I'd heard a lot of good things about Patrick Carman before I read Skeleton Creek, so when a friend of mine gave me a copy and told me I had to read it I didn't argue. I'm certainly glad I listened because this is an amazing book. Patrick Carman is considered by many to be at the forefront of experimenting with ways to incorporate the written word with the internet, film, and audio. This book seamlessly incorporates short videos throughout the book. That being said I will warn you that if you don't have easy access to the internet, this is perhaps not the book for you. The book alternates between journal entries written by the book's main character, Ryan, and videos made by his good friend Sarah. In order to know what's going on you have to have both, otherwise it's like listening to half of a phone conversation.
The story starts off with Ryan writing that something terrible has happened. To build the suspense Patrick Carman doesn't let you in on what exactly has happened until you get a little ways into the book. Which leaves you guessing as to what terrible this this high school student could have gotten into that has made his parents ground him (basically for life) and forbid him from seeing his best friend. I confess that the first three times I read this book, watching Sarah's videos made me jump. I won't ruin the story, but let's just say there's a ghost involved. Patrick Carman does an excellent job of keeping you guessing through the whole book. And just to keep you on your toes, doesn't reveal anything until the sequel, Ghost in the Machine, which is just as good. In fact there are several books in this series, so if you like Skeleton Creek, chances are good you'll like the rest of them.
I like Patrick Carman's style of writing because he firmly places inside of the main characters mind. There's no guess what his motives are, because if the character is thinking it you can access it pretty easily. As I may have mentioned before this story is full of suspense, although I recommend you not read this book at night or on a stormy day. I readily identified with Ryan because, like him, I'm usually the cautious one. The person saying, "Hey guys, I don't know if this is a good idea." Sarah on the other hand is full steam ahead, never mind the consequences.
I give this book 5 stars. I first read this book about 3 years ago and I think to date I've read it about 10 times.
The story starts off with Ryan writing that something terrible has happened. To build the suspense Patrick Carman doesn't let you in on what exactly has happened until you get a little ways into the book. Which leaves you guessing as to what terrible this this high school student could have gotten into that has made his parents ground him (basically for life) and forbid him from seeing his best friend. I confess that the first three times I read this book, watching Sarah's videos made me jump. I won't ruin the story, but let's just say there's a ghost involved. Patrick Carman does an excellent job of keeping you guessing through the whole book. And just to keep you on your toes, doesn't reveal anything until the sequel, Ghost in the Machine, which is just as good. In fact there are several books in this series, so if you like Skeleton Creek, chances are good you'll like the rest of them.
I like Patrick Carman's style of writing because he firmly places inside of the main characters mind. There's no guess what his motives are, because if the character is thinking it you can access it pretty easily. As I may have mentioned before this story is full of suspense, although I recommend you not read this book at night or on a stormy day. I readily identified with Ryan because, like him, I'm usually the cautious one. The person saying, "Hey guys, I don't know if this is a good idea." Sarah on the other hand is full steam ahead, never mind the consequences.
I give this book 5 stars. I first read this book about 3 years ago and I think to date I've read it about 10 times.