Deep Trouble (Goosebumps #19)

## Just when you thought it was safe...

Deep Trouble carries a lot of broken promises, but still manages to be one of the more fun early Goosebumps yarns. It's cover promises giant, killer sharks, which only barely skirt into the story. The first third of the book promises a lot of gripping sea monsters and dark underwater, cryptozoological mysteries for our recalcitrant hero, Billy, and his goofball family.

[N.B. This review includes images, and was formatted for my site, dendrobibliography -- located here.]

Then evil spokespeople for an evil zoo show up and offer Billy's uncle, a marine biologist named Dr. D, an impossible fortune to find a...mermaid?

Their reasoning for the mermaid's existence is baffling, and Dr. D's reaction to said show more baffling made for a really funny moment. But it's still an unexpected turn in the story, taking us away from sea monsters in favor of mermaids and corporate conspiracies (especially given Gooseboops' target demographic). This being the short yarn that it is, they find the mermaid almost immediately, and the plight of animal abuse for personal gain takes center stage as evil corporations, mercenaries, broke researchers and zoos vie for ownership of a very self-aware mermaid.

Despite how odd the mythological turn is, it's still a really fun adventure. Deep Trouble also contains some of the most surprising moments of the series thus far. Scientists, for example, were more often painted as evil in the '90s, and here they're undoubtedly the heroes who refuse to cross ethical lines. Deep Trouble also has some of the most violent moments we've seen since Welcome to Dead House, with a shark attack that gets uncomfortably brutal, and a claustrophobic near-downing that had me scared of the water for weeks when I was younger.

Mostly, though, it was the cover art that had this as one of my childhood favorites.

R.L. Stine's Goosebumps (1992–1997):
#18 Monster Blood II | #20 The Scarecrow Walks at Midnight show less

This was one of he more interesting Goosebumps titles. While it follows the basic plot of so many 90s movies (anyone else remember the big push for conversationism that seemed to sweep the world during the late 90s and early 2000s?) this book still manages to be engaging and entertaining. One of the things I liked most about it was that it wasn't a terrifying shark book, no, instead it went into the weird fantasy area of OMG MERMAIDS. But the mermaids were animals. They couldn't talk. As far as I'm concerned, for a kids book, that is a *brilliant* choice.

So, as far as children's books go this one is fun. It's predictable as an adult reading it, but as a child I could see myself being surprised by the twists and turns. It's nice to see a show more book like this preaching good morals in a not-quite-so-overt way, while also revealing the reality of scientific research. Research costs money, grants are difficult to find - dilemma's happen, and the right choice can be difficult to make, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't still make it. show less

For a Goosebumps book, this was especially cute. Riddled with too many false scares where something grabs his leg in the water (this kid, geez), it still remained level enough in pacing and didn't overindulge in melodrama as much as some of the others. The twist of adding the possibility of mermaids was a good one. Stine even entered a little twist of a betrayal among their little group. For kids this is a fun adventure exploring different obstacles of the water, which is a mystery for any age.

R.L Stine's “The Deep” is a chapter book appropriate for grade levels 3 to 6. The book centers around a boy named William Deep Junior. The book chronicles his adventures aboard his uncles research ship during which his uncle is contracted to find a mermaid. The boy becomes obsessed with finding this mermaid and ends up being attacked by a shark while searching for her. While being attacked by the shark the mermaid defends William and fends off the shark. Williams uncle then catches both William and the mermaid in a net and pulls them aboard his vessel. Williams uncle has a million dollar contract from a zoo to catch the mermaid. William thinks she should be released because of the action being inhumane. William attempts to release show more the mermaid but ends up being stopped by his father. Soon the hired men board Will’s uncle ship and attempt to take the mermaid. Will tries to stop them but falls in a tank instead. Will, his sister, and uncle end up trapped in the tank due to the men and end up stealing the mermaid and trapping them. Afterwards the men knock the tank into the water, as the three almost drown dozens of mermaid end up saving them. The mermaids lift the tank out of the water and save their lives. Will feels indebted to the mermaids and vows to save the captured mermaid. The other mermaids lead the trio to the captured mermaid, and Will finds the mermaid tied to the back of a boat. The mermaids attempt to release their captured friend but the kidnappers light the boat on fire in response(which does not make much sense). The mermaids succeed in releasing the captive mermaid, and the three fend off the kidnappers and manage to beat the flames out. The three escape on a boat and decline the zoo’s million dollar offer for the mermaid, the uncle “Doctor D” denies the mermaid's existence, changing his stance on the capturing of life to match Wills. Will ends up going into the lagoon to attempt to say goodbye to the mermaid. Will instead finds a sea monster and the story then cuts out. Trying to pick up on a central message for this book I came up with always respecting the sanctity of life. The mermaid isn't human, but William is concerned with treating her as an equivalent conscious being. This can allude to the relationship that we should have with all living animals. Although other species are different, we are all still living beings. If I had to rate this book I would rate it 3 out of 5 stars, I was entertained and enjoyed reading the book but it really didn't have that much depth. The cliffhanger ending of a story really detracted from the book as well, they ended the book with starting another book. Nonetheless the book was very entertaining to read and held true to my love for goose bump books. Another theme could be that life is priceless, a lot of times will questions the value of a million, and later 20 million (offered to him at a later point) dollars put to the life of the mermaid. Will finds neither of these values to be worth the life of another which I think is a great message for kids. Life is priceless and should be treated as such. Overall this was enjoyable book that I think kids might get more out of then I did, I would definitely recommend it for younger readers starting out with chapter books. show less

#19 "Just when you thought it was safe..."
Visiting their uncle in the Caribbean Seas, Billy and his sister Sheena are having a lovely time. when diving one day Billy feels something grabbed his foot and pull him down beneath the water. He swears he saw what the creature was that pulled them down. But nobody will believe him. There are folktales that the fisherman in the area tell of mermaids in the water. But those are just folktales right?

Deep Trouble is a scary story about a kid named Billy who is on his uncle's boat. While Billy goes snorkeling he finds a mermaid. The zoo keepers offer him and his uncle a million pounds for the mermaid. Bills thinks he should let the mermaid free but his uncle, who is a doctor, wants to use the money for research. This book will make you think as it presents an interesting question to consider. I highly recommend this book for people who like thrilling stories.

This one was just a fun mini-adventure story with a mermaid and betrayal!