Item - The Green Slime

This is quite a well-designed gamebook; the continuity is good, and some parts of the book are re-used in such a way that some paths through the story last longer than is usual for the series (though this practice does tend to lead to "reruns" when a seemingly unrelated path leads to a familiar place).

More reviews by Demian

Fantastical premises were the foundation for a few of Susan Saunders's Bantam Skylark Choose Your Own Adventures, and before The Creature from Miller's Pond, Attack of the Monster Plants, or You Are Invisible, she gave us The Green Slime. You're excited to try out the chemistry set your aunt Beth gave you as a birthday gift, but for the moment you have to babysit your four-and-a-half-year-old cousin Stevie. He's a whirling dervish, wrecking things all over your bedroom, but finally seems to have slowed down and be napping on your bed. When you and your friend Jan are conversing downstairs and hear him giggling, you feel uneasy. Should you run and check on him?

Stevie, it turns out, has been meddling with your chemistry set. If you go upstairs right away, there's noxious green slime bubbling in a dish he holds. You can direct Jan to pour it down the sink, but soon a river of the green stuff is overflowing the bathroom and across your bedroom floor. Its tendrils reach up to nab Stevie on the bed. The window might be your only escape, but can you retrieve your cousin too? You could try a daring experiment and feed rubber to the slime, which it seems to enjoy, but what if it exits the house searching for more? Whatever you do, don't let Stevie eat the slime in an impulsive act of rebellion against you; having a kid who's green from head to toe will do nothing to keep you out of trouble.

Maybe when you first hear Stevie giggling, you see no need to rush upstairs. In that case, the green ooze flows down to you. The stairs are inaccessible, but should you climb the oak tree outside your bedroom window to evacuate Stevie? Grabbing a ladder from the garage might lead to a tricky stilt walk to the bedroom, but you'll have a chance to save your cousin. You might be better off seeking outside help from the get-go; a trip to the grocery store could net you enough bags of ice to freeze the slime solid, or you can visit Professor Tate, a scientist studying microorganisms that consume organic material. Could they swallow the slime? Lugging the bucket of microorganisms up the tree to your bedroom window risks spilling too much for it to be effective, but success might bring a problem just as bizarre as the slime. Will life ever return to normal?

I'm not impressed by The Green Slime. It's hard to buy the notion that a kid alone for a few moments with a toy chemistry set could create such a threat, and the implausibilities multiply from there. I do appreciate direct mention of the Incredible Hulk on page thirty-nine; I wouldn't have expected a branded superhero reference. The Green Slime's offbeat style is its strength, but the story has nothing to teach and isn't far outside the familiar for Choose Your Own Adventure. Compared to The Creature from Miller's Pond and You Are Invisible, this isn't one of Susan Saunders's best.

More reviews by KenJenningsJeopardy74