Skeleton Creek by Patrick Carman

Title: Skeleton Creek
Author: Patrick Carman

Pages: 144

Genre: YA/Teen Horror

Source: Purchased

Strange things are happening in Skeleton Creek . . . and Ryan and Sarah are trying to get to the heart of it. But after an eerie accident leaves Ryan housebound and his parents forbid him from seeing Sarah, their investigation takes two tracks: Ryan records everything in his journal, while Sarah uses her camcorder to search things out. . . and then email the clips for Ryan to see.

What a unique and fantastically creepy book this was. Firstly, the book looks and is written in journal entries by Ryan. You know he and Sarah are trying to uncover the secrets of their town. Why the town is called Skeleton Creek? Why little by little its inhabitants are moving away - to where it's even resembling a ghost town. The strange skull and bones symbol they've uncovered. And even what happened at the dredge on the outskirts of town... why did it close down?

Of course, these kids are full of questions and on their quest to find answers they've uncovered a mystery that might be deadly in nature.

The coolest thing about this book - the neato passwords scattered throughout the story. That's right, after every couple of chapters, Ryan receives passwords from Sarah to her website (www.sarahfincher.com) and, guess what, you get to go along for the ride and see her videos. Which are quite creepy and made me jump a time or too. She is a bit reckless and doesn't put too much thought to things before she acts (if I were in her shoes, I'd be running for the hills) - but in the end, her antics are what keep you on the edge of your seat. The actress who plays Sarah may be in need of some acting classes - but nonetheless, these videos really gave it a spooky feel. Ryan's entries are very detailed and, you, as the reader, are just as scared as he is while reading them. There were a few parts that were not very credible since Ryan writes them in the present tense and there is no way someone could write these things as they are happening. Especially some of the more tense situations.

All in all, this was a very spooky, thrilling, emotional roller-coaster story that has an ending that will leave you with your mouth hanging wide open and in NEED for the next book. This is great for young adults and even the young tweens who like a quick fright of a read. Very cool and highly recommended.

My Rating:

There are two more books in the Skeleton Creek series. The second is titled Ghost in the Machine and the most recent release (Sept. 2010) is The Crossbones.

**Originally reviewed October 2009**