Book recommendation: Skeleton Creek by Patrick Carman

September 1, 7:57 AMReading ExaminerCheryl Vanatti

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Skeleton Creek is a unique concept book

There are so many things to discuss about Skeleton Creek, a unique concept book by Patrick Carman, it's hard to know where to begin. How about the possibilities for reluctant readers, the importance of 21st Century Literacies, the research buzz about male readers or a simple review of the story itself?

Mr. Carman and Scholastic have done a great job promoting this tile, but we’ll start with the premise: The town of Skeleton Creek is hiding a secret. Teenage writer Ryan lets us into his journal just as he’s released from a two-week stay in the hospital. Something sinister has happened to Ryan and his parents have decided the best way to keep him out of trouble is to keep him away from his best friend, Sarah, a film aficionado...but that’s not going to happen.

Sarah & Ryan communicate through email and a secret password-protected website. Every twenty-five pages or so, the reader heads off to the computer to access one of Sarah’s viral-style videos, building clues to solve the mystery of Skeleton Creek right along with Ryan and Sarah.

21st Century Literacies:
Some have called it interactive reading or cross-platform storytelling or split media, but the NCTE probably coined the best phrase: 21st Century Literacies. Educators, Librarians and Reading Specialists have been buzzing about 21st Century Literacies for quite some time. Finding best practices to utilize our new technologies and competing with the multimedia-driven society are nothing new. However, Skeleton Creek is a first. Another Scholastic title, The 39 Clues (also touched by author Carman’s hand), has a fantastic gamer-interactive slant to it, but Skeleton Creek is the first to make use of the YouTube, viral, conspiracy, Easter egg hunting craze. For this alone, it is impressive.

Reluctant & Male Readers:
But impressing a middle aged teacher isn't the problem. Strong readers, those sorts who LIVE inside a story; might think stopping to go watch a video is a massive buzz kill, but they're not the sort of person this story is aimed towards. The reluctant reader, the youth of daily YouTube perusals, the boys who never go near a book are going to be enthralled by this.

There were a few reviews criticizing certain aspects of Skeleton Creek. But these were book reviewers! They love to read. They were missing the potential. Reading teachers who’ve spent time with struggling readers, can really get behind this format. The short bursts of text, the climactic plot and the multimedia format all add essential support for a struggling reader. Read a few pages... boom. You get to go watch a supporting video that not only further enhances the experience, it amplifies the plot.

Story & Videos Review:
The bottom line is that an entertainment experience is only as good as the story. The story has some elements that cause pause (of being in real time with the journal writer, of telling a non-linear story to reluctant readers), but Skeleton Creek is one of those along-for-the-ride stories. And those are the ones that seduce a reader. You’re in on a secret, the foreshadowing hints abound, and the plot – not descriptive brilliance or character worship – drives the tale. And... it's scary.

As for the videos, one could play Roger Ebert discussing acting plausibility and sound effect oddities, but the videos are meant to be viral. Think Blair Witch or Cloverfield without the nose hair shots or queasy camera shaking.

The only real concern involves accessibility. One must wonder if the story will linger in a child's mind long enough for them to get to a computer, especially those with only school internet access. Yet, some wait months for ABC's addictive Lost, filling our hunger with Internet theory sites until the plot continues, and Skeleton Creek has those websites to fill the void until the companion novel, Ghost In The Machine, is released on October 1, 2009.

Teachers would be well served to explore Skeleton Creek because this is going to start a trend. Mark my words.

You can buy Skeleton Creek here