Fear Street Super Chiller #4: Broken Hearts

There’s someone out there, someone who kills on Valentine’s Day. Josie and Melissa are scared — especially when they receive threatening valentines. Then the murders begin. Who is sending these horrible valentines to the girls of Shadyside High? And who will be the next to die?

GOT U COVERED 📒

Author: R.L Stine

Published: 1993

Series: Fear Street: Super Chiller

Tagline: Valentine’s Day can be a killer.

Description: A girl in a light pink jacket stands at her open locker, gasping at the words written: You’re Dead

“On the inside of the locker door, someone had painted a large, broken valentine heart. Smeared dots of bright red blood dripped from the heart. Scrawled in the thick red paint at the bottom were the words: YOU’RE DEAD.” - pg. 198

SYNOPSIS 📖

After a tragic horse riding accident leaves Josie’s twin sister, Rachel cognitively disabled, the McClain family hasn’t been the same. Rachel requires full time care, but the family can only afford a caretaker on the weekends. The parents are always working to keep the household afloat and not home much, so during the week the responsibility falls largely on Josie and her younger sister, Erica to be there for Rachel’s needs.

Josie feels it’s unfair. Why should she have to give up her life and look after her sister? Every occasion she gets, she shifts all the responsibility on a frustrated Erica and Rachel’s ex-boyfriend Luke. Coming up with lame excuses to not do it. So what? She just wants to have fun, be with her new boyfriend and enjoy the days leading up to Valentine’s Day like every other teen girl. After all, it’s not her fault the accident happened. Their former friend, Melissa is to blame, isn’t she?

But someone is also waiting for Valentine’s Day. They have a special gift in store for Josie…revenge.

After Josie receives ominous Valentine’s Day letters, she’s convinced the threats are real and that her days are numbered.

But is she really in danger? Does somebody want her heart to take its last beat?

“But those valentines. They all said I’d die today.

A stupid joke Josie…A horrible, stupid joke. Don’t worry.

But I am worried…I’m very worried…” - pg. 112

THOUGHTS 💭

This is the first Super Chiller book I’ve read within the Fear Street series so I had no idea what to expect. The more chapters I read, the more I understood why it’s under that series. This book upped the body count, is significantly more creepier and even included an animal death🔪🐕 . Yip, you’ve been warned. However, don’t let that break your heart for too long because this book is well worth the read.

The pacing was pretty interesting and quite engaging for a Fear Street book. It was divided into two parts. Each focusing on a different main character enveloped in the mystery. From the prologue it flashed a few months forward to part one, then forward again by another year to part two. By the time I had reached the last few chapters, it felt like I had actually spent a full year with these characters.

R.L Stine sure knows how to write a selfish, whiny “but what about me” teen girl that you’ll definitely NOT root for to make it to the very end. Josie is the worst and has no redeeming qualities. The way she treats her younger sister Erica and neglects Rachel only made me want her to die and because this book was bolder, I wanted it to be bloody and brutal.

Erica had my sympathy throughout. I felt quite bad for her. She’s the only one who steps up to the plate to take care of Rachel, but as a result isn’t able to live her life. Often being excluded from partaking and experiencing formative and fundamental high school activities. Ironically, she is just as restricted as Rachel is and can’t seem to do anything about it. This weighs heavily on her conscience and makes her feel resentful towards everyone, including Rachel.

Speaking of Rachel, she added SO MUCH creepiness 😱 to the book. The last time I was creeped out by an incapacitated-sister-type character was Zelda in the Pet Semetary movie. Rachel gave me that same eerie chill down my spine. Her child-like behaviour, random outbursts, obscure observations and constant hair brushing was a great character choice that not only unsettled the other characters in the book, but myself included.

Other creepy elements included: the ominous Valentine’s Day cards which were very reminiscent of the movie Valentine (a personal beloved classic), the crackling voices and laughter that could be heard from the home’s intercom system, and of course the fatal stabbing of the dog.

I must say this book got me with the killer’s reveal. Up until the final moments I still had no idea who it could be. The red herrings were set up pretty well and the motive was actually pretty understandable and believable. 

I give this book a B+

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