Say Cheese and Die by R. L. Stine

Book Review of Say Cheese and Die (Goosebumps Book 20) by R. L. Stine

Say Cheese and Die by R. L. Stine is about four kids who find a camera in a deserted house. Every time a picture is taken with this stolen camera, it shows some frightening aspect of the future. Anything that it predicts immediately turns into reality. Four friends - Greg, Shari, Doug and Michael – are terribly bored. Nothing seems to be entertaining in Pitts Landing. They badly long for some adventure – any adventure. Miachel suggests they explore the Coffman house - a decrepit house where no one seems to be living. However, there’s a rumour about a tramp called Spidey living in that house. They enter the building with a broken windowpane. In the basement they find some empty food boxes tossed all over the floor. This and a few other things show that someone, possibly Spidey, is actually living in the basement. Accidentally they open a secret door on the wall. That’s where the camera was hidden. They take the camera with them. Spidey returns. They escape through another door. As they run away, Spidey watches them from a window. So now he knows who stole his camera.

The pictures they take with this camera, come out weird. Greg’s father has bought a new car. He takes a photo of it. But the photo shows a wreck, a totaled car. Soon Greg’s father meets with an accident. The next photo he takes is of Doug. The picture shows him sprawled on the ground, his neck strangely bent. Shortly after this, Doug is hit by a ball. He collapses on the ground. His unconscious body lies in the same posture as that in the picture. On Shari’s birthday, Greg takes her photo, but she doesn’t appear in it. Soon Shari goes missing. The camera seems to predict the future. Or, is it changing the future in some subtle, devious way?

Say Cheese and Die by R. L. Stine is 20^th book in the Goosebumps horror series. There is this familiar fast paced style with each chapter ending with suspense that makes you want to read the next chapter immediately. With each chapter the plot becomes more gripping. However in this book, a few things remain unexplained. For example, after Shari vanished from her own birthday party, where did she go? How did she return? This and few other things, R. L. Stine didn’t care to explain. Loose ends like these make one slightly uneasy. Despite that, Say Cheese and Die by R. L. Stine has enough creeps to scare the hell out of a teenager.

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