It's time to earn our wings with today's book. One of the most divisive books in the entire original 62. What stance will I take? Find out with How I Learned To Fly AKA The Air Up There.
COVER STORY
I like this cover mainly for the great sky in the background and the shot of the bridge in the background. Time Jacobus knows how to draw him some landscapes. Also, Tim gets to draw some converse sneakers again, which is always a joy to see. But I have to chuckle at the fact that he gave the seagulls these cartoony evil faces, in hopes to add anything scary to this rather non-scary book. Honestly, I think this cover would have benefited with a lot of restraint on that end. Regardless, still a decent work.
STORY
Jack Johnson is a kid who, for the most part, doesn't really like to be competitive. He'll even let his dad win at checkers for pity sake. This is important because he has himself a bit of a rival in Wilson Schlamme, a bully who is constantly fighting with Jack over the affections of Mia Montez. If Jack draws a picture of a superhero to show Mia, Wilson ups him by drawing five superheroes. So essentially this is if Popeye and Bluto (or Brutus if you prefer) were 12 and vying for Olive Oyl, only far less violent. Heading home, they see a cat stuck in a tree. Jack goes up to grab it, only to fall into Wilson's arms, who then proceeds to drop him on the pavement. Even Wilson's dog Terminator is better at everything than Morty, Jack's dog. We get it, the cosmos kinda love digging the fork into Jack's sides.
Cut to a little while later as Mia is having her birthday party and has invited everyone, even Jack. Though she's more interested in Wilson, mainly for his incredible balloon creations. 12-year olds get a kick out of balloons formed like teachers. Wilson's such a player that he invites Mia and the others to a game of Twister, including Jack. He even gets Terminator to spin the wheel. This plays into Wilson's plan as in the twisting, Jack splits his pants and everyone (even Mia) laughs at him. Embarrassed, Jack runs off, only for Mia to get him to stay. Long enough to see Wilson give her two tickets to a concert coming up. Reader beware, you're in for romantic angst!
Jack is finally tired of this and runs off, with his friends chasing after. He ends up hiding in the old abandoned Dorsey house. After everyone stops looking for him, Jack heads home, only to fall through the floor into the basement below. As he tries to get out, he comes across a book that reads "Flying Lessons". Inside isn't pictures of planes, but of old men in long robes and beards flying in the air. Then he suddenly sees hundreds of rats show up, meaning it's Jack's cue to exit. In his haste, he ends up taking the book with him. The next day he finally gets around to reading the book and learns that it contains the magic recipe to give humans the power of flight. All Jack needs to do is make the potion. Feeling that this is finally what will be what he needs to one-up Wilson once and for all, he leaps at the chance.
Luckily for Jack, the formula for flight doesn't require some sort of epic quest, it's just 10 egg yolks, 1 tablespoon of maple syrup, two cups of flower, 1/2 cup of seltzer and 4 tablespoons of yeast. Well that's convenient. Oh, and it requires an envelope of magic powder that's stored in the book. As he prepares this magic dough, Morty jumps up and eats half of it. And sure enough, it gives Jack's cocker spaniel the power to fly. But the dog gets excited and flies above the trees. So Jack, with no other alternative, scarfs down the rest of the dough, and it gives him the power to fly. Well, after some dramatic stalling. But soon enough, Jack burps, and off he goes into the wild blue yonder! He catches up to Morty and saves him. But, now he has another dilemma. How do you get back down?
He eventually lands, making sure his parents don't see him. Now that he has this power, he intends to show Mia and Wilson. The next day, he leaps out his bedroom window... and crashes into the ground below. He tries again the next day, but it's a rainy day. What good's a flying power if you'll still wind up all wet? He finally gets his chance and flies in front of Mia. It all goes well... with the snag that Wilson also has the power to fly. He conveniently saw Jack flying before, and managed to sneak the recipe from the book. The two fight some more, only with Jack taking a header into a flagpole. Mia really wants to learn how to fly, and is starting to pity Jack more as the book moves forward. However, when they go to find the book, it's gone! As is a lot of other things from the garage. Mia tells Jack that maybe it's for the best. Maybe he should give up flying and tell his parents. I mean, what could possibly go-GOOSEBUMPS PARENTS. That's what could go wrong.
Jack still ends up flying some more, and eventually this leads to Wilson challenging Jack to a race. Jack is hesitant, but Wilson thinks it'll be a cool idea. And if there's anyone in this whole book that Jack should trust, it's obviously Wilson. They fly in front of the whole school, and Wilson wins, because we're far from done with this book, and far from done with Jack being dunked on. But if you think that's the worst of Jack's problems, suddenly scientists arrive at the school to take him to be experimented on. Oh god, this is going into Egg Monsters territory. Run Jack, before they put "the blanket" over you! He runs home, only to be confronted by his parents, who realize that they now have the perfect act to take on the road so they can get rich quick. TOLD YOU! GOOSEBUMPS PARENTS!!
So yeah, Jack's Parents turn him into an act, having him perform for stuff like grand openings for car lots. After the performance proves successful, mom and dad invite the press and the media to get Jack more exposure. They even forbid him from having a real life as he has to keep himself focused on his new life as a real-life superhero. So, instead of a big scary monster or a dark, foreboding situation, this Goosebumps book's real evil is the evil of parents who force their children into fame for the purpose of making money for them. Eh, still not as downright evil as the grandparents from How To Kill A Monster. But even with all this, WITH ALL THIS I SAY, Wilson still ends up being more famous than him. But Jack's eventual ennui over being forced into celebrity (as well as undergoing tests from scientists) are wiped away when his parents put him in a race against Wilson for a million dollars. To hell with your own sanity and well being, you can buy those when you're rich! The day of the race arrives and Jack gets ready to go through with it. Wilson is especially happy to be the darling of the cameras and the adulation of the roaring crowds. They get ready to race as the starting gun goes off.
TWIST ENDING
CONCLUSION
I can see why there are people who don't like How I Learned To Fly. It's not a scary book. At all. Outside of maybe the rat scene, there's nothing in the book that constitutes as horror. Or particularly the kind of horror you associate with Goosebumps and R.L. Stine. But what you do get is a charming little story about a kid who constantly loses at life finally getting a chance to truly win in the end. Jack's a likable protagonist, one you do genuinely feel bad for in parts. Especially when this book becomes a story about the evils of man, especially in the pursuit of fame and fortune. On the other end of the coin, they do make Wilson enough of a "perfect at everything" villain that you do want to see him get bested somehow. And having his defeat come from Jack outsmarting everyone is a great way to do so. I wish Mia was more of a character for the most part, instead of being treated as a prize in this battle between Wilson and Jack.
In the end, I'm in the camp of really liking this book. It flowed at a decent pace, was actually a fun story, was cute in places, and had a happy ending. Why the hell Jovial Bob made this a Goosebumps book instead of something standalone is beyond me. Maybe the supernatural elements of a flying kid and the concept of greed were enough to justify it as such. But for being something out of the norm that actually still works, I can't say I'm complaining all that much. How I Learned To Fly gets an A-.
No comments:
Post a Comment