YMMV / How I Learned to Fly

• Bizarro Episode: How I Learned to Fly barely seems like a Goosebumps book at all. The protagonist being able to fly is the only supernatural element, and he finds it more cool than scary. In fact, the rat-infested basement where he finds the book that teaches him how to fly, and him subsequently getting lost while flying at night, are the only scary parts. It also treats the supernatural thing as a lot more realistic than most books, with the protagonist at one point worrying that if it becomes common knowledge that he can fly, he will likely never get any peace.
• Realism-Induced Horror: Despite the cover indicating that the horror would come from Jack realizing he's thousands of feet off the ground with little to no control, that is not the case. Nor is it that his rival Wilson found the formula and used his new flying powers to humiliate Jack again in front of Mia. No, the real horror is when the rest of the world finds out about the boys' new abilities. Jack's own parents do have their hearts in the right place, but they do not hesitate to turn their son into their cash cow, booking him for testing, PR events, and experiments (though the experiments to be fair was not exactly their say). It takes the joy out of flying, and Jack implies he doesn't have a choice. Wilson's parents do the same thing off-screen, giving him the moniker Wonder Wilson and he's forced to drop out of school, isolating him from his classmates; however, considering what a jerk Wilson is, you feel much sorrier for Jack than you do for him. Anyone familiar with Former Child Star stories can see the Financial Abuse and strain. You can't blame Jack for pretending he lost his powers, and doesn't dare tell anyone, not even Mia.

---