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Skeleton Creek: Ryan's Journal - Patrick Carman

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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.

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