Nightmare on Nightmare Street

Horror tropes abound in this frightening and occasionally self-aware standalone romp from Stine (the Goosebumps series) about the difference between nightmares and reality—and what happens when that line begins to blur. When 12-year-old Joe Ferber moves into a new house with his parents and older sister, he immediately realizes that something is off. Though he tries to persuade his family to leave, citing “ghost children cackling on the stairway” and “the words GO HOME sprayed in blood on the kitchen wall,” they refuse, convinced that Joe has been watching too many scary movies. As he struggles to acclimate, a parallel story line follows Shawn Hannigan, also 12 and recently moved into a new house with his younger sister and their single mother. Having woken up from a nightmare—seemingly about Joe—Shawn begins his first day of school feeling anxious, and it’s more than just new-kid jitters. Uncanny experiences increase tenfold once Shawn’s and Joe’s stories—and relentlessly persistent nightmares—start to overlap. Propulsive prose and pulse-pounding chapter cliffhangers build tension and suspense throughout an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink thriller, which features haunted dolls, vampire principals, basement graveyards, and more. Characters are white-cued. Ages 8–12. (Feb.)