Item - Bugged Out!

Bugged Out! Is better than I expected. The title and cover made me think this was going to be some sort of “you’re disgusted by bugs, and they’re all over you!” Story. Instead, it’s sort of like a mystical version of The Fly. You get turned into a fly, but you seem to have your normal head, albeit very small. After you manage to convince your friend, you get your first split - go to the hospital, or go see your science teacher.

I liked this quite a bit. While I don’t feel that becoming a fly is a common fear, the book plays up most of the appropriate concerns. Everyone wants to swat flies. Files have a short lifespan. It’s hard to communicate. These are legitimate worries, and they work out very well. I can't say that I found it creepy, but I did find myself concerned for my safety.

There’s good internal consistency, with more than one path using the same general solution to your problem.

More reviews by Jordashebasics

The original Choose Your Own Nightmare series (1995-97) had many books that struggled with lack of internal continuity and substandard pacing, but could Bugged Out! buck the trend, considering its classic premise? Your everyday life gets a bounce of excitement when a gift arrives in the mail from your uncle Bill, an anthropologist on expedition in the rain forests of Brazil. The gift is a hyperrealistic fly mask used in ceremonies by an Amazon tribe Uncle Bill has interacted with. You invite your friend Emily—an insect enthusiast—to see the mask tomorrow morning, but you awaken to the horrifying reality that wearing the mask has transformed you into a tiny housefly. You can't speak except for buzzing sounds, but maybe you'll be able to improvise a way to communicate with Emily so she can help you return to your human self.

If you think an insect expert is your best bet, Emily transports you to school to see Mr. Scully, a science teacher who shares her interest in entomology. You've underestimated how hard it will be to survive school: at your size, almost every physical structure is a death trap. When Emily cuts her day short and goes to Mr. Scully outside of normal class hours, he scolds her for skipping other classes; can you show him you're human before he dismisses Emily? Capture Mr. Scully's attention with proof that you're a human trapped as a fly, and he offers a radical experiment to try...but it's dangerous, and there's no guarantee of complete success even if his theory pans out. If you fail to convince him you're a person, you and Emily need to find another way to change you back. Might Uncle Bill have a remedy for your transformation into a housefly?

Maybe instead of Emily taking you to school, you asked that she escort you to the hospital to see if the medical establishment has a cure. You board a public bus with Emily, but do you truly believe doctors can fix you? Buzz away from her to find answers on your own, and you may be drawn in by the delectable aroma of rotting foodstuffs in a dumpster, where you could be snared by a spider in its web or simply succumb to housefly instincts and forget about being human, giving yourself over to your insect appetite for the few days you have left before your natural lifespan ends. Stick with Emily en route to the hospital, and she'll have to feign acute illness for any doctor to see her in a timely manner without her parents present. Nervously waiting in the exam room for an emergency physician, you might wander off on your own and by pure luck happen upon the antidote to Uncle Bill's mask. Stay with Emily and you have a difficult time convincing any medical professional you're human, but if you do, the hospital may have exactly the specialist you need to restore your humanity. Is it possible to emerge without any lingering effects from your day in the body of a housefly?

Bugged Out! speaks with unexpected deep insight on the problems of growing up. As you reach adolescence and beyond, you'll change in ways you never foresaw. Your thought patterns and biological urges evolve, sometimes in directions that horrify you. You may find yourself walking taboo paths, shocked that what you once considered weird or gross now appeals to your new biology. Will loved ones recognize and stand up for the new you, or only see a disgusting housefly they've trained all their lives to swat? You'll need an Emily on your side, who will understand it's still you and defend you from everyone who wants to squash you; if you have that, you can eventually sort out the complications of growing up, and become something similar enough to the old you that people accept what changes remain. Life is a rough ride as you age into the final form of yourself, but brave it as best you can and you may come out okay on the opposite end.

Packed with gritty action, subtle wisdom, and more immersive writing than usual for Choose Your Own Nightmare, Bugged Out! might be the best entry in the series. There's good storyline variety, and the narrative is allowed time to grow in between the reader's decisions so we feel pulled into the adventure. This book isn't intrinsically horror themed as most are in the series, but turning into an insect with no sure way to undo the change is a nightmare scenario. I wish more gamebooks followed the blueprint for excellence in these pages.

More reviews by KenJenningsJeopardy74