With the snowy season upon us, I felt it fitting to revisit The Abominable Snowman of Pasadena in my Goosebumps reread. However, I felt a bit left out in the cold on this one.
Jordan Blake and his sister, Nicole, are sick of the hot weather in Pasadena, California. Just once they’d like to have a real winter with real snow. And then it happens. The Blakes are taking a trip to Alaska! Mr. Blake has been asked to photograph a mysterious snow creature there. Poor Jordan and Nicole. They just wanted to see snow. But now they’re being chased by a monstrous creature. A big furry-faced creature known as the Abominable Snowman!
R.L. Stine is a true master in crafting spine-tingling tales for the younger generation, his work on the Goosebumps series has captivate minds across the globe for many years and it’s fun to revisit as an adult. While some are just as amazing as when I was younger, others–such as The Abominable Snowman of Pasadena–fall a bit short in my adult life.
Stine paints vivid portraits of his characters, including the Abominable Snowman, as well as Jordan and Nicole’s excitement about experiencing snow for the first time on this journey with their dad. However, this is where my love for the book ends. The Abominable Snowman of Pasadena leans heavier on humor rather than horror—a departure from what many expect from Goosebumps titles. Stine’s expertise in blending comedic elements within eerie settings shines through but left me longing for more hair-raising moments earlier in the tale.
Those looking for Goosebumps’ typical plot twists leading up to nail-biting conclusions–the abrupt ending here feels anticlimactic compared to those other stories in the original 62-book run from the 1990s. One wonders whether Stine was hoping for a sequel to the book like a few others but never had the chance.
While some might bicker about the cover Abominable Snowman on the cover of the Goosebumps Classics book having white fur (not the brown fur as described inside the book), but if you look back to the original run, Tim Jacobus got that right with his cover art.
The Abominable Snowman of Pasadena featured outstanding character development and a story based around snow–something limited in the Goosebumps series–but ultimately falls short of expectations of what we have come to know from R.L. Stine. Worth the reread, but the ending…just ends so be prepared.
Goosebumps: The Abominable Snowman of Pasadena is available at bookstores everywhere. The audiobook, narrated by Christopher Salazar, is available on Libro.fm!
