The Deep

By Helen Dunmore

A devastating flood has ripped through both worlds, Air and Ingo. And now, deep in the ocean, a monster is stirring and demanding his due. Mer legend dictates that only those with mixed-blood—half Mer and half human—can conquer the Kraken. So Sapphy must return to the deep and, with the help of her brother, Conor, face a struggle that will test her like no other.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Nov 2, 2010
• ISBN: 9781443400954

Helen Dunmore

Helen Dunmore was an award-winning novelist, poet and children's writer, who will be remembered for the wisdom, lyricism, compassion and immersive beauty of her writing. In her lifetime, she published eight collections of poetry, many novels for both adults and children, and two collections of short stories. She won the Orange Prize for Fiction with her novel A Spell of Winter, and her novel The Siege was shortlisted for the Orange Prize and the Whitbread Prize for Fiction.

Reviews for The Deep

[smg6lsiebert · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book was very hard to put down while i was reading it. I have read the firs two books in the four book series and im now up to the beep, and i cant wait to read the last book.

[delenndax7 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book is the third book in the Ingo series by Helen Dunmore. It focuses on a young girl along with her brother (Sapphire & Connor) who are part Mer and part Human. Their father, a Mer, has returned to the underwater world of Ingo and is remarried with a new son. The more I read this, the more I wanted to read the first two books (which I haven't) to find out exactly how they learned they were part mer and how the father "chose" to return to Ingo and leave his family behind. The book is titled "The Deep" and the jacket information says that she'll travel to the deep and confront a great evil which threatens borth worlds. But, the actual trip to the deep and confronting the Kraken only comprised 50 pages of the 330 page book. I expected more action. I would say that the book is mostly about Sapphire coming to grips with the fact that her father has left and created a new home for himself and accepting that she's a part of both worlds. If you're expecting a lot of action, then you'll be disappointed, but, if you like getting into someone's thoughts and learning "who" they are, then you'll really like this book. I liked it, but, I just thought there'd be more action.

[emilyruth_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Sapphire’s mixed human and Mer blood lets her do many things—unnatural things. Like breathe underwater, swim really fast, and survive The Deep. Even as Sapphire struggles to cope with issues on land, like her mom’s boyfriend, the Mer of Ingo ask something very important of her.An evil is awakening in The Deep, and the Mer aren’t able to go down there to stop it.It’s up to Sapphire to find a way to save a world that some people don’t even know exists.Mermaids! It’s almost—yes, it may almost be—better than faeries! How long it has been since I’ve read a book about mermaids! Now that I’m done gushing, let me review. :) The Deep is a children’s novel, the third in a series about the world of Ingo. Having not read the first two, I can say the The Deep stands alone well, but would be much more enjoyable after reading the first two books.Dunmore’s descriptions are tantalizing and well-woven in to the story. The plot is tense (I read the book straight-through) and surprising. I think Dunmore’s readers will all end the book with an ‘I want to be a mermaid!’I highly recommend this for the younger fantasy readers (but then, I enjoyed it quite a bit, so older fantasy readers might like it too), both boys and girls. Rating: 4 Stars (YA)/5 Stars (Children)Length: 336 PagesAges: 10 and upRecommended for: younger fantasy readers; mermaid lovers :)

[nbmars · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The Deep is reminiscent of “The Secret of Roan Inish,” a lovely haunting movie by written and directed by John Sayles about life on an island off the west coast of Ireland, and a race of selkies, part-human and part-seal. The Deep is different in that it takes place in the waters around Cornwall and involves people who are part Mer (as in mermaid and merman) rather than seal, and part human. But in spite of these differences, there is a similar entrancing mix of legend and reality, and a juxtaposition of the harshness of the sea with its beauty and allure.Sapphire, the young teenage heroine of this book, finds that her mixed Mer and human blood enables her to travel into the underwater world of Ingo, and to communicate with Mer people and with sea creatures. Her brother Conor can navigate both worlds as well, with the help of the Mer boy Faro who has befriended them. Sapphire and Conor struggle with their conflicting desires for both the world of air and the world of water. They keep this agonizing from their mother, who has only human blood. Their father Mathew gave in to his Mer blood two years prior, and left them for Ingo and for a Mer woman. Their mother now has a boyfriend, Roger, but life has been hard for her. Under Ingo is “The Deep,” the forbidding dark underbelly of the ocean in which the Kraken, or sea monster, occasionally awakens and wreaks havoc on the world. Previously Kraken has required the sacrifice of two Mer children to go back to sleep. This time, the Mer ask the part-humans to try and subdue Kraken without a sacrifice (the Mer themselves are unable to go into The Deep). Sapphire and Conor agree to go if the giant whale (previously befriended by Sapphire) will help them get there.Sapphire is sensitive, courageous, and loyal. Her family, living part-time in a fairy world, nevertheless seems endearingly “human.” She learns some important lessons in her quest to help the Mer: that “different” doesn’t mean “evil” though some would make it so, and that it’s easier to hate someone to whom you affix a dehumanizing label rather than accepting that reality is more complex. As Sapphire says, “I want monsters to stay monsters. It’s easier to think of the Kraken as a monster than to believe he might be like us. Or even worse, that we might be like him.”I was charmed by these appealing characters and their imaginative world, and look forward to the next book in the series.

[tiggerb062802 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

HarperCollins Children's recently sent me The Deep by Helen Dunmore to review. This book happens to be the third in a series about the magical and mysterious underwater world of Ingo. Not having read the first two books prior to beginning The Deep, I must admit that I started out a little confused as to what was going on and with whom. However, the story soon captivated me and I was swept away. The book takes you on a journey with Sapphire, a girl that is mixed with both Mer and human blood. She does not truly fit into either world and yet she must adapt to this new life of not belonging and the internal struggle that it causes. But when the Mer people's lives depend on her, she does everything she can to save them.Sapphire and her friends show us that it is okay to be different. That sometimes our differences are what make us so special that we can do things that others can not. I applaud Dunmore for not only writing such a captivating story, but also for addressing issues that are everywhere today and showing how they can be dealt with and accepted.