Skip to main content

Skeleton Creek: Ryan's Journal - Patrick Carman


Do you like really scary ghost stories? Then the young adult book Skeleton Creek by Patrick Carman is the book for you. What made it so scary? The videos. As the story progresses the main character's best friend sends him emails with videos she has taken. Videos of a ghost. And this ghost is frightening to look at, believe me. The girl sends her friend passwords that you as the reader can use to view the videos online as the story progresses. It gives the story an almost real feeling you rarely get while reading a story. The videos are so important to the storyline that the book by itself is useless without them. In fact, you have to watch the last video if you want to find out how the story ends. (If you can call it an ending.) Unfortunately this is only the first book in a series so the story leaves us in a horrible cliffhanger, I'll be having nightmares about for months to come. There is no gore or violence in the context of the story, but this story is much too spooky for younger or sensitive children. (Heck I'm an adult and at times it made me jump.) The most amazing part is the depth the author is willing to go to in making this fiction world feel like reality. There is an "unofficial" website (obviously put there by the publisher), Wikipedia entries with more info about the ghost, and even fake newspaper articles you can find if you follow the links. There are hidden goodies that appear on the official website but only at different times of the day. According to one fan, the best stuff comes on after midnight. If you like spooky stories don't miss this fantastic treat. And make sure your laptop is handy.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Painting for Peace in Ferguson

Painting for Peace in Ferguson By Carol Swartout Klein Treehouse Publishing Group, 2015. Nonfiction. When the city of Ferguson was overrun with so much hate and despair that homes and businesses had to be boarded up to protect property, citizens of the community decided to bring a message of hope by painting the boarded windows. Klein’s rhyming text supports the photographs of the hundreds of artists and volunteers and their artwork as they bring the messages of peace, hope, love, and that by being united they can make a difference. A great book to show children how a community rallied to make a positive change and that even a small gesture can make a huge difference. A great discussion opener on how we should treat each other.

Dragon Run

Dragon Run by Patrick Matthews Scholastic, 2013.  336 pgs.  Fantasy      Al Pilgrommor is excited for Testing Day, when he will receive his rank, a tattooed number on the back of his neck, and a path forward to his future occupation and life.  He feels confident because his parents were fours on a scale of seven, but he is worried for his friend Wisp who doesn't have much of a chance of scoring above a two at best. But when Al is scored a zero, he not only has no prospects, he may lose his life as the dreaded Cullers are unleashed to kill him and his family to purify the land's bloodlines.  Al's world is ruled by dragons--the lords and supposed creators of humankind--so he thinks that even if he survives, he will have to make his living as a beggar or thief. But when Al sticks up for his Earther friend in front of Magister Ludi, he is drawn into the struggle of a secret organization hoping to destroy the Cullers, and perhaps the dragons them...

Review: We're All Gonna Die-Nosaur!

We’re All Gonna Die-nosaur! By Kon Tan  New York: Disney Hyperion, 2025. Intermediate. 157 pages.  Pterry (the “p” is silent) pterodactyl is a worry wart. Pterry is worried about flying (he doesn’t how to fly yet), dinosaurs going extinct (he had a scary dream), and how to protect his family (he has a little brother who hasn’t fully hatched from an egg yet). Even though there is a lot of feels for Pterry, this is actually quite a funny book. Pterry tries to learn how to fly with kites as his “training wheels” and his brother who is inside an egg is quite the adventurer.  This is a funny, heart-felt comic-like intermediate fiction book that will be great for many readers. If kids love dinosaurs, this book is for them. If kids like funny graphic novels, this book is for them. If kids want to read something about facing fears and doing things even though they don’t always want to, this book is for them. Plus, even though Pterry does a lot of things on his own, he still has s...