If You Dare

9/10/2018

The Darkdeep by Ally Condie & Brendan Reichs

The Darkdeep feeds off fear. Fear. Inside us.

If I had a dollar for every time a student asked for a scary book, I could own a pair of Jimmy Choos. Let's face it: kids love creepy, spine tingling stories. Over time, this genre has consistently retained its appeal. R.L. Stein never goes out of style. Gaiman's Coraline, Black's Doll Bones, Baptist's The Jumbies, and Oppel's The Nest deliver contemporary horror to legions of young audiences.
Now, a dynamic writing duo has tapped into middle grade fascination with horror. Ally Condie and Brendan Reichs invite kids to explore The Darkdeep.

What if your worst nightmare came to life? What if the object of your childhood fears attacked you? What if a group of friends discovered that the terrifying figments of their collective imaginations took form?

Twelve -year-old explorers Nico, Taylor, Emma, and Opal discover a mysterious island hidden beneath massive cliffs. A strange-looking houseboat is moored on the island’s pond. Filled with a collection of the bizarre, this floating oddity feels like a “psychopath’s attic.” But even more intriguing is a swirling pool of black liquid at the bottom of the houseboat.

When Emma gets too close to the whirlpool, the opaque waters drag her into its chilly blackness. She senses a mysterious power which can “spy inside my head.” Soon each member of the group discovers that plunging into the deepness causes personal imaginary creatures to materialize. Everything from unicorns to dinosaurs begins to take shape and briefly inhabit the island. Gradually the embodiment of their imaginings become more sinister and more permanent. These monsters become horrific, bent on attacking and killing. The kids’ worst nightmares have become their community’s worst nightmare.

Tension is counterbalanced with the most ridiculous community festival yet to appear in kid lit. A radish festival. I kid you not. There are to be radish costumes, a parade and a pageant with the winner declared Citizen Radish. Note: I would like to have been a fly on the wall when the authors came up with this story element.

The narrative comes to a satisfying conclusion but Condie and Reichs drop tantalizing hints suggesting that the horror isn’t over. There is something else on that houseboat. As it did with the young protagonists in the story, The Darkdeep will entice readers with more mysterious secrets. They will breathlessly await the continuation of the story. Let’s hope they don’t have too long to wait.