Everyone's favorite ventriloquist's dummy is back in Goosebumps Slappyworld: My Friend Slappy by R.L. Stine. To be more precise, Scholastic released the book on October 6th, 2020, and due to unfortunate events, I am just now getting around to read to review it.

My Friend Slappy is the 12th installment of the newest incarnation of the Goosebumps franchise. Goosebumps SlappyWorld debuted in 2017 with Slappy as the narrator, and occasionally he plays the villain within whatever story he's telling. The main character in this tale is 6th grader Barton "Sluggs" Suggs. When he's not being bullied by his classmates Kelly and Travis, he's hanging out his only real friend, Lizzie Hellman. Well, that's until his father gives him a special present - a ventriloquist's dummy named Slappy!

Barton quickly learns that Slappy isn't your typical dummy, as he can walk and talk just like a human being, but there's a twist - Slappy is pure evil. Yep, that's right! At first, all Slappy wants to do is terrorize Barton, but he changes his mind once he learns the boy needs a best friend to show him how to get back at Kelly and Travis.

In the world of Goosebumps, the saying "Best Friend Forever" isn't a good thing, and poor Barton's new pal becomes a living nightmare for him.

Final Thoughts

I don't know about other Goosebumps readers, but I was starting to get a Slappy fatigue. Don't get me wrong, I love the character, but each new story involving a ventriloquist's dummy feels the same. A 12-year-old protagonist would either receive Slappy as a gift or somehow stumble upon Slappy by themself. Then Slappy comes to life and turns the kid's life upside down.

My Friend Slappy starts with the exact formula, but thanks to a few interesting twists, the story has a different outcome. Barton is the protagonist in this tale, and he's more fleshed out than typical your typical Goosebumps character would be. The poor kid has to deal with bullies and Slappy at the same time.

Overall, I enjoyed reading Goosebumps SlappyWorld: My Friend Slappy. It's one of the better entries in the Slappyworld series, but the "shocking" ending could have been better.