Another Awesome book the Amazing R.L. Stine
I have always been a fan of his and I am so happy that there are new books coming out from him, i love how they are so much fun to read, have so much nostalgia for me and also are around for the kids nowadays :)

We have Amy and her brother Arnie and boy is he a Monster!!!!!
I am an only child but I have heard of so many brother-sister relationships esp with a little brother and boy are they rough at times. The little brothers' can be so annoying and cause their big sisters so many issues and play tricks on them. But this might be different.
Arnie has such a bad attitude and even annoys me as a reader. lol (good jok Stine for doing such a great job on this).
Amy and her friend wants to get "revenge" on her brother and by the title i bet you can guess that slime might be involved.......
Fun plot twist.

I do feel like these newer books feel kinda rushed compared to the OG books, but that could be that I am older now and reading them. But I still am enjoying them and think kids will also.

Next book from Stine will be Stinetinglers 3: More Chilling Stories by the Master of Scary Tales and it comes out August 27 2024, and then Goosebumps House of Shivers
Night of the Living Mummy which comes out on Sept 3rd 2024, can wait. :)

I am so glad to have been able to read this book, special thanks to the publisher (R.L. Stine) and NetGalley for the opportunity. The above is my own honest review and is voluntary.

I had a ton of fun with this one. I read it right before Halloween and it was perfect for spooky season. I didn’t read a lot of R.L. Stine when I was younger so I’m making up for it now. I can’t wait to read more and share the experience with my kids!

Honestly, it's hard to go wrong with RL Stine. 'Slime Doesn't Pay' is an entertaining read for young readers, filled with suspense and quirky characters. The book effectively blends elements of mystery and humour, making it an engaging choice for teens looking for a light-hearted yet thrilling story.

My review is probably biased but like so many others, I grew up reading Goosebumps as my first intro into horror- and I still love the creepy little stories as an adult! This is my second (I think?) "new" Goosebumps book and I plan to buy them both for my bookshelf at home. Lighthearted "young" horror that is going to create so many more horror fans. This book is my favorite so far, I love the eerie vibes! I definitely recommend for all the OG Goosebumpers out there!

i loved RL Stine books growing up so this was a very nostalgic story!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC!

This book takes a bratty little brother to a whole new level. Young readers with annoying siblings will relate to the issues Arnie creates for his older sister Amy. Most of the book is full of mean-spirited pranks which begins when he ruins Amy’s sleepover with three of her friends. He torments kids at school and gets kicked off his soccer team. Amy spends most of the book fuming that Arnie is out of control and laughs when he doesn’t respond to stern talks from their parents. The opening pages of the book foreshadow when she’ll do something terrible to get revenge and Amy will remind readers throughout the chapters to develop anticipation.
Most authors provide clues about a monster before having it make an appearance, but interestingly enough, a creature is introduced very early in this plot. Amy is the only character who sees it, and another monster later, so most of them start to suspect she’s imagining things. They doubt her even though there is damage to her clothes, injuries on her body, and black spines atop a pizza. Another creature attacks her later but it doesn’t look anything like the first one. This brings up the possibility that there may be more than one.
The synopsis summarizes most of the book so I’m not giving away any spoilers. This book is definitely a family-friendly version of Stine’s spooky novels as the fright and scariness never go too far. Amy’s scratches are the worst physical harm readers will encounter and her family and friends are key participants in the plot. Amy confides in her friends for support as they’re well aware of the mental trauma her brother creates. Her parents are sympathetic but they don’t have any useful suggestions for handling Arnie. The title indicates slime will have a major role in the story although readers don’t know the details and consequences.
What didn’t work as well:
Arnie’s bratty behavior can wear on readers’ nerves as he relentlessly harasses his sister and classmates. It begins to feel like overkill as the author stresses Arnie’s horrible antics beyond what is necessary. His character is clearly evil. However, the story’s resolution reveals why the author overdoes the description and it will all make sense in the end. The synopsis shares way too much information!
The final verdict:
This book is actually an excellent introduction to Stine’s novels. It’s not too scary but still gives young readers a taste of his style. It’s an enjoyable tale of monsters and slime and I recommend you give it a shot.

Another R. L. Stine winner! I know I’m an older reader but I enjoyed this book as I typically do for any written by Mr. Stine! I loved the characters as they are super relatable for young people.

I haven’t read an R.L. Stine book in YEARS so I was hyped when I saw I was approved for it. It’s under 300pgs so reading goes really fast – which considering it’s a middle grade book makes sense, obviously. So while I managed to read it quickly enough, it unfortunately wasn’t a pleasant read. I disliked all of the characters and couldn’t get myself to try to like any of them. It seemed like the main character’s main personality trait was disliking her brother, and she didn’t have any other real traits. Maybe liking theatre could be her other trait, I guess.

There was something big that happened which is linked to the biggest spoiler – so of course I won’t say it. But I didn’t like how they handled it and spoke about it. It revolves around a specific topic and (in my opinion) what they said didn’t paint the topic in a good light. They didn’t outright say that said topic was bad; just their way of handling it I wasn’t a fan of. If you really want to know, just message me privately and I’ll tell you.

The story wasn’t wrapped up nearly . It seemed like it just stopped right after the plot twist and that was that. It also just… praised Arnie’s bad behaviour (even after we knew the cause of it) in a way I didn’t like.

I don’t have anything else to say other that at least it was a quick read? I do eventually want to reread the Goosebumps series. I only ever read whichever ones my library would have; so I have no idea how many I’ve read and I don’t remember all their titles precisely. Who knows when that’ll happen and if I like them or if that experience will mirror this one.

I have been a fan of ghost bumps since the 2000s and R.L Stein's new work doesn't disappoint! If anything hjs writing has just gotten better! Couldn't put it down until I reached the ending. Will be looking forward to new R.L Stein releases in the future and can't wait to recommend this book to younger readers in my family!!

Such a cool story line with slime being such a popular thing these days. My 13 year old read it and said he really liked it. Now my slime obsessed daughter wants to read it!

This was a really good story in the beginning. The twist at the end was kind of disappointing, though. I would give Slime Doesn't Pay 3 out 5 stars.

Ah yes! This is the RL Stine we all know and love. I started reading this to my son who loves Goosebumps. He has ADHD and can be a bit of a menace. I had no idea the main character was going to be destructive and all out mean. I needed to know what happened next so I stopped reading it to him because I didn't want to wait for him to find out (and figured he didn't need ideas). The twist was really interesting and brought back my childhood of Goosebumps twists. Loved it!!! I'll definitely have to read him the rest of the book now.

Lissa and Amy were normal preteen girls who kept having their days ruined by Amy's brother. He really annoyed me at first and I kept getting frustrated that the parents were brushing her off and barely acknowledging that he wasn't behaving. Working with children with behaviors, I kept saying "this boy needs services!" But I loved the twist and why they kept brushing it off. Theres always a reason when it comes to RL Stine! Fantastic book!

You know those kids that always had goosebumps novels checked out of the library? Hi, it's me, I'm them. I have loved Stine ever since I was a kid and Slime Doesn't Pay was a wonderful revist to his writing. I think anyone who picks it up is bound to feel that same sense of creepy vibes. Whether you are reading it for nostalgia or you're a new Stine fan, you will love this.

Cute premise about annoying little brothers that is easily relatable to readers. Very quick read but not in a way where I missed out on anything. Classic goosebumps read. Actually wanted more!!

I love R. L. Stine's books but this one just fell short. I think this book would have been better as a Goosebump book instead of 254 page story.

The brother was horrible and I just thought it went on to long about how horrible he was, that part could have been shortened. It's a book about how the sister slimes her bother but that didn't even happen till after 60% of the book.

Then the ending was just kind of like okay that was dumb.
I still think that middle graders might enjoy it but it just wasn't like the R.L.. Stine books I love.

RL Stine is like a fine wine, he gets even better at what he does with age. Ofcourse nothing will ever top Slappy, but this was a fun read to share with my kids and kept them both hooked and guessing. Amy is your typical early teen girl. She wants a normal life with sleepovers with friends and shopping trips and baking sweets. Unfortunately, she has a little brother. Normally that would be a minor nuisance but Arnie is a Problem Child who could give THE Problem Child lessons and seems determined to ruin his sisters life. That may seem overdramatized but in this case is entirely accurate. The boy is quite literally, behaviorally speaking, a monster. He terrorizes his sister with seemingly glee and his parents allow it with an exasperated sort of resignation. I literally was thunderstruck by how far this child was allowed to go without any reproach from either adult. And when he quite literally goes beyond any realm of normal behavior both his mom and his dad seem to turn to his sister for guidance on how to deal with the dilemma. It’s a fun book but horrible parenting. These people are clearly unequipped to raise a child. Yikes. Anyway, fast paced, lots of mischief and mayhem, more than one surprise or jump moment and a lot of zany antics.

“I had to get revenge. I just didn’t know how frightening my revenge would be.”

Amy despises her little brother, Arnie, with a passion. He’s mean and self-centered, always playing pranks on her and her friends. Her parents have tried talking to him about his behavior, but between attempting to find jobs and struggling with money, it’s not at the forefront of their minds. Lately, however, Arnie has been getting on everyone’s nerves, including his parents, and Amy is at her breaking point. One night at a sleepover, Amy and her friends watch a slime tutorial. She gets a devilish idea to pour slime on him during his birthday party–an action she would soon regret.

The book starts off a little slow, but as you keep reading, the pace picks up. I find those types of books are always the best written. I liked that the author wrote sibling rivalry so well. Arnie is a frustrating character, and, personally, I love that about him. He doesn’t have many redeemable qualities, but when he actually puts effort into caring for other people, he’s so sweet he’ll melt your heart. I also loved Amy and Arnie’s characterizations. Both have had to deal with neglect from their parents and have coped with it in different ways. Arnie acts out for attention while Amy keeps to herself and ignores her family. The adolescent characters in this book act and sound like adolescent characters. The atmosphere of this book was well done. I was creeped out at some parts and the descriptions made me feel uneasy, which is perfect for the genre of the book. The scenes where Arnie becomes the villain of the story seemed a little rushed, and it was hard to keep up. The ending did fall flat for me and left some questions unanswered. The twist at the end was just okay, nothing groundbreaking. However, this was a fun, light spooky read that I highly recommend.

I've read a ton of books by RL stine and some are a ton of fun and others are a total flop. Unfortunately, for me this one falls into the latter category. I found Arnies character to be so unlikeable I almost quit reading. I didn't like the way the parents handled "dealing" or completely ignoring his behaviors either, even after getting the explanation at the end.

I really can't think of one redeeming quality of this particular read. The ending was abrupt and, to be honest pretty terrible. Even trying to put myself in the mindset of the intended readers age, there's no way I'd have cared for this one.

I can't be the only one that read a Goosebumps book as a child and was too scared to sleep for months!
I was so excited to receive a copy of this!
It was a short spooky book that I was able to read in one sitting.
Even though it's Middle Grade it still kept you guessing and I loved that! It just kept you turning pages!
This one was a story of Amy and her little brother Arnie who's nothing but a pest! Amy gets her revenge but things turn south quickly when there's more to Arnie then just his bad behaviour.
If your looking for some nostalgia or your wanting to gift someone special who loves a spooky read, this was great!

Amy is having her friends come to her house for a sleepover. Her friend Lissa’s has arrived early. Lisa has asked Amy if Marta is invited for the sleepover. Lissa is disappointed that Marta is as she thinks she is a snob. Meanwhile her younger brother, Arnie is planning to “prank” the sleepover. He has been having problems at school due to his accidentally hurting someone. For example he cuts a girl’s ponytail off. His dad is called to school. Even though the parents have talked to Arnie— he doesn’t pay any attention. He thought it was funny to cut off her ponytail. It’s one of his.less pranks that he did. He finally plays the last prank that Amy just can’t take anymore from him. What is the prank. She tells her mom that Arnie is a monster — not a normal little brother. She is so frustrated with her parents for not punishing him for his bad behavior, she has decided it is her turn to prank him. She comes up with the idea to cover her brother with slime at his birthday party. She figures he will be so embarrassed that it happen to him in front of his classmates, that he will think twice before pranking her. Lissa agrees to help her. What happens when she slimes her little brother? Is she glad that she did it? What did her mom say to her?

The story is scary and creepy at times. I couldn’t believe that she didn’t prank him before the time she does finally do it. I enjoyed the story as it remind me of the Goosebump series the author has written. The story is about family relationships, friendship, being bullied, and revenge. It is a fun book to read even during the scary parts.