Skulls and Skeletons: True-Life Stories of Bone Detectives

24/7: Science Behind the Scenes

by Danielle Denega

Explains how forensic anthropologists figure out a victim's profile and examines three case studies in which forensic anthropologists help identify the victims.

64 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2007

Reviews

[Martina]

The nonfiction book Skulls And Skeletons was made to inform and teach the reader how investigators do their job. In this book the author Danielle Denega is using real life cases to explain how investigators do their job. Investigators don’t have an easy job in fact its quite complicated. They have to inspect the scene and have to ask themselves a lot of questions, now this is where it gets complicated. Some of the questions they may have to ask themselves is, is it murder, or a natural disaster? Only the bones of the victims remain, and Forensic anthropologists have the answer to most of the investigators questions. How do they answer these complicated questions you might ask? Well the answer is quite simple , its the bones leave a lot of clues behind the scenes. Throughout this book it will tell you the many stories that may shock you. They may shock you because they are so bizarre. For example one of the stories is that two American journalists are murdered in Guatemala, Can forensic anthropologist locate and identify there remains? This book is not suggested for children mostly because throughout this book it has stories and pictures that are real and may scare the child, so I suggest this book to teenagers who can handle it and adults.

I learned a lot throughout this this book about the many different topics. My favorite thing that I learned in this book was about Forensic odontologists. Their job is to identify a person’s remains. Not only the body the Forensic odontologists have to study. They also have to study the teeth, from looking at the teeth these odontologist can tell a lot about their patient. To be honest when I first saw the topic I thought it would be boring. Once I started reading it all changed. In fact it is quite interesting, they can see just from an x-ray a lot, it fascinated me the whole subject. I found it interesting because the investigators and other people involved in the case can tell so much from looking and observing the bodies and the scene of the accident. However something I did not enjoy about the book was that it was not focused on one topic every few pages it would be something new. While their are some things I didn't enjoy in this book their are some things I did enjoy. Something I did enjoy was how many pictures, graphs and maps there were in this book. For example every single page had a picture or map. After finishing this book I wanted to read more and that never happened to me in a non fiction book. I love the authors style of writing in the book. It kept me wanting to read more, the author also used a lot of color which never made my eyes bored because in some books black and white gets boring.


I would recommend this book because I absolutely loved it. However this book is not for everyone. I think that I enjoyed the book so much because I have always been fascinated in how these investigators do their job, this book seems like it is made for me. Mostly because I enjoyed it so much. I give this book four stars out of five because it kept me hooked on the topic. In conclusion this book is a must read if you are interested in learning about how these jobs work, however this book is not only on that topic.

[Elise]

Being a "Bones" and "Psych" fanatic, I immediately bonded with this book. It had a unique perspective to the criminal minds and forensic outlook. The format was clean and easy to read. Big, bright arrows pointed to bubble letters that highlighted the situation or identified a word that seemed too complex. Though it was clearly obvious that Danielle Denega tried to make the topic light and fluffy, not at all the mood of a forensics theme. I had the feeling that the gross impersonation of a comical book made Denega's writing too immature, better suited for a younger audience. I also felt that the 'cases' were too dull, not to disrespect anyone, but with such extensive research Denega did, I feel that a more variety of cases would have strengthened the rating of the book. However that didn't stop me from enjoying and gathering new information from the topic. It helped me acquire more information for future actions, since I aim to be a forensic examiner later on. I reccomend this book to all who enjoy solving gruesome mysteries.

[Rebecca]

I liked the mix of case studies and facts. It was written for a very young audience so I was disappointed by how generic it was. I wanted to see more bones and stuff! I wish my library had more books that got into the nitty gritty of forensic anthropology...sigh.

[Sarah Thalmann]

This high-interest, low-reading-level book educates readers about forensic anthropology by explaining key vocabulary, narrating the stories of cases solved by forensic anthropologists, giving information about techniques and tools of the field, and examining forensic anthropology as a career. The pages of the book are laid out much like those of a magazine, including a table of contents with attention-grabbing photographs, short interviews with forensic anthropologists, and even a quiz designed to determine whether readers are cut out for forensic anthropology. The first page of the book, prior to the title page, contains a picture of bones from two feet and a true/false statement that both are bones from human feet, and the answer and accompanying explanation revealed on the next page engage readers in the content from the beginning. Though the three forensic anthropology cases that compose the bulk of the book are described using standard narrative text, they contain eye-catching section headings accompanied by one-sentence summaries of the section, which would be useful for struggling readers. In addition, the descriptions of the cases are filled with photographs, maps, and diagrams with explanatory captions that complement the text. For each case, the question to be answered, the evidence gathered, and the investigators' conclusions are highlighted as a visual aid. The remainder of the book is laid out in a more graphic format; for example, in place of a traditional list of vocabulary words, important vocabulary is introduced in speech bubbles emanating from a forensic anthropologist stacking up skulls and defined right below each bubble. At times the page design is somewhat distracting, such as the two-page spread on key dates in forensic anthropology that probably would have been more effective arrayed on a timeline rather than numbered and scattered across the pages, or the pages containing rather intimidating diagrams of skeletons or skulls with each bone labeled in small type, but overall the mixture of text and graphics is engaging and informative. The back of the book contains web and print resources for further reading, a glossary, and an index. This book may be of particular interest to fans of the TV show Bones, which is referenced explicitly in the book, or other forensic shows, but it would appeal to any reader interested in practical applications of science who does not mind macabre subject matter. Though the inevitable yet still terrible puns ("a chance to bone up on the field," "you'll get more than the bare bones," etc.) may cause some eye-rolling, readers will learn a great deal about a fascinating field. The simple vocabulary and sentence structure make this book accessible to younger readers, but the content will likely be more appropriate to late middle school and high school students. Target Audience: Ages 13-18