Deep and Dark and Dangerous [Paperback]

Mary Downing Hahn (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-7–Thirteen-year-old Ali is excited to be spending the summer with her Aunt Dulcie, an artist, and her four-year-old cousin, Emma, in the Maine lakeside cottage where her aunt and mother spent their childhood summers. But why is Ali's mother so terrified to let her go? Why did the sisters' annual sojourns there stop so abruptly 30 years earlier? And what is the meaning of Ali's recurring dream in which, while walking along the shore of Sycamore Lake, she meets a young girl who points to three girls in a canoe and admonishes, you must do something about this? Ali soon discovers that Teresa, her mother's and aunt's playmate, had disappeared and was presumed drowned when their grandfather's empty canoe washed up on shore. When a strange girl calling herself Sissy shows up at the cottage and lures Emma into defiant and dangerous behavior, Ali finally realizes who she is. Hahn weaves into the story some classic mystery elements such as a torn photograph, a waterlogged doll, dense fog, and an empty grave, all of which add to the suspense and keep the well-plotted story moving along to a satisfying conclusion.–Marie Orlando, Suffolk Cooperative Library System, Bellport, NY
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

Hahn offers another eerie, suspenseful ghost story filled with family secrets. Thirteen-year-old Ali is thrilled when her aunt Dulcie invites her to spend the summer at the family's Maine cottage, where Ali will help babysit her four-year-old cousin, Emma. Things fall apart, however, when Sissie, a mysterious, manipulative girl, befriends Emma. As tensions rise, Ali begins to piece together rumors about a childhood tragedy that continues to haunt her mother and Dulcie. Early on, Hahn drops heavy hints about who Sissie is. Guessing her identity won't spoil the suspense for readers, though; on the contrary, it will feed their sense of terror as events unfold. The emotional weight of family dynamics and the private burdens of adults might have overwhelmed the ghost story, but Hahn maintains the momentum with scenes that will chill readers as surely as a plunge in cold water. Young people will easily connect with sensitive Ali, whose search for family truths feels like "good practice for crossing a minefield." Gillian Engberg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Sandpiper; Reprint edition (August 4, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0547076452
• ISBN-13: 978-0547076454
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (62 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #21,255 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #52 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Literature > Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery & Horror > Spine-Chilling Horror
  • #83 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > People & Places > Girls & Women > Fiction
  • #90 in Books > Children's Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Spine-Chilling Horror

More About the Author

Mary Downing Hahn, a former children's librarian, is the award-winning author of many popular ghost stories, including Deep and Dark and Dangerous and The Old Willis Place. An avid reader, traveler, and all-around arts lover, Ms. Hahn lives in Columbia, Maryland, with her two cats, Oscar and Rufus.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars If You've Read Wait Till Helen Comes, You've Read This, July 6, 2008

By 

britta (new england) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Deep and Dark and Dangerous: A Ghost Story (Hardcover)

I have loved Mary Downing Hahn's ghost stories since I was a child, which is why I was disappointed with Deep and Dark and Dangerous: it is almost exactly the same as Wait Till Helen Comes, the book she wrote 22 years ago. The books are SO similar that I was confused and frustrated while reading Deep and Dark and Dangerous - nothing was a surprise. I don't understand why Hahn would basically re-write an earlier book.

****REVIEW CONTAINS PLOT SPOILERS****

In Wait Till Helen Comes (WTHC), pre-teen Molly moves to the countryside with her dad and stepmom and must take care of her 5-yr-old stepsister Heather for the summer.

In Deep and Dark and Dangerous (DDD), 13-yr-old Ali spends the summer at her aunt's lakeside cabin, taking care of her 4-yr-old niece, Emma.

In WTHC, Molly's stepmom is a distracted artist who holes up in her studio. So is Ali's aunt in DDD.

In WTHC, Heather befriends a local girl (ghost) who's mean, and possessive of Heather, and behaves dangerously and tries to separate her from Molly. In DDD, Emma, too, meets a similar local girl (ghost) who is dangerous/mean and tries to seperate her from Ali. Even the dialogue is annoyingly similar.

In WTHC, the ghost girl breaks into the stepmom's studio and destroys her artwork, and the stepmom doesn't believe in ghosts and insists it must have been local teenage vandals. The EXACT SAME THING happens in DDD.

In WTHC, the ghost girl tries to drown Heather. In DDD, the ghost girl tries to drown Emma.

Etc., etc.! My recommendation is to read Wait Till Helen Comes instead. It's the original and the best.

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A sure hit for fans of ghost stories, June 13, 2007

By 

Jennifer Robinson "Editor of Jen Robinson's B... (San Jose, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Deep and Dark and Dangerous: A Ghost Story (Hardcover)

Deep and Dark and Dangerous: A Ghost Story, by Mary Downing Hahn, pulled me in from my first glimpse of the cover, which shows a girl under water, her hair floating around her white face. And it did not disappoint. Deliciously creepy, this book reminded me of the Lois Duncan stories that I loved as an early teen (my favorite, and one I still re-read periodically, is Down A Dark Hall).

13-year-old Ali finds an photograph in one of her mother's old Nancy Drew books. The picture shows Ali's mother, Claire, and her mother's sister, Dulcie, outside of an old family cottage in Maine. A third girl has apparently been torn out of the photograph, leaving only an arm, a shoulder, and some strands of long hair. Her initial, according to the torn back of the photo, is T. When Ali asks her mother about the photo, however, Claire denies any knowledge of a girl whose name starts with T, or any memory of the photo. Claire retreats into her own emotional fragility, and gives Ali no information about the mysterious photo.

Dulcie, however, soon appears on the scene, and invites Ali to spend the summer with her up at the old cottage, babysitting Ali's four-year-old daughter Emma. Ali jumps at the chance to get away from her over-protective mother, and stay with her beloved aunt and cousin. Besides, she's never been to the cottage, her mother having stopped visiting it as a child. Despite Claire's apparently irrational misgivings, Ali, Dulcie, and Emma head to Maine for the summer.

Things start out idyllic, but soon Ali and Emma meet a mysterious little girl, Sissy, out on the shore of the lake. Sissy both fascinates and torments Emma, and creates conflict between Ali and Emma, and, indirectly, between Ali and Dulcie. Sissy hints at a tragedy that occurred in the lake thirty years earlier, the reason that Ali's mother and aunt have never been back to the cottage. A long-ago crime is brought to light. And that's when things start to get deep and dark and dangerous.

This is a highly atmospheric story. Even when describing sunny days at the lake, Hahn never lets the storm clouds get far away. Certain creepy images recur through the story, most notably a bundle of bones below the surface of the lake, appearing in paintings by both Emma and Dulcie. Emma and Ali both have nightmares, and Ali is drenched by more than one storm, literally and metaphorically.

Much of the book is about the relationships between Ali, Emma, and Dulcie, and the wrench that Sissy's presence throws into their peaceful existence. Dulcie, in particular, gradually morphs from cool, beloved aunt to a strained, unjustly snappish creature who reminds Ali of Claire. Hahn's expert hands keep things from ever getting too dark to bear, however. She alternates dangerous escapades with afternoons playing Candyland, and introduces a kindly neighbor to gives Ali some perspective. Hahn's writing is straightforward, creating strong impressions through nouns and verbs, without needing much description. Here's an example:

"I was thinking so hard, I almost walked right past Emma. To my surprise, she was standing beside a stranger, a girl who appeared to be nine or ten years old, but small for her age. Her hair was white blond, her eyes were the same gray as the lake, and her skin was a deep tan. Despite the chilly weather, she wore a faded blue bathing suit.

"This is Sissy," Emma said. "I just met her, but she wants to be friends."

Sissy looked at me slantwise, as if she were sizing me up. Would I be good to know? Was I nice? Was I bossy? I gave her the same look. There was something about her I disliked on sight -- a sharpness in her eyes, a mean set to her mouth. She was the type who'd lie and get you in trouble." (Chapter 7)"

Re-reading this makes me think: "Ali, you have no idea, in Chapter 7, of the trouble Sissy is going to cause for you." But readers, especially middle schoolers, will enjoy every step of the way. Although most of the characters are female, I think that the story is creepy enough to engage boys as well as girls. Deep and Dark and Dangerous is a quick and compelling read, sure to be a hit with fans of ghost stories.

This book review was originally published on my blog, Jen Robinson's Book Page, on June 7, 2007.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good ghost story, November 8, 2008

By 

Beth Hollingshead (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Deep and Dark and Dangerous (Paperback)

I've always enjoyed Hahn's stories since I was in grade school. The first ghost story I read of hers, Wait Till Helen Comes, is truly chilling and amazing. While Deep and Dark and Dangerous doesn't live up to "Helen's" legacy, it's still a good ghost story. I found it to be a tad predictable, but for a teen novel that's completely excusable. The characters were still well written with lots of depth (though I thought that the dialogue for the 4 year old character was a little unbelievable). All in all, an enjoyable read...couldn't really put it down. Despite it's being predictable, it was truly written in a way to keep the reader engaged. I recommend this for 9 to 15 year olds...and for those adults who have either been a fan of Hahn's or who want to read a good ghost story.