Just Beyond: The Scare School

by R. L. Stine, Nichole Matthews (Illustrator), Kelly Matthews (Illustrator)

Overview

Middle grade supernatural horror series takes young readers Just Beyond the reality they know...Just Beyond their normal lives...Just Beyond the real world to an always surprising place of fantasy and fright.

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Middle school feels like the worst place imaginable, but for Jess, Josh, and Marco, their school may actually be the worst place in this world... or any other!

After a chance encounter with a deadly creature stalking the school halls, these three unsuspecting students are whisked away to a horrifying realm beyond the school boiler room where they must unravel a terrifying mystery. Can they save the kids they find there and escape themselves, or will they be forever trapped Just Beyond?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781684154166
Publisher:	BOOM! Studios
Publication date:	09/03/2019
Series:	Just Beyond Series
Pages:	144
Sales rank:	642,230
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	GN270L (what's this?)
Age Range:	9 - 12 Years

About the Author

R. L. Stine has written more than two hundred thriller and horror books for children, teens, and adults. His Goosebumps series, which was the bestselling series of all time for many years, is widely considered the consummate horror series for kids, with more than four hundred million copies sold. Unusually prolific, he has written many other series, including Fear Street, Mostly Ghostly, and Rotten School, as well as other stand-alone books for people of all ages.

Hometown:

New York, New York

Date of Birth:

October 8, 1943

Place of Birth:

Columbus, Ohio

Education:

B.A., Ohio State University, 1965

Website:

http://www.rlstine.com

Editorial Reviews

08/01/2019

Gr 4–6—Twins Jess and Josh and their neighbor Marco discover a terrifying, unconscious creature shut away in an empty classroom. It awakens and chases them into a terrifying alternate reality school where middle schoolers are treated like very young children. The protagonists must work together to evade the principal and find a way home. This thrilling, compelling book is Stine's first original graphic novel and the first in a new series. Much like the author's "Goosebumps" books, each "Just Beyond" installment will follow a different set of characters. The bold palette combined with a minimalist drawing style will attract a wide range of readers. There are plenty of action sequences featuring scary monsters from the alter school and the principal, who resembles the trio's own principal. Unfortunately, plot holes may drive away stronger readers wishing for more exposition. It's unclear why the students in the alternate world are forced to act like little kids, studying coloring and building blocks. It is also never explained how in the opening sequence the three alternate children are able to escape into the real universe. VERDICT Strong on action and weak on details. Give to those who love "Goosebumps" or fans of Jarrett J. Krosoczka's "Lunch Lady" series who are looking for something more intense.—Jenni Frencham, Indiana University, Bloomington

School Library Journal

2019-06-16
Scaremeister Stine offers a graphic chiller about weird middle schools in parallel universes.

Dressed in infantilizing school uniforms with shorts and Mandarin jackets, Drake, Leeda, and their tag along, Buddy, find themselves in the parallel world of the Scare School, which has a very strange principal but more-conventionally attired students. Pursued by an insectile robot and betrayed by Buddy, an undercover captain in the student guard, Leeda and Drake are forced back into their own school universe to await an ominous punishment at the hands of the Master Dean. Back in the Scare School world, Jess, her twin brother, Josh, and his snarky best friend, Marco, accidentally fall into the portal that lands them in Leeda and Drake's school. Though the students in Leeda and Drake's school are also middle schoolers, their lessons are kindergarten level, as the Master Dean mysteriously keeps the students from growing up. After the kids from both realities are locked together in an empty room with bars on the window, they band together to destroy the Master Dean. This diverse cast includes brown-skinned Leeda and Marco; Drake, Jess, and Josh present white; the quisling Buddy presents Asian, unfortunately. The cluttered and confusingly paced illustrations have the feel of second-rate anime and do a disservice to this graphic-novel script, which has a bit of a Twilight Zone appeal. The open ending hints at a second installment that may offer more clues to this rather bizarre middle school wormhole.

Odd. (Graphic horror. 8-12)

Kirkus Reviews