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Fear Street #3

The Overnight

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"Nothing bad will happen," Della O'Connor assures her friends in the Outdoors Club. So what if their advisor can't go on the overnight to Fear Island—won't it be more fun with no adults around?

But it's no fun at all when Della gets lost in the woods, and the dangerous stranger appears, whispering threats, driving her to a violent act.

Suddenly all of her friends are involved, prisoners in a conspiracy of silence, trying to conceal the terrible truth. But someone saw what Della did. And he's threatening them all, forcing them back to Fear Island to find the evidence they forgot to bury...

160 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1989

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About the author

R.L. Stine

1,537 books17.6k followers
Robert Lawrence Stine known as R. L. Stine and Jovial Bob Stine, is an American novelist and writer, well known for targeting younger audiences. Stine, who is often called the Stephen King of children's literature, is the author of dozens of popular horror fiction novellas, including the books in the Goosebumps, Rotten School, Mostly Ghostly, The Nightmare Room and Fear Street series.

R. L. Stine began his writing career when he was nine years old, and today he has achieved the position of the bestselling children's author in history. In the early 1990s, Stine was catapulted to fame when he wrote the unprecedented, bestselling Goosebumps® series, which sold more than 250 million copies and became a worldwide multimedia phenomenon. His other major series, Fear Street, has over 80 million copies sold.

Stine has received numerous awards of recognition, including several Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards and Disney Adventures Kids' Choice Awards, and he has been selected by kids as one of their favorite authors in the NEA's Read Across America program. He lives in New York, NY.

http://us.macmillan.com/itsthefirstda...

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5 stars
690 (20%)
4 stars
991 (28%)
3 stars
1,340 (38%)
2 stars
376 (10%)
1 star
51 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 286 reviews
Profile Image for Gavin Hetherington.
681 reviews8,261 followers
August 23, 2021
Check out my video where I read the first four Fear Street books and watch the Fear Street Trilogy on Netflix for the first time: https://youtu.be/24ilJNMauMU

So far my favourite of the four I've read so far, and had some strong I Know What You Did Last Summer vibes, but still not really a great story. Enjoyed the island setting but so many missed opportunities for some impactful tension. But still better than the first two, at least.
Profile Image for Jason Harlow.
160 reviews11 followers
July 2, 2024
Stay out of the ravine! This early entry into the Fear Street series is pretty much what you'd expect from a late 80's/early 90's R.L. Stine book, but I found myself pleasantly surprised throughout this one. The story follows the Shadyside High Outdoor Club which consists of female protagonist Della, as well as best friend Maia and ex-boyfriend Gary, who has gotten a little too close with Suki lately. When chaperone Mr. Abner flakes on the scheduled trip to Fear Island due to a family emergency, Suki suggests they go without him. Although not much new is on display here as far as the "I saw what you did" plot device is concerned, this was a solid 90's thriller with a wildly creepy antagonist. Be prepared to suspend your disbelief, however, as we all know the R.L. Stine of this era would often times go above and beyond (even somewhat defying reality) all for the sake of a fun plot twist.
Profile Image for Mariana.
422 reviews1,881 followers
July 1, 2021
3.5 La verdad le pongo 4 estrellas porque me acordé de que Pete fue uno de mis crushes de infancia. Esta historia es para fans de "Sé lo que hicieron el verano pasado" pues básicamente sigue esa premisa. A diferencia que el libro pasado, en donde todos los personajes me cayeron mal, aquí todos me gustan: hasta la pobre de Maia que sufre de unos padres estrictos y sobreprotectores. Mi mayor crítica es que el final es abrupto y algo anticlimático, pero igual disfruté la lectura.
Profile Image for Obsidian.
3,052 reviews1,090 followers
July 1, 2021
So weird to say that a Fear Street book did not have enough gore or murders going on. This was actually a pretty pat read and there were no surprises here. I was honestly a bit disappointed, but still liked the lovely vibe of the Fear Street books that I recall from my pre-teen/teen years.

"Overnight" follows teen Della who is part of an Outdoor Club at Shadyside High (oh Shadyside, more body counts than Sunnydale High School) with a couple of other teens which includes her now ex-boyfriend Gary. Della is looking forward to an overnight on Fear Island (why people why?) and hopes she can use that time to make up with Gary. But when the club's advisor has to cancel, the teens all decide to go anyway (dun dun dun) and a stranger appears who threatens Della. When an accident befalls, the teens all decide to lie about what happens, but it appears someone knows what they did (hello shades of I Know What You Did Last Summer) and the teens race to find out who knows what happened before one of them are harmed.

I liked Della, and I think this is the first book that brings up Suki Thomas who pops up in a later book I am blanking on now. Della though doesn't have a lot of personality I think. She wants to be with Gary. She seems sporty, and is indecisive about another guy who likes her since he is too "preppy" for her.

Gary is fitting that teen trope of leader of the pack, but dubiously. I actually liked Pete (preppy) more since he had some sense. Maia got annoying fast. She's fitting that girl who screams and cries through a whole horror movie trope. The other teens were all right, but nothing shocking or revealing.

Of course the writing and scenes are dated, this was published in 1989. People said "rad" and I refuse to believe that was a word that was ever uttered by a teen. LOL. And of course because of the time period things like cell phones don't exist. There's even a scene involving an actual camera that had me go wow.

As I said above this book was a paint by numbers with no real reveals which made me wonder if R.L. Stine did write this since he's pretty hard core about his Fear Street body counts.
Profile Image for Scott Rhee.
2,097 reviews112 followers
September 13, 2024
The six students in the Nature Club are stoked to go on an overnight camping trip on Fear Island, but when the only adult chaperone is called away on a family emergency for the weekend, it looks like the camping trip is cancelled.

Then again, who needs adult chaperones, right?

The third book in R.L. Stine's late-80s young adult horror series Fear Street, "The Overnight" is a decent enough thriller. Somewhat predictable, more than a bit cheesy, Stine's novel still delivers a few decent jump scares and plot twists to keep readers engaged.

It probably helps if you're a young reader who hasn't read a lot of other more sophisticated adult thrillers. Also, it may help if you are still living in the '80s.
Profile Image for Roxie Voorhees.
Author 20 books126 followers
January 16, 2020
Now we are cookin!
In the third story of the Fear Street series, Mr. Stine has kicked up the dark factor. In the previous stories, violent scenes were mainly past occurrences that were talked about by characters, but not current events. This one changed that.

Della, a normal teenage girl, and five friends set out to the first overnight camping adventure even after their adviser cancels on them. Everything is going normal on Fear Island until an unknown hand grabs Della which ends in her sending the assailant over the edge of the ravine. Convinced she killed this man, the six of them cover the body in leaves and strike a pact The Secret of Fear Island.

After returning home, Della begins to receive threats and is even taken on a high speed chase. When The Outdoor Club figures out they left vital evidence behind with the body, they go back to Fear Island (with their adviser this time). Not much time passes before violence occurs again and the truth about the mysterious guy is figured out.

This story is fast paced and kept me hooked. I enjoyed reading it and will probably revisit it in the future.
Profile Image for xokaebee.
163 reviews1 follower
April 13, 2017
Reactions!

Chapter 1 - Ugh. Della.

Chapter 2 - Ugh. Ricky. It's like camping with someone's dad who won't stop talking.

Chapter 4 - Ugh. Flirting. With an unbalanced stranger in the creepy wood.

Chapter 5 - Is he jabbing the ZAP gun into her spine? It's full of paint! What's the big deal? Is her jacket dry clean only? Also, #sorrynotsorry maybe-rapist but I don't feel bad for you.

Chapter 6 - Re: this ceremony of secrecy. C'mon, Gary. It's not a ceremony unless you burn something or chant or bleed on each other. Right?

Chapter 7 - Why are they freaking out about the disappeared canoes when they can see tracks? They can just follow the tracks to their new location.

Chapter 8 - I really want to bring back "cool your jets." Also, moving leaves around is hardly "unburying" -- the freaking wind could do that!

Chapter 9 - I LOVE how obsessed RL Stine is with Suki's fashion choices. #sweater

Chapter 10 - Loved the description of Della and Gary freezing like they had been caught on film.

Chapter 11 - Rad hair, Suki. All these kids need to be medicated. They're freaking out one second and then asking each other to sock hops the next. They're on an abandoned road being chased by someone who's ramming their car and then laughing about it? Della would make a terrible criminal mastermind. She's the Mr. Bean of criminal masterminds. She's spraying people with paint, leaving behind ZAP guns, half-assedly burying bodies in leaves, leaving her fingerprints on cars...

Chapter 12 - In which I suspect Gary of being behind the wheel and Mr. Abner of being a suspicious, pushy creep. Also, why did it take months to have a one-night sleepover outside? Oh, this is when they realize she left behind the gun. I blame Gary. He was the last one on pulse check.

Chapter 13 - Abner's creeping me out. "Maia, stay here with me. Everyone else, go look for lots of wood for a long time." I'm paraphrasing, but still. Also, his insistence that Della and Pete were going to go at it in the woods. You scamps! You kids with your MTV and woods sex! Were there no cars and makeout points in the 80s?

Chapter 14 - LOL. This is horrible but when they find Maia screaming on her knees next to Mr. Abner, I was horrified. But then we found out he was just bleeding from a serious head wound and I was like, ok. Della's epiphany that a tactical flashlight could be used as a weapon and then giving away her location like a newb.

Chapter 17 - Della is running through the woods and has an ADHD moment and thinks about how fast she's running. This is not the mind of someone running for her life.

The dead guy's not dead and the cop from Chicago takes him away. Della and Pete live happily ever after with their terrible, boring jokes. The end.

I give it 1 cooled jet out of 5.
Profile Image for julia ☆ [owls reads].
1,920 reviews397 followers
July 28, 2021
The Overnight was good! Really liked that it took place on an island with spooky woods and how the ~mystery was developed.
Profile Image for Benji's Books.
368 reviews6 followers
July 10, 2024
Essentially a faster-paced version of the 1973 novel, "I Know What You Did Last Summer" by Lois Duncan. Actually.

Someone gets un-alived and so this group of teens decides to keep it a secret. One of them even gets a letter in the mail that reads, "I SAW WHAT YOU DID" or some such thing.

Pretty enjoyable. Recommended
Profile Image for Elizabeth Sagewood.
71 reviews26 followers
May 13, 2022
There! Now this one is the first that really deals like Stine got into the groove of Fear Street. The first was ok, the second was better but this one truly feels like the Fear Street I remember.
This one was actually pretty suspenseful and I loved that the majority took place during a camping trip. It had all the spooky feels and the antagonist was totally creepy. I really enjoyed this instalment. Like I always say, it’s formulaic and familiar. Easy to read and the writing is getting better with each book. There’s just something about these, (maybe it’s the simplicity) that keeps me coming back for more. 4/5
Profile Image for Jess.
663 reviews15 followers
September 8, 2021
Yawn.

I had high hopes for this one, but the only good thing I can really say for it is it was very short.

There were a couple of creepy moments when Della heard someone creeping around outside her tent and when there was the knocks at the door, but the plot was way too predictable with no twists or anything, and I was a bit bored.

I’d have enjoyed this a lot more if it was all about the camping and they didn’t go home in between. And if the murderer guy was explained a bit more. And if creepier things happened in the woods.

Also, I was convinced for a minute that Maia was a bad guy. Would’ve been a nice twist.

Oh well. You can’t win ‘em all.
Profile Image for Erica Leigh.
645 reviews44 followers
May 1, 2023
I Know What You Did Last Summer but its an outdoors club (lol) camping on Fear Island. The IKWYDLS vibes are already strong in the beginning, but I died when I got to the I SAW WHAT YOU DID part.

Also: there’s a Fear Island??

Stine can’t help himself—we get another fake death in this one and even the Bad Guy pulls a mini prank with that Zap Gun.

I did enjoy this though! A little predictable, yes, but it’s a well-paced and entertaining teen thriller.

This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Gabby Saraceno.
143 reviews2 followers
August 31, 2021
I had fun with this one! That scene in the woods with Della and “The Stranger” was creepy! I’d like to take this book camping, I think
23 reviews
January 29, 2013
Book 3 in the Fear Street series. Another half decent book. This one doesn't start with the same type of first chapter as the first 2... it just gets right into the main character. Her name is Della and she recently got angry at her boyfriend Gary and broke up with him, thinking it would blow over by the time prom came around. But the prom came and went and he was still gone. Della and her friend Maia are apart of the outdoors club along with Gary, Suki (this girl who is all over Gary now, Pete (has a crush on Della) and Ricky ( just a joker ). The outdoors club is having an overnight on Fear Island and Della thinks this will be the perfect time to make up with Gary. Mr. Adner, the teacher who is coming with on the overnight suddenly has to cancel, but the kids decide to go anyway and think it will be awesome without a chaperon. Maia is wary because her parents are very strict and she is afraid they will find out. Della convinces her and promises nothing will happen. So they go to Fear Island and once there Ricky pulls out some Zap guns... these guns shoot sprays of paint... kind of like a low quality paintball game. Its boys vs girls and eventually Della gets lost. A stranger comes out of nowhere and starts getting tough with Della, he is a handsome man with a necklace of a few bones, she ends up pushing him off a ravine and her and her friends think he is dead. They cover him up with leaves and go back to camp to eat and sleep before going home the next day. That night Della thinks she hears someone outside her tent she looks and sees no one but all their bags have been ransacked. Della and her friends make a pact to keep the death of the guy their secret. Over the next few days Della gets a letter saying I saw what you did and a piece of the dead guys necklace in an envelope. Gary receives a piece as well. Both Della and Gary notice that their wallets are gone. The gang meet up at Della house and the stranger keeps knocking on the door and when they open it no one is there. Pete shows up and shows them a newspaper thing about two men who killed a guy thinking he had a bunch of money and fled. The police sketch is the guy that Della killed so they think it her his partner doing the threatening, but what does he want? Della and Pete go on a date one night and a madman in a car tries to run them off the road. He eventually crashes but no one is in the driver seat by the time Della and Pete get to the car. One day Ricky asks Della for his Zap gun back and she realizes she left it by the body. Mr. Adner re-plans the overnight and they all agree to go so Della can get the Zap gun. They get there and go for a big hike, when they get back to camp Della and Pete try to sneak off while everyone is collecting firewood, but he catches Della and Pete and tells them to stay close to camp. They try again a short while later but hear Maia scream. Mr. Adner was hit over the head and is knocked out. Gary, Suki and Ricky take a canoe and go back to town for help. Maia stays with Mr. Adner and so does Pete. Della makes her way back to the ravine but finds no body. Suddenly the guy she killed shows up again. He says he has a faint heartbeat and that's why they thought he was dead. He says that him and his partner wanted to blackmail everyone's parents for money because their last plan got them nothing. He pulls out a pistol and shoots at Della, but its just the missing Zap gun. He starts to attack her and Pete shows up, blinds him with a flashlight and Della sprays him in the eyes. They run back to camp and cops arrest the guy and search the island for his partner. It ends good with Della getting over Gary and I guess starting with Pete. So everything works out, another good fear street book.
Profile Image for Evelyn.
199 reviews33 followers
July 18, 2019
This was a super fun read!

It definitely gave me the 90’s/2000’s slasher vibes and it really kept me guessing until the end! Although I wish the actual “big event” that the story centered around was a bit more exciting, I loved the fact that even after the kids came home and thought they were done with it, the horror followed them home and they were eventually forced to face it head on once again! Going back to the constantly guessing part, I really liked all the red herrings R.L. Stine threw in throughout the book:certain characters saying certain things to make you think “OMG...it’s definitely them!” I said this a few times while reading. In the end, the twist/payoff was a bit of a bummer and I was still left wondering WHY. This was the reason for the 4 stars instead of 5 but overall it was really fun!
Profile Image for Alexa.
134 reviews6 followers
August 5, 2021
This was a great read! I had a lot of fun with this one and it was giving me “I Know What You Did Last Summer” vibes. The ending wasn’t quite what I thought it was going to be, but I enjoyed that because it was a nice surprise. I would definitely recommend this to others!
October 11, 2015
Man... R.L. Stine is awesome. I love all his books that I have read so far. There just seemed to be something lacking in this story. It didn't seem to grip me like all the rest do. While the story line was still interesting and the characters differences came together perfectly, I just feel like there could have been more to the story to make it more scary I suppose... Or, I'm just possible use to just his ghost-y stories and am spoiled with those. Lol
Profile Image for Ken.
2,419 reviews1,365 followers
April 29, 2018
When Della and her friends decided to have an overnight stay on Fear Island. Without any adults around, it will be harmless fun.
But Della gets lost in the woods, when a threatening stranger appears she panics and hits him. Realising that she had killed him, Della and her friends try to hind the awful truth.

This instalment of Fear Street heavily relies on I Know What You Did Last Summer.
It’s a perfectly serviceable addition to the series.
Can be easily read in a day.
Profile Image for itchy.
2,539 reviews30 followers
November 6, 2019
can't find #2, had to skip it.

p70: frustrated, she banged it against the side of her jeans leg.
Profile Image for Austin Smith.
526 reviews55 followers
October 8, 2023
2.5⭐

The first 30 pages of this sucked, the middle 70-80 pages were awesome, and the last 30 pages sucked.
Profile Image for Laura.
1,089 reviews35 followers
January 10, 2023
Franchement pas top cette série d'ouvrages, ça ne valait pas le coup de les rééditer "grâce" à l'adaptation Netflix.
Profile Image for Stephheartsbooks .
446 reviews17 followers
November 1, 2021
Della and her friends are apart of The Outdoor Club. They sneak onto Fear Island for an overnight trip and things go south.
The Overnight gave me thrills and chills. Set mostly outdoors it was atmospheric and spooky. A nice walk down memory lane with this one as I used to read Fear Street books when I was a child.
Profile Image for Jason Korbus.
16 reviews18 followers
July 30, 2016
2.75/5

Della and the rest of the Outdoors Club are supposed to be heading out to Fear Island for an overnight adventure, but their chaperone drops out and cancels their excursion at the last minute. Determined not to miss out on a wild night, the gang decides to go by themselves. It's a decision they live to regret. It's Fear Street, y'all!

I found this story a little tough to get into, as Della is yet another weak female character of the RL Stine catalog whose whole world revolves around a boy (that she broke up with, but assumes will be able to win back on the upcoming camping trip) and her life just won't make sense to her until they're back together. I know many of these books were written in the 90s, and I'm sure some readers find them relatable, but that particular theme is one I continue to think is lame.

It gets better after an unexpected character shows up, a homicide soon follows, and an oath is sworn to never divulge a certain secret. More fun starts when someone who claims to know the secret leaves notes, as well as evidence of their knowledge, for Della and the supporting characters, and even begins stalking them around town. Our protagonists proceed to freak the f out.

What prevented me from ultimately enjoying the book more was that, what felt like a "whodunit" style mystery is tossed aside for a very unsatisfying conclusion wherein you never actually learn much about the antagonist. Who was this secret someone who saw what happened and tormented Della and the Outdoors Club? Apparently just some random person with no ties to anyone in the story. You never even learn a name. Incredibly frustrating!

At the same time, it's a book for teens, it's Fear Street, and thus classic Stine. So if you've read any of his other Fear Street books, you basically know what you're getting into. Despite my complaints, I enjoy the nostalgia, and will keep reading.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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