Under the Magician's Spell by R.L. Stine

In spite of the randomness, this campaign is particularly railroad-y too, as you, Sid, and especially Joanie will often do really, really stupid things just for a bad ending to land on you, and there is nothing you can do to avoid that. Mind you, you may still come to a happy or bad ending depending on random elements, but this wouldn’t be a Give Yourself Goosebumps gamebook without the randomness. You can encounter werewolves, giant rats, and reanimated corpses – seriously, what kind of neighborhood is this? – and may even take a trip to some surreal Wonderland-on-speed landscape to stare down the Magician. Slightly, that is, as there are also plenty of weird and random stuff. This is more interesting and slightly less random route, coming off more like an actual story instead of just scenes strung together. If you forgo the spell book and try to find more mundane ways to help Sid, you will soon lose the spell book to some bullies. Normally, such randomness may be annoying, but then again, given the theme of this gamebook – mad magic – it kind of makes perfect sense in this particular campaign.

There will be moments when you are stringed along for a few entries until you realize, oops, you’re screwed, and there will also be options that all lead to terrible ends. Really, you may reach a happy or bad ending depending on random things such as the day you are playing the gamebook – although you really should cheat if you feel like it – and whether or not you know the meaning of a word. You have to find a way out while putting a stop on the nonsense affecting your friend and sister, and this is easily the most random route. If you wish to see whether there is a spell in the book that can help, all three of you will be magically transported into what seems like a magical dimension populated by magic show freaks and such. You have to help both her and Sid, bummer. Now, parts of her will slowly vanish so long as the book is still not returned, and no, you can’t rejoice. The fun really begins when you discover that the handcuffs around Sid’s wrists – he placed them onto his wrists because, hey, plot – won’t come off and in fact are becoming tighter over time, and Joanie reveals that she has “accidentally” taken with her a spell book belonging to the Magician. Of course, she and Sid then proceed to manhandle every merchandise in the shop, until the creepy owner known simply as the Magician shows up and unnerves all of you. Joanie runs off almost immediately, and you find her in front of a new magic shop called, er, The Magic Shop. Joanie is forced onto you by your parents when you wish to head off to the mall with your nerdy friend Sid, and that’s when the problem begins.

If you love that idiot younger brother in Tick Tock, You’re Dead!, you will love Joanie, the younger sister of your character in Under the Magician’s Spell.

Under the Magician's Spell by R.L. Stine