As a kid, I was WILDLY into Jaws. That movie scared the shit out of me because 1) I was 6 or 7 when I saw it and 2) I lived on a man made peninsula of apartments surrounded by the DARK Mediterranean. Sharks could basically be surrounding me at any point in time.

My fascination with Jaws and sharks has lasted my whole life. I have had two real-world run-ins with sharks in the wild, and only recently got over my fear of being in water I can’t see or feel the bottom of.

But sometimes it’s fun to indulge your fears so I was stoked to see this book.

And, honestly, this book is probably the biggest “makes you think,” book in the whole series. It doesn’t center on the shark (we’ll get to that), but rather a mermaid that the kids and a marine biologist find.

There’s an ethical dilemma about whether to bring the mermaid to a zoo, study it, or let it go. It’s a nuanced topic and I was pretty shocked that Stine didn’t shy away from the pros and cons of displaying a new species.

Pretty nifty.

Now the shark. Yes, there is a hammerhead shark - the coolest-looking of the shark world - but as far as attacks go, it was WILDLY weak.

And I know, I know. It’s a kid’s book and I can’t expect the kid to become chum for more sharks but folks… the shark GRABS the kid.

How?

LOOK at that shark. What could that shark possibly grab a kid with if not his ROWS OF RAZOR SHARP TEETH?!

Come on! Even for Goosebumps, that’s pretty lame.

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