding the right girl...a girl like Melinda Thomas...a good girl. She's so sweet and kind taking care of her sister in this terrible time but Scott had to do what needed to be done...now he can have a normal life with  the perfect girlfriend. Too bad Crystal can't keep her opinions to herself and decides Melinda needs a little help to keep Scott interested, unknowing that her advice may just make her sister the next victim of the boy next door...

 

Body Count: It was so hard to try and not spoil it but...Two. Two dead bodies...oh and one poor little doggie :( .

 

 

 

MY TAKE: The Boy Next Door is actually a pretty good read. You already know that at least one of the lead girls is probably going to be one of Scott's victims and well, it's obviously not going to be Crystal because the protagonist almost always survives. I like how it switches to Scott's perspective at times so we can find out how deranged he is and the little moment with his mom gives us insight as to how maybe some of these parents are the reason the kids in Shadyside are the way they are. When we get to the last few chapters, it's pretty intense despite going so fast to wrap things up and the ending is one of those Ha-ha sitcom endings but it lets us know what happens to our villain instead of leaving it open-ended even if it is a throw away and you might miss it line. All in all...I would recommend it.

 

THE SHADYSIDE HIGH TIME CAPSULE

 

Jake asks Lynne if she would like to go and see the new Jim Carrey movie with him after Scott has them leave his house the first time and you know what...there really was a Jim Carrey movie this time!

 



 

If this wasn't going to be an actual fluke there are a few other movies I could possibly suggest:

 

 



 

Also, a few musical favorites just because you know I love my music:

 

 

 

NEXT BLOG: Get those lips ready for a real Killer's Kiss...