My Alien Parents: The shortest Stine book I have ever read!
Renowned Goosebumps author R. L. Stine published My Alien Parents along with Zombie Town (which got made into a film in 2023), The 13th Warning, The Creatures from Beyond Beyond, Three Faces of Me, and The Adventures of Shrinkman back in 2012, the same year as Red Rain. 2012 was a fairly busy year for Stine judging on his literary output!
These books are both familiar and different at the same time. On the one hand, each book’s cover art is illustrated by Goosebumps legend Tim Jacobus. They’re also pretty much written in the same style as the classic Goosebumps. What’s different is that they each have an introduction, detailing the inspiration for each story.
Each of the introductions I have read has been fun, honest – and yet not self-indulgent. They also detail some of the previous books that are similar to the one in your hands that Stine has written in the past.
In My Alien Parents, Stine recalls watching the movies It Came from Outer Space (1953) and War of The Worlds (1953), and how aliens are seen as the aggressors to Earth’s inhabitants – then he contrasts this with E.T (1982), where the people of earth are hostile to alien life. He also recalled back to when he wrote the 2-parter novel Attack of the Body Squeezers (1998). I was a little surprised not to find mention of Revenge of the Body Squeezers (1999) or Ghosts of Fear Street: Body Switchers From Outer Space (1996) here, but that is only a minor point. Stine then claims he has always wanted to meet aliens, which was the inspiration for this title.
The prospect of reading about the inspiration behind Stine’s work is promising, but one thing that sticks out in my mind. My Alien Parents is incredibly short. With a page count of 44, is it worth parting with some cash? Let’s look at the plot and some of my thoughts.
Plot
The plot here is simple. Rob wakes up from the calls downstairs from his mother telling him breakfast is ready. He notices that his room is a little different, but can’t put his finger on how. He then spots it! His parents have put up a band poster of a band he hates in his room. Why in the heck?
Rob then goes down to the breakfast table to quiz his parents. However, this first question becomes less important when he notices that his parents are acting completely out of character! Their eating habits and temperament completely change. They seem not to remember anything about their son – or care about their pet dog which may be missing!
Convinced that his parents are aliens, Rob decides that he needs to collect proof. When his dad goes to the lumber store (this is the least DIY-orientated human Rob knows!), Rob spies on his mom and collects notes to hand in to the police. Will he be able to prove his parents have been replaced by aliens? Or has he just lost touch with reality?
Review
This book is tiny and probably will take you half an hour to read. As a result of its short length, there is no time to build tension – heading the reader straight into the action. The plot is less horror, but more sci-fi mystery. Nothing is as it seems, and there is a decent twist at the end.
In sum, I really enjoyed this book. It is fun, fast, and full of clichés with added nostalgic charm! It has the twists and turns of a classic Goosebumps book, and packs a lot into such a small package. I got my hands on this as a Christmas gift in 2023. If I didn’t however, I would still part with my money to read it.
