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Deep and Dark and Dangerous: A Ghost Story (Hardcover)

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Key Phrases: lonely doll, Webster's Cove, Gull Cottage, Candy Land (more...)
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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.


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
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Product Details

  • Reading level: Young Adult
  • Hardcover: 192 pages
  • Publisher: Clarion Books (May 21, 2007)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0618665455
  • ISBN-13: 978-0618665457
  • Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #28,053 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Mary Downing Hahn
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lonely doll
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Webster's Cove, Gull Cottage, Candy Land, New York, Captain Wahl, Sycamore Lake, Teresa Abbott, The Sentinel, Aunt Claire, Did Dulcie, Ignoring Emma, Jeanine Donaldson, Where's Emma
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10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A sure hit for fans of ghost stories, June 13, 2007
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.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Hahn is noted for her fine ghost stories with their unpredictable twists of plot, July 10, 2007
By Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews
Just before summer Ali finds an old photo in the attic - one which contains a puzzling family member, who's been torn out of the picture. She'll have much opportunity to investigate during her summer in Maine in the house where her mother used to vacation - but an encounter with a moody girl next door and her mean spirit leads to an encounter with a spirit who drowned under mysterious circumstances when Ali's mother and aunt were kids. Hahn is noted for her fine ghost stories with their unpredictable twists of plot - this joins others as an outstanding read.
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Courtesy of Teens Read Too, July 16, 2007
If you're looking for a good mystery/ghost story, then look no further. DEEP AND DARK AND DANGEROUS by Mary Downing Hahn offers mystery, suspense, and some great ghost action.

Recently, Ali stumbled across an old photo of her mother and aunt when they were young girls. There was something odd about the photo. It appeared that another girl had been part of the picture but her part was torn away, leaving only the letter `T' to give any hint to her identity. Ali's mother swears she has no idea who was in the picture, but she isn't very convincing - which leaves Ali full of questions.

Ali is surprised when her Aunt Dulcie and cousin Emma come to visit. Aunt Dulcie is her mother's older sister, but she's entirely different. Ali's mom suffers from chronic migraines and periodic depression while Aunt Dulcie is the strong, independent type. There have been numerous times in Ali's life when she has wished her mother was more like Aunt Dulcie. Ali shows Aunt Dulcie the old photo and is surprised that her reaction is much the same as her mother's. How could they both not remember a picture taken at their family's vacation spot in Maine?

Dulcie is an artist with a big show coming up in the fall in Washington, D.C. She has decided to renovate the old family lake house and work on her paintings there. However, the lake and her almost five-year-old daughter make a dangerous combination, so Dulcie is hoping to take along her thirteen-year-old niece, Ali, as a babysitter. Ali's mother tries to put her foot down and says absolutely not, but she is outvoted and Ali packs her things for a summer at the lake.

Arriving at the cabin during a typical Maine rainstorm doesn't dampen Ali's spirits. She's looking forward to playing and swimming with Emma in the lake and sort of being her own boss. Ali's mother has always been a bit overprotective, and her bizarre reaction to Ali spending the summer at the lake house just convinces Ali that her mother has a problem. How can a beautiful lake, a cozy cabin, and the great outdoors be a bad place to spend the summer? Ali also secretly hopes to uncover the mystery of the photo and the missing girl whose name might have begun with `T'.

It doesn't take long for some strange things to begin happening. The most unnerving is the presence of a slim, young girl in a faded blue bathing suit who introduces herself to Ali and Emma. At first she appears to be a possible companion for the girls, but then she starts acting irritable and mean. She refuses to reveal her last name or where she lives, and she seems to be developing an unnatural hold on little Emma. Emma wants to do everything this strange girl named Sissy does, but at the same time Sissy treats Emma with cruelty.

When Ali attempts to seek out more information about Sissy and the mysterious girl from her mother's and aunt's past, she is met with one obstacle after another. Could this rude little girl have some connection to the mystery of why her mother refuses to return to the family cabin?

Mary Downing Hahn offers readers stormy weather, a deep, dark lake, and many unanswered questions to keep mystery and ghost story fans turning pages right up to the end.

Reviewed by: Sally Kruger, aka "Readingjunky"
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars NOT another version of Wait til Helen Comes
(Kid review)!!Spoiler Alert!!

This review is in response to reader who stated that Deep and Dark and Dangerous is just another version of Wait til Helen Comes. Read more
Published 10 months ago by C. Canada

5.0 out of 5 stars Deep, Dark, and Dangerous
Mary Downing Hahn is an excellent writer. This story was able to make you feel lots of emotions for the characters involved. Read more
Published 10 months ago by C. Lyons

3.0 out of 5 stars Great! Then...
Okay, I bought this book and was so thrilled. I love Mary Downing Hahn's
books. I read it and thought it was great. Read more
Published 12 months ago

2.0 out of 5 stars If You've Read Wait Till Helen Comes, You've Read This
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... Read more
Published 16 months ago by britta

5.0 out of 5 stars Can't put it down
Me and my friends were reading it at school and we couldn't out it down. We had the chise to watch a movie or read and we choose to read. Read more
Published 18 months ago

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