CREDIT: GOOSEBUMPS
They may not give you goosebumps anymore, but Goosebumps books are still fun to read.

Okay, so maybe feeling your ears turn red and your cheeks flush when you sit in the library straining to read the latest Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends picture book is natural, but some titles transcend age quite seamlessly.

Whether it's our all-grown-up ability to see subtext within the contents of young readers' books, or maybe just the amusement drawn from camp value, picking up and being hooked on these books shouldn't be a source of embarrassment to you.

The Goosebumps series by R.L. Stine
R.L. Stine (yes that is his real name) created an entire generation's source of reading listapproved scares. Though the series may be waning a bit in popularity with the current generation of kids, it's enjoying a resurgence in popularity with its original, now adult, audience. And why not? The numerous volumes of the Goosebumps catalogue pack more than their fair share of trite, eyerolling, “oh, brother” moments, but, begrudgingly, most will admit that the series had some creative premises and genuinely creepy moments that should still raise a few hairs on your neck.

Anything by Gordon Korman
This Canuck's long line of boyhood adventure stories are a throwback to the days of being 12, when adult freedom meant playing video games as late as you wanted while chowing down on the opposite of what the doctor ordered, instead of becoming bill-shucking, tax-paying miserable zombies. The MacDonald Hall series offers a cast of amusing young lads in a boarding school, following their misadventures. No Coins, Please is the story of a young boy on a field trip, and his goal to milk the gullible of their money through harmless schemes. Either way, the general idea behind the breadth of Korman's writing is that the average 12-year-old boy is a lot smarter than one might assume.

Holes by Louis Sachar
You've either read this book in eighth grade, or seen the movie starring that kid from Even Stevens who definitely did not act in anything since, nope, nothing at all. Holes tucked a decent number of awards under its belt, and for good reason. The book, in reality, is a prison novel. Hell, the unfortunate (and cursed by a gypsy generations ago) protagonist, Stanley Yelnats, is shipped off to a reform camp for wayward youth that's ruled by a tyrannical witch of a warden. The book carries a surprising amount of solid storytelling under its hood, despite its slightly clumsy handling of anti-racism. You'll definitely appreciate the darker aspects of the narrative, which, unlike most kids' books, gives zero guarantee that the characters will get out of harm's way. It's a great way to kill an afternoon; if it doesn't give you a rush of nostalgia, the better qualities of the book will definitely do more than placate you.

Love You Forever by Robert Munsch
Actually, you know what, stay the hell away from this book. What's disguised as a sentimental story for young 'uns is actually a nefarious tool designed to guarantee any adult of sound mind and body to be reduced to a sobbing, wailing, miserable mess in the course of 30 pages. It's a wallop of an emotional punch.

Reading Between The Lines explores books that you may have missed out on that are worth your while. If you have a book to suggest, email Eshaan at e_gupta@fanshaweonline.ca.