Similar to my decision to read Silent Night by R.L. Stine, is cracking open his other young adult horror to be released in 1991, The Snowman. While the former was set during the holiday season, the latter is just a winter seasonal horror. The Snowman is a one of those books that at the ages of 12 to 18 I would’ve found intense and thrilling, but at the age of 40 it changes things. However, it was a fun to read while the snow was falling here in Maine.
Heather feels cold all the time. Alone. Her guardian hates her. He’d like to see her dead. He’d like all her money. But for now he settles for controlling it, and making Heather’s life miserable. Poor little rich girl, just like Cinderella…Then the gorgeous, ice-blond guy shows up at the crummy restaurant where Heather works after school. He understands about Heather. He’s her Prince Charming. No one can get to Heather now. Heather feels so safe. So loved. So warm…
The winter connection is present, but thin at most. Yes, the books title The Snowman, along with the imagery on the cover, would suggest this book would prominently feature a snowman or more snow than it does. While the main antagonist has the nickname Snowman, due to his pure white hair, the story doesn’t use the winter season much to its advantage outside of the ending. This is another case of setting my expectations high and being disappointed when they don’t get met.
One of my favorite, and more underrated, Christmas movies is Jack Frost starring Michael Keaton. I might be in the minority on this, but it’s true. This is almost how I envisioned this book to have, a snowman come to life. However, we get a character named snowman and a suspenseful thriller featuring a due with snow-white hair.
Stine doesn’t shy away from dark elements in The Snowman. Our protagonist Heather deals with a guardian uncle who is verbally abusive and an outright horrible person, murder, and blackmail. These are all elements I was not expecting in an Stine story. However, I was here for every moment of it. While these horrors are present, they might strike more of a chord with those in the younger age range as I saw most of it coming and feel I would’ve handle it better as an adult.
Also, Stine continues to craft characters that are unlikable.
The Snowman by R.L. Stine is a winter thrilling horror story with a thin connection to the season. If you are looking for a book to curl up in front of the fire and bust through, The Snowman might disappoint. However, the horror is present and was a good, not great, read.
The Snowman is available at bookstores everywhere from Scholastic, Inc.
