Skeleton Creek (Skeleton Creek, #1)

Skeleton Creek (Skeleton Creek #1)

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4.06 of 5 stars 4.06  ·  rating details  ·  3,043 ratings  ·  730 reviews
A breakthrough new series from bestselling author Patrick Carman, featuring text and technology in an innovative new way.

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 forbidden to see Sarah, their investigation takes two tracks: Ryan records everything in...more
Hardcover, 185 pages
Published March 1st 2009 by Scholastic Press
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Drew
Ryan is housebound and forbidden to have anything to do with his best friend Sarah after he is seriously injured in a fall in an old dredge out in the woods that no one in town wants to talk about.

But both have found and disabled their parents' monitoring software and are communicating by email, as Sarah continues their dangerous investigation and sends Ryan links to the videos she makes documenting her research into the horrific death of a worker on the dredge years ago, what may be his ghost...more
Ryan Zani
Elements And Style:In Skeleton Creek Patrick Carman uses fear, and humor at some points just to lighten the mood. Patrick Carman uses two protaginists: Ryan and Sarah. Patrick also has a antgonist: The Ghost Of Old Joe Bush. Patrick also uses the mood of the story (mystery, fear) to make the reader want to read even more because they dont know whats going to happen. He has left this book on a cliffhanger which makes you want to read all of the series.
Characterization: Ryan (the main character) w...more
The Lost Lola
Feb 27, 2009 The Lost Lola rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: fans of ghost stories
Shelves: hauntings
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
Lisa
This is a cool idea to link a book with a website! The author does an amazing job weaving the two parts together and the ending is intriguing (I won't spoil it!). The actress that plays Sarah is cheesy though.

Overall, the book is well-written, although I was surprised to learn that Ryan was 16ish. Haunted house antics seem to be more of what a 13-year old would be into, rather than a driving-age teenage boy - aren't they more concerned with girls and cars?

I'm interested to see where Carman tak...more
Bailee
ok listen, the end of this book is a TOTAL cliffhanger. OH MY MOO!!! i cant wait for the second one to come out!
El Templo de las Mil Puertas
"Ryan ha estado a punto de morir. La culpa de eso la tiene Sarah. O al menos es de lo que parecen estar convencidos sus padres pues, aunque el susto tras la vertiginosa caída de varios metros quedó en una pierna rota, le han prohibido volver a verla. El joven, recluido en su habitación tras el accidente, decide comenzar un diario donde plasmar sus inquietudes. Su miedo por Sarah. Su miedo DE Sarah. Pero sobre todo, la angustia por lo que vivió aquella noche en la draga del bosque; la noche del a...more
Becky
I'll be honest. I don't do scary. Not really. If I did, I'm sure my reaction to Skeleton Creek would be more enthusiastic. But I don't need to love a book in order to blog about it! After all, I can recognize a good story when I see it, even if that story isn't for me. Skeleton Creek could probably be described as a deliciously creepy mystery about two teenagers--one boy, Ryan, one girl, Sarah--living in a mysterious town, Skeleton Creek, a town that has seen better days, brighter days. The town...more
Kate
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
Emma
Skeleton Creek is a ghost story in which two friends are constantly getting into trouble but eventually gets badly hurt because of there investigating. So, there parents try to stop them from having contact with each other but Sarah (the friend who didn't get hurt,) keeps sending videos of that night and starts investigating the mysteries surrounding Skeleton Creek herself while Ryan (who is injured,) is forced to stay home and worry about what they've gotten themselves into.
~
It's a really shor...more
Abby Moix
I would recommend this book to a more mature audience because this book contains scenes from the supernatural world that might be too scary for younger kids. The title is appropriate because Skeleton Creek is the name of the town where Ryan and Sarah, the main characters, live. The characters are unique, especially Sarah. She keeps on wanting to go back to the dredge to find out more about Old Joe Bush. Ryan is a bit more scared than Sarah since he was supposedly pushed down a flight of stairs b...more
Jason O
What Patrick Carman did with this book was amazing. I loved the way he added in videos to the reading to add to the story, and the fact that they were horror films were even better. The build up with the back story made the book fascinating to read. It really kept me flipping pages till midnight because the of the immense amount of mysteries that slowly reveal themselves as you keep reading on. Some are expected, and some are very surprising and you could never see them coming. Also, writing in...more
Fischer Jemison
This is a terrible book. It only takes an hour or so to read, but that's an hour you could be spending doing things that are far more productive, like smoking marijuana, or drinking vodka, or dropping out of high school. You could spend that hour playing video games, or going on facebook, or watching grass grow. You could get through a couple Magic Treehouse books. What you should not do is read Skeleton Creek.

Seriously.

Who decided to link a book with a website? Where did that idea even come fro...more
Kshraiberg
The book I was read was skeleton creek book 1. I thought this book was a real thriller. I would give this a 5 out of 5. The reason is this book is about a boy named Ryan and his best friend who go on an adventure about a old mystery. In the beginning you meet a teen named Ryan who is severely injured. The reason is Ryan and his best friend went to a place called the Dredge. Ryan goes to the Dredge because of a story his father told him. The story is that a man a long time ago fell into a tree c...more
Emily Cooke
This was a pretty amazing book. This is more of a mystery/ghost story type thing. It is set in Skeleton Creek, a dieing town whose main attraction is it's good fishing. The book is supposed to be a journal, written by Ryan. His best friend since they were five, Sarah, gets into adventure and trouble, dragging Ryan with her. (Sorry, I forget their last names.) Ryan tells the tale of their latest adventure in his journal. This one is very special, though: Investigating the ghost of the Dredge of S...more
Erinn
Ryan'a Journal

"Skeleton Creek" is a story about a boy named Ryan who is injured while exploring a dredge in the wood with his best friend Sarah. Their parents don't wont any more from the two of them so they forbid them from seeing each other. However, they just can't keep away and communicate through email. Then they start to get deeper and deeper into the story behind their town, to the point that they are in danger...

This book is perfect for those interested in a good mystery with a little a...more
Thomas Reimer
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
Boo Langdon
Boo Langdon
10/24/11
Skeleton Creek
Skeleton Creek is a book by Patrick Carmen. This book is about two friends who spend all their time together. One day they get curious why their town is named skeleton creek and decided to find out why, they go to the library and read old articles about a death on a machine they call the “Dredge”. The person who died was named Old Joe Bush there was supposedly a ghost on the dredge. Sarah and Ryan decided to sneak on to the dredge and explore. Ryan sees the ghos...more
Jackie
Best friends, Sarah and Ryan, take adventures to a new level. Currently, they are investigating the old mining dredge that has been abandoned in their town of Skeleton Creek. One night, as the two were exploring, they hear creepy noises and as Ryan backs up, he falls to the floor below and shatters his leg.

Ryan, after nearly two weeks in the hospital, is a little fuzzy on the details of the accident. Sarah, a videographer, sends him the video of the night and they both start to see odd things....more
Jane
2.5 stars, but I rounded up. Interesting and unique concept of integrating a "journal" with videos that the reader watches online. I am guessing that fresh take is what landed this book on the YRCA 2012 list. I went in wondering whether watching the videos would be necessary to understanding the story, and it definitely is - I question the accessibility of this text because of that (what about kids who don't have computers/internet at home?), plus the annoyance of being required to read next to...more
Karen
This creepy YA mystery tells the story of two friends, Sarah and Ryan, trying to find out why their town was named Skeleton Creek. What makes it so entertaining is the online tie-in. Throughout the story, readers login to a website, enter a password and view a video that features the two main characters (okay, mostly Sarah) and gives pertinent information to solving the mystery. Some of these videos have the potential to give me nightmares, but others had my husband laughing openly (at them, not...more
Dante G.
OH MY GOSH!This is one of the best books I have EVER read. This amazing book that I read was Skeleton Creek book #1 by Patrick Carman


This book is about these two kids trying to find out what happened and the dredge how it happened in the dredge and why it happened. These kids Ryan and Sarah are trying to find out. but mostly during the book Sarah is going to the dredge because Ryan broke his leg at the dredge, so Sarah is looking while Ryan is researching. But the weir part is that all of the...more
Laura
Last year I heard about a new type of book that integrated video clips into the reading experience. I thought it was an intriguing idea and a great way to entice kids to read, but I never read one of these books myself. A year later, as a requirement for a class, I found myself reading Patrick Carman's "Skeleton Creek." I loved scary stories as a kid, and I went through a whole horror movie phase in my teenage years, so I was immediately intrigued with the book from the beginning. Carman starts...more
Lauren A
Skeleton Creek explains the strange relationship between Sarah and Ryan. They live in a quite little town called Skeleton Creek which is on the outer edges of Oregon. There are so many secrets that they have uncovered. But Ryan and Sarah find out those secrets can kill. Although Ryan is strickly housebound after "the accident" him and Sarah find a way to connect. After the accident, Ryan and Sarah are sternly forbidden from seeing,hearing or making contact with each other. Thier parents are watc...more
Bekah Crozier
I thoroughly enjoyed the way this book kept you reading and watching videos throughout - even though the acting wasn't necessarily anything to write home about.
The story itself is about a teenage boy named Ryan, and his best friend Sarah - an adventurous duo who like to "solve" things and in the end, wind up in heaps of trouble by their parents. But this time, they've really done it. Their parents have banned them from seeing one another forever, after being caught in an accident at an abandone...more
Melissa
This book completely appealed to my 12 year old self, the one who used to read Fear Street, and had her own secret ghost story club under the bridge in town (very Midnight Society)and even as an adult I was completely hooked by this concept. Last year one of my students brought his copy from home, and I had a huge crowd of AM library go-ers who would watch the videos as he reached the correct points...they would replay them over and over until the next day when he was ready to move on to the nex...more
Cherylann
I had no idea what to think when this book arrived from Barnes and Noble. I was immediately attracted to the packaging. A mylar wrapping held the novel. When I slid the book from its sleeve, I saw a book with the appearance of a journal. Opening the book, I found the text was printed to look like handwriting. There were also sketches and the facsimile of emails "taped" into the book. If I were to judge a book by its cover, this would be a winner! I was not disappointed as I began to read. The st...more
YA Reads Book Reviews
Bit of a thrill junkie? Then you’re going to love this one. I suggest you hold on to your seats, folks, because you’re in for one hell of a ride. Skeleton Creek is an anomaly. And a very, very good one at that! Patrick Carman calls it “cross platform storytelling” because it incorporates both the traditional use of text, as well as video footage to tell the story.

A terrible accident occurs one night when Ryan and Sarah are messing around at the local closed down dredge. In the darkness, Ryan fal...more
Trent
This series combines the written word and video in a very entertaining way. The basic idea is that there are two friends (a boy and a girl) who are trying to find out the mystery of some abandoned mining equipment in their town. The boy writes a journal about their adventures, and the girl records video. So, you read about 20 pages and then go online and watch a video. There are about 9 videos in total--all of them but one are about 3-4 minutes long (the last one is 11 minutes).

I thought the vi...more
Maura
This is such a intriguing way to do a book. I think this is a more incredible idea then Cathy's book series, even though these are two completing different stories/ideas. I love how in Cathy's key you're given evidence and in this book, Skeleton Creek, you're given a password to a site and you watch videos. So the male protagonist point of view is told in journal format, and then the female protagonist point of view is told by video format. Though in this book it is actually in Journal format *y...more
Ti
Skeleton Creek
By Patrick Carman
Publisher: Scholastic, Inc.
Pub. Date: February 2009
ISBN-13: 9780545075664
Age Range: 9 to 12
192pp
Series: Skeleton Creek Series

The blurb from the publisher:

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 forbidden to see Sarah, their investigation takes two tracks: Ryan records everything in his journal, while Sarah uses her videocam to search things o...more
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YA Reads for Teac...: Skeleton Creek - Patrick Carman 11 51 Apr 24, 2013 04:05am  
Suggestions for the next book. 4 34 Feb 05, 2013 07:04pm  
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I have been a lifelong writer and storyteller. Salem, Oregon is where I spent my formative years and I graduated from Willamette University. After college, I spent a decade living in Portland, Oregon where I worked in advertising, game design, and technology.

I've written young adult and children's books for Scholastic, Little Brown Books For Young Readers and Katherine Tegen Books/ HarperCollins P...more
More about Patrick Carman...
The Black Circle (39 Clues, #5) The Dark Hills Divide (The Land of Elyon #1) Beyond the Valley of Thorns (The Land of Elyon, #2) The Tenth City (The Land of Elyon, #3) Into the Mist (The Land of Elyon 0)

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