#52 "It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a... kid?"
Poor Jack, he gets picked on and made to feel like a total loser all the time. But things begin to change for Jack when he finds a really cool book called Flying Lessons. It's supposedly teaches humans how to fly. And Jack is learning quickly. But maybe he's in over his head this time. ( )

Goosebumps. This is the series that kept me reading through my childhood. More than any other series, Goosebumps kept me interested in reading, and R.L. Stein is a wonderful children's writer. I applaud his efforts, and can't express enough my gratitude for the series. ( )

This is another book from out of my childhood, and this one I largely remembered. I wasn't overly fond of the book then, nor am I now, but it stuck with me if only for the novelty of flying. Which... yeah, that's the whole point of the book, I suppose.

Jack Johnson is a bit of a loser. He's obsessed with this girl, Mia, who prefers the more macho behavior of Wilson. Wilson is the bane of young Jack's existence, the living embodiment of "anything you can do I can do better." This competition is largely one-sided until finally Wilson pushes it too far, publicly humiliating Jack in front of Mia at her birthday party. Jack runs from the house in his woe, goes to an abandoned shack, and finds a book called Flying Lessons about how humans can learn to fly. Naturally, he then decides to learn how.. This will show Wilson, of course.

Or will it?

[b: How I Learned to Fly|125570|How I Learned To Fly (Goosebumps, #52)|R.L. Stine|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1328867230s/125570.jpg|1964297], while being a ridiculous and choppy book, does succeed in having what is possibly the very best of the Goosebumps ending. It's a great twist, and a great moral lesson in the end. While I can't really recommend the book, I'll always be fond of it for its ending. ( )

## It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a... kid?

How I Learned to Fly is far more enjoyable than the weak cover and even weaker title had me expect. (I purposely avoided this book as a kid, thinking it looked lame.) As far as Goosebumps goes, this entry is more about characters growing up and dealing with the social pressures and anxieties surrounding puberty than the usual monsters, ghosts, witches, etc. It's about your regular, likable kid -- Jack Johnson -- dealing with a competitive, cruel 'friend' named Wilson, while trying to navigate his relationship with crush Mia Montez.

[N.B. This review includes images, and was formatted for my site, dendrobibliography -- located here.]

Wilson's the most terrifying thing about this story. He's a malicious bully who masquerades as Jack's friend, manipulating everyone around him for his own pleasure. He's a young psychopath-in-training, with no regard for anyone else but himself, who uses all his friends as tools to get what he wants -- including Mia. Still, it's not quite Goosebumps without something fantastical or physically creepy, is it?

Jack suffers serious heartbreak early on, when Wilson embarrasses him into running away from Mia's birthday party. Jack tries to cool off by hiding in an abandoned, decrepit home, where he finds a book called Flying Lessons: An ancient tome promising a secret to achieving human flight. Of course, he doesn't believe a word of it, but decides to do the instructed exercises and recipe out of boredom, and, of course (this being Goosebumps), it works! He can fly!

For a while, he keeps it a secret, slowly working up a plan to finally one-up his nemesis with a very public race. Wilson, being who he is, comes prepared. The power of flight also brings a few other unwanted things to Jack's life, most notably fame. Everyone starts making demands of him; even his parents forget he's his own person. And that, like Wilson, ends up being another unexpected horror of this story.

## "These people are scientists from the university," the nurse started to explain. "They've heard about your...uh...special talent. And they want to examine you and Wilson."
## I took a step back.
## One of the men moved toward me. "If you really can fly, think of how useful you can be to our government–perhaps as a secret weapon against our enemies."
## I swallowed hard.
## The woman in the khaki pants stuck our her hand. "Come with us, Jack." She shot a nervous glance at the others. "Nothing bad will happen to you."

It's a good story for younger readers, but it also doesn't quite fit the Goosebumps branding. One aspect I disliked was the absolute vilification of scientists, who have no qualms abusing Jack and making threats against him just for being himself. There's no reason for it, no explanation: They're just evil agents of the military. Other than that, it's surprisingly touching, and one of the more developed Goosebumps stories. Just don't expect the series' trademark horror.

R.L. Stine's Goosebumps (1992–1997):
#51 Beware, the Snowman | # 53 Chicken Chicken ( )

Goosebumps. This is the series that kept me reading through my childhood. More than any other series, Goosebumps kept me interested in reading, and R.L. Stein is a wonderful children's writer. I applaud his efforts, and can't express enough my gratitude for the series. ( )