Frankenturkey 2 Review: He’s back…
In our last review, Frankenturkey (1994) it was concluded that the book was a bit of a bore. With Thanksgiving just gone, and in the spirit of fairness, I thought it would be a good idea to review Frankenturkey 2 (1995). I liked the idea of the previous book, but its execution (much of that like Frankenturkey in the first book) was poor — but will this demonic turkey redeem itself in the sequel?
Plot
Franketurkey 2 starts thus:
Annie Duggan gazed forlornly out the family-room window as she twisted a lock of her brown hair between her fingers. The backyard of their old Massachusetts was filled with gloomy afternoon shadows […] “Why did you have to leave me?” It had been almost six months since her pet turkey had died.
Frankenturkey 2, p.1
Gobble-de-gook was run over by a truck after running into the road. Kyle, her older brother, does not seem too upset about that fact. Annie’s older brother since the last book has turned into a bit of a dick in general.
Frankenturkey 1 spoiler alert: after finding the wishbone of Frankenturkey’s carcass from the previous Thanksgiving meal, the two siblings decide to snap it and make a wish. The bone splits in exactly equal parts, so both their wishes are granted! Kyle wished he could see his new bestie Jake Willbanks, the kid who it only took saving his life in the previous book to stop him from beating him up, so he “could have someone smart to talk to” (Frankentyrkey 2, p.7). Yeah, Kyle is a complete dick!
Annie wishes that Gobble-de-gook would come back to life and be their pet again. Soon after, Jake comes to visit Kyle — his wish has come true. We will soon find Annie’s does too! Like the first episode of Goosebumps season two, Be Careful What You Wish For, not all your wishes will happen as you intended them!
In Pet Sematary fashion, Gobble-de-gook comes back from the grave. The bird looks as though he has just crawled out of the grave:
[His] eye sockets she had thought were empty weren’t empty at all. They were full of writhing, pulsing maggots. Pus oozed from the holes in his rotting flesh. His broken wing dangled from a bloody string of skin. But worst of all was the menacing sound that rose from his throat.
“SQUAAAWWWWKKK!”Frankenturkey 2, p.19
Kyle thinks that the newly-returned pet may not be Gobble-de-gook at all, but a reincarnation of Frankenturkey! There is something else different about Gobble-de-gook, he grants wishes to those nearby! Could Kyle’s reservations turn out to be true? And what is so bad about a pet turkey that grants wishes? If it is Frankenturkey back for revenge, then it will be the kids who will really be stuffed this Thanksgiving!
Summary
Frankenturkey 2 comes back with a vengeance compared to the previous book! I complained that in Frankenturkey 1, whilst there were some jarring themes in the book, the plot dragged through being incredibly samey throughout. This is not the case with the sequel. We have a dream sequence, themes of infanticide, a turkey with powers W. W. Jacob’s Monkey’s Paw, a meowing dog and (again), a surprising amount of gore.
Frankenturkey’s powers are not that of brute strength as seen previously, but that of mind control and magic. I have not read of a villain in a horror having both of these powers, which was an interesting novelty in itself. Again, like the previous Frankenturkey, the ending felt a little out of the blue, but it was written in a less cartoonish manner — so I did not mind this as much.
Overall, this book was a quick fun ride, and I would recommend it to any ’90s YA horror fan. There is enough reference in the first chapters to get you up to speed with what happened in the first novel, so this can be read alone and you would not miss much.