Goosebumps – The Abominable Snowman of Pasadena is the 38th book in the original series order. This book has one good idea and it is not the Abominable Snowman but a strange mysterious snow with some magic powers to freeze and make more snow. The Abominable Snowman did nothing for me it really wasn’t scary at all, and was barely in the story. The only scary moments are when the kids get lost in a whiteout in Alaska with no shelter. This book takes place in Pasadena, California and Alaska. The hot and cold of the locations work well for the story, as they show the extremes of both sides of temperature. The is one of the weakest for a Goosebumps book. I did not like any of the side characters. This story feature the first divorced parents in a Goosebumps story. I did like the brother and sister relationship and wanted to see more of it. I did enjoy the pranks in this story, which I’m usually highly critical about but of the three pranks I enjoyed them all and thought they added to the story. The final twist was good, it was one that was set up earlier, and paid off pretty well. The Abominable Snowman of Pasadena by R. L. Stine was published on December 1 1995.
Plot Summary: Jordan and Nicole are super hot in Pasadena, California and dream of snow that they have not really seen. Their dad is a nature photographer who just got an assignment in Alaska to try to take photos of the Abominable Snowman. Jordan and is Sister Nicole think there’s no way they get to go but their babysitter can’t and their recently divorced mom is still settling in, so they get to go. The are in a very remote part of Alaska with a town that is one block long. The cabin they are staying at is 7 miles away which they walk to with their guide who has sled dogs. The guide is scared of the snowman who tells a tale of missing hunters. Jordan falls through a hole in the ice and has to be saved. At night they hear the dogs barking all night and see huge footprints the next day that was just a prank, that the guide doesn’t find funny and is ready to leave. They kids find a frozen stream that their dad wants to film, the guide gets spooked and leaves with all the food and most of the dogs the kids run after him and get lost in a whiteout. They’re in need of shelter until the fall in a hole that leads to a cave entrance where they find…

What I Liked: The pranks are great the fake footprints one was the best because of the guide’s reaction to it. The lost in the snow scene was described really well. I liked the brother sister relationship, there was love between them. I liked the idea of the of the magical snow a lot. I wish that idea was explained more.

What I Disliked: The Abominable Snowman was used horribly, it rarely in the book and when it is in the book it’s not well thought out. The twin neighbors and the fight was too real, then the dad sees his kid fighting and does nothing. The third act was just not very well written, feel like Stine liked the title and had to write the third act to fit. It made no sense to go back to pack to Pasadena. I feel like the character of Lauren was just thrown in randomly. The novel was not focused and the setup to go to Alaska took too long.

Rating and Recommendation: The Goosebumps series has had some hits and misses, that this book is a miss. I cannot recommend this book it is one of the worst books so far in the series. I think there’s a lot you can do with the Abominable Snowman, and this book could not think of one. The only clever moment was the temperature so drastically changing. I rated The Abominable Snowman of Pasadena by R. L. Stine 2 out of 5 stars. Here’s my full ranking of the 38 Goosebumps books that I have read in order to my favorite to least favorite: 1) A Night in Terror Tower, 2) Stay Out of the Basement, 3) The Headless Ghost, 4) Ghost Beach, 5) Piano Lessons Can Be Murder, 6) The Haunted Mask, 7) The Horror at Camp Jellyjam, 8) One Day At Horrorland, 9) Night of the Living Dummy, 10) Welcome to Camp Nightmare, 11) A Shocker on Shock Street, 12)The Phantom of the Auditorium, 13) It Came From Beneath the Sink, 14) The Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb, 15) Say Cheese and Die, 16) Let’s Get Invisible, 17) The Scarecrow Walks at Midnight, 18) Welcome to Dead House, 19) Monster Blood II, 20) The Girl who Cried Monster, 21)Deep Trouble, 22) The Ghost Next Door, 23)Night of the Living Dummy 2, 24) My Hairiest Adventure, 25) Be Careful What You Wish For… , 26) Return of the Mummy, 27) Why I’m Afraid of Bees, 28)The Haunted Mask II, 29)Attack of the Mutant, 30) Go Eat Worms!, 31) Revenge of the Lawn Gnomes, 32)The Werewolf of Fever Swamp, 33) Cuckoo Clock of Doom, 34) Monster Blood, 35) The Barking Ghost, 36) The Abominable Snowman of Pasadena, 37) You Can’t Scare Me!, and 38) Monster Blood III.