Craving More Stranger Things?

If you're looking for more unsupervised adventures as kids try to save the world from something that adults couldn't even imagine, look no further!

The adventures of unsupervised kids have made their way into our culture as cult classics like The Goonies where a group of kids set out to find pirate treasure in order to save their home! They are constantly being chased by a band of criminals throughout the movie. The varying personalities of the kids and teenagers makes for a lot of laughs and fun!


More recently, the popular Stranger Things on Netflix has captured everyone's attention. Everyone quickly fell in love with the likes of Eleven, Mike, Will, and the rest of the gang as they go about mostly saving the town without much help from the adults in their lives.

The endearing personalities of the children plus the intense hi-jinks all lead the audience to be quickly drawn into the situation. Kids wish that they could be like the adventurers--saving the world! The adults wish that they could take care of the kids and save them from the monsters and evil people who would do them harm.

If you're looking for more unsupervised adventures as kids try to save the world from something that adults couldn't even imagine, look no further! There is The Darkdeep by Brendan Reichs and Ally Condie.

Still Cove is the one place in Timbers that is off limits, thanks to creepy Beast sightings and terrifying legends. When Nico Holland falls from the cliff into Still Cove, his friends rush to his rescue despite their fears. What they discover there hasn't been touched in many years. But that doesn't stop the kids from exploring the uninhabited island.

They discover a house boat with a basement (weird, right?) and in it, a swirling pool of water that seems magical. When one of them accidentally falls in, they find out that it can take some of their coolest dreams and imaginings and makes them real. But eventually, they realize that it isn't just their dreams that are becoming real...also their nightmares! This not only comes as a danger to them but also the town of Timbers and they seem to be the only ones who can stop it.

Gah!! It's such a good book! I wish that it had been longer. I felt like the story did go pretty quickly. But just like Stranger Things and The Goonies, the endearing characters are the ones that really make the story the best. You want the kids to succeed when they are fighting for their lives and the ones that they care about. It's one of those mystery adventure books that I had a really hard time putting down because I wanted to know what was next!

I heard about this book thanks to the authors Ally Condie and Brendan Reichs making a visit at the school where I teach. Ally Condie is the author of the Matched series while Brendan wrote The Project Nemesis books.  They met a while back and became close friends. This led them to decide to write a book together! And thus The Darkdeep was born. From their school visit, I could tell that they were really great people and great authors. I'm excited for all of my students who will have a chance to read the book after hearing from them. It was an awesome experience!

If you still aren't convinced whether or not you should read the book, I suggest that you watch this book trailer to get a feel for the suspense and excitement of the book.