During the ‘90s, teen horror fiction was huge. Authors like R.L. Stine and Christopher Pike already had major hits, and Scholastic’s Point Horror was thriving. Recently I’ve made it my personal mission to collect and read as many of the titles from the decade as possible. This month, for Horror Bound’s “Wicked Love” week, I’m taking a look at Dream Date by Sinclair Smith.

Published under Scholastic’s enormously popular Point Horror banner in 1993, Dream Date follows lead character Katie Shaw as she meets the guy of her dreams, Heath Granger, in her dreams. Soon it appears Heath wants to be with Katie in the real world too and he will do anything to keep Katie for himself, even kill anybody who gets in his way.

From the opening pages, the story takes off running. What seems to be a setup for a typical stalker/obsession tale with a supernatural twist doesn’t take long to begin spiraling into an imaginative, action driven horror story. Along the way, fans of ‘80s and early ‘90s horror and thriller movies will have plenty to love about Dream Date. At various times, the book takes cues from The Crush, Nightmare on Elm Street, and Wes Craven’s underrated and often overlooked Shocker.

Katie Shaw is likable as Dream Date’s lead protagonist and shows a complete character arc from beginning to end, albeit one that Smith chooses to show in a not-so-subtle manner. The book even hints at a much more character driven horror story buried somewhere beneath the fast-paced plot. As Katie fights to stay awake, the story takes bizarre and grotesque turns and she begins to question what is real and what is imagined. Smith has written a novel that continues to build momentum and strangeness all the way to its inevitable over-the-top finale.

The fast pace of Dream Date is entertaining, but also serves as a downfall. The story would benefit from some breaks in the action that would give the reader time to think about what’s on the page. As it stands, Smith delivers a story that is riddled with too many ideas, making the second act resemble something like a collection of slapped-together scenes from popular horror movies. The writing style pulls the reader along in too many different directions, particularly leading up to the climax, not allowing a primary focus for the story.

As with most ‘90s teen horror books, a big reveal near the end explains who Heath really is and why he is doing what he does. The explanation is forced into the narrative, both for the reader and the characters. (This is a common structure choice for Point Horror titles, and something I enjoy about them). Once readers accept this plot point, the story barrels forward to a fiery conclusion and some of the most interesting scenes of the entire book.

All in all, Dream Date is a fun read with too many ideas. Smith doesn’t stay focused on any single thread long enough for any of them to have a big impact. The story eventually gets back on track near the end, but the book would have benefited from the mystery surrounding the antagonist’s identity and motivation being worked in earlier.

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