The Goosebumps book where a yeti turns up in California.
Jordan and Nicole Blake are sick of the heat in their hometown of Pasadena, California. Then their father, a nature photographer, gets the news of a lifetime — he's been asked to seek out and photograph the Abominable Snowman, a large hairy ape-like beast, in Alaska. Jordan and Nicole get to come along with him, and soon find the Snowman. But when they not only find it but bring it back home in a state of hibernation, along with some snow from its cave, trouble ensues.
It is one of the nineteen original series books that was not adapted into the 1995 TV series. It would later be adapted into an installment of the Goosebumps Graphix series, included in the Creepy Creatures collection. It also had a quest line in Goosebumps HorrorTown.
It was reissued in the Classic Goosebumps line in 2015 as a tie-in to the first movie.
The book provides examples of:
- And I'm the Queen of Sheba: A variation occurs when Jordan's best friend, Lauren, grows suspicious when he and Nicole come back to Pasadena being happy with the warm air. She pesters them to tell her what's going on. They finally decide to just tell her:Jordan: We found him. We found him and brought him back.Lauren: Found who?Nicole: The snowman! The abominable snowman!Lauren: (rolls her eyes) For sure. And did you find the Tooth Fairy up there, too?Jordan: (joking) Yes, we did.Nicole: He's lying in the darkroom right now.Lauren: (confused) Who - the Tooth Fairy?
- Bigfoot, Sasquatch, and Yeti: The titular "Abominable Snowman" is a yeti, albeit one who lives in Alaska instead of the Himalayas, and has the power to magically freeze himself in ice when he feels like it.
- Chekhov's Gunman: The one sled dog that Arthur left behind is what the Blake family uses to drag them and the frozen Yeti back to civilization.
- Cryptid Episode: The book is about a hunt for a yeti.
- Death Glare: When Arthur realizes that Jordan pulled a prank on him and the rest of the Blakes in which they tricked them with fake Yeti footprints, the former gives the latter an extremely sinister look in which his face turns red and is twisted. Jordan in his narration notes that he cannot help but flinch at how scary he looks.
- Evil-Detecting Dog: Arthur's dogs would merely bark if they smelled an animal nearby, but they are visibly spooked by the presence of the Abominable Snowman.
- Foreshadowing: When they first find the Abominable Snowman, he is in a block of ice. He breaks out and later on, they return to see he is somehow frozen again. This hints at the fact that the snow in the cave is magic.
- Hair-Trigger Avalanche: When she and Jordan are lost in the outside tundra, Nicole is yelling loudly for their dad, which causes an avalanche to start. Jordan tries to stop her, but it's too late, and they're flooded with snow.
- Hand Gagging: Jordan does this twice to Nicole:
- When she was about to tell Arthur more factoids about the tundra.
- Also when she's yelling too loudly for their father. Unfortunately, he did that too late, as an avalanche is now coming towards them.
- Harmless Freezing: The magic snow from the yeti's cave can freeze anyone or anything solid. If the yeti thaws them out though, they're completely unharmed.
- Insufferable Genius: Nicole. She eventually turns out to be a fairly good person though, as she even shows compassion for the eponymous snowman when it goes on a rampage, as think of it from his point of view:
he's been kidnapped, is likely very hot and uncomfortable, and is just desperately looking for a way home. - Missing Reflection: Late in the book, after it's taken off, the Blakes discover that the snowman doesn't appear in any pictures taken of it.
- Nothing Is Scarier: The part where Arthur's dogs sense the snowman nearby is very eerie.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Mr. Blake usually is amused by pranks and is delighted when Jordan pulls them off. But when Jordan tries to appeal to his father when the others get mad at him over the fake Yeti footprints he made, Mr. Blake sternly tells him that they are on foreign land and any intrusion in his search plan could lead to unfortunate consequences. This makes Jordan sheepish and apologize.
- Also, Nicole is usually against Jordan and his pranks, trying to appeal to their father to chew him out. But when she tells Mr. Blake that Jordan is telling the truth about the Yeti when their father does not believe him at first, this makes Mr. Blake give pause and consider.
- Screw This, I'm Out of Here!: When there are plenty of clear signs that the Yeti is near, Arthur high tails it out of there by taking all but one of the sled dogs and plowing back to the village. Jordan and Nicole find him and try to chase after him, but he quickly gets on board and sleds away.
- Theme Twin Naming: Kyle and Kara, the twin bullies who live next door to Jordan and Nicole.
- This Is Unforgivable!: After the Yeti footprints hoax that Jordan made, Arthur is still mad at him the next day, sulking and giving him plenty of glares. Jordan himself wonders why he has not forgiven him while the others have.
- Uncertain Doom: The book ends with another of the magical snowballs being thrown by someone who didn't realize what they were capable of, this time hitting and freezing the bully Kara solid. And by this time, the Abominable Snowman isn't around to reverse it, leaving her seemingly frozen for good.
The graphic novel provides examples of:
- Adapted Out: The Goosebumps Graphix version removes the bullies Kyle and Kara.
- Adaptational Alternate Ending: The Goosebumps Graphix version changes the ending so that instead of Kyle and Kara finding the magic snowballs, the final panel has the Abominable Snowman standing in the middle of Pasadena, about to go on a rampage.
- Adaptation Name Change: The Goosebumps Graphix version changes the names "Jordan Blake" and "Nicole Blake" to "Luis Garcia" and "Ana Garcia".
