SKELETON CREEK: THE RAVEN by Patrick Carman-REVIEW

Still trying to uncover the secret of the Crossbones Sarah and Ryan embark on another leg of the mystery. This time Sarah is heading back home from LA. On the way she will make several side trips looking for clues that The Apostle has left in various places.

Ryan is at home in Skeleton Creek fending off reporters trying to interview him about the discovery of the lost Thomas Jefferson books. The mayor of Skeleton Creek is encouraging him to answer as many questions as possible in order to keep Skeleton Creek in the news and on the map.

Between working in his fathers fishing store and returning reporters calls Ryan is unravelling the map that the Ghost of Old Joe Bush had given him. Between he and Sarah they unravel a mystery about Edgar Allen Poe that the Crossbones have been protecting for years. As things unfold the torch is passed to a new generation of Crossbones protectors.

I have enjoyed every book in the Skeleton Creek series. They are great mysteries and the video's that go along throughout the story help maintain the suspense of the mystery.

SKELETON CREEK THE CROSSBONES by Patrick Carman-REVIEW

Sarah’s family has left Skeleton Creek. Leaving Ryan without his best friend. The town has benefitted from the gold found in the old dredge. Ryan’s father has purchased a fishing store which he insists Ryan spend his summer working in.


Ryan has a secret from the old dredge that he hasn’t revealed to anyone. He shares with Sarah a new clue for another mystery in Skeleton Creek.

Sarah’s parents agree to let her drive across country visiting family members on her way to CA for film school. Unbeknownst to them she is also hunting clues in this new mystery. The scary thing is that the ghost from the old dredge seems to be following Sarah.

Ryan is frustrated still being stuck in Skeleton Creek while Sarah once again deals with cemeteries in the middle of the night and the ghost turning up at odd times during her trek.

What mystery are they chasing and will it bring them harm before they solve it?

I liked this installment of the Skeleton Creek series but I was disappointed in the video’s this time around. Sarah is no longer showing herself in the video’s. I think it is for privacy purposes, but that is what made the other Skeleton Creek books more personable and frightening. Although the book was good it did lack the scariness of the other books. I still enjoyed reading the book and going online to watch Sarah’s video’s and look forward to the next installment of Skeleton Creek because of course we were left hanging at the end of the book.

BAD GIRL DON'T DIE by Katie Alender - REVIEW

Alexis lives a dysfunctional high school existence. She keeps to herself taking and developing her own photographs in a darkroom at home. She doesn’t have any friends at school. She watches her parents grow farther and farther apart while they focus on their careers instead of home, but most unsettling of all is her younger sister’s fascination with her doll collection. Kasey won’t allow anyone near them and Alexis knows she has heard Kasey talking to them in the middle of the night.

Strange things have been happening around the old house they live in. Water boils on its own, doors open and close automatically, and Kasey’s eyes begin to change from their normal blue to a fiery green. With the help from an unlikely ally, Alexis begins to put together the pieces of a mystery that will lead to the cause of the disturbance in her house and the cause of her sister’s evil possession.

As far as ghost stories go, this is a good one. There are several layers to the mystery and the author generates a completely creepy feeling throughout the entire book. Be sure to pick up this book as soon as you can. You won’t be disappointed. Plus - what a cool cover! Even it is creepy.

BLISS by Lauren Myracle - REVIEW

Bliss in the Morning Dew has hippie parents and when they ditch her at her grandmother’s house on their way to Canada she is forced to survive in a world that is completely alien to her.

After living on a commune for years, Bliss expects high school to be like The Andy Griffith Show and is looking forward to starting frienships with people her age. Her grandmother enrolls her at Crestview Academy, an elite school that used to be a convent, which makes her both nervous and excited.

Much to Bliss’ relief, she doesn’t have any trouble finding girls to hang out with and everyone seems to be extremely patient with her asking questions like: 1) what is a parade float? and 2) what are Flavor Straws? Everything seems to be going great until she begins to hear the voice of a long dead novitiate – Liliana. Liliana is trying to get someone to perform a ceremony that will release her spirit and allow her to have power again and since Bliss has always been able to sense things from the “other” side, she seems like the perfect candidate.

Lauren Myracle, the author of TTYL, has written a disturbing horror novel that takes the reader deep into the hippie culture. She mixes facts from the 1969 Charles Manson Family Murders, a creepy ghost story, and typical high school drama into a wonderfully creative story. The use of quotes from 60’s culture TV Shows, Commercials, and Transcripts from the Charles Manson trial add to the charm of this book. While the middle of the story is a little slow, it doesn’t detract from the quality as a whole.

SKELETON CREEK by Patrick Carman - REVIEW

The town of Skeleton Creek holds a lot of secrets. Especially secrets about an old gold dredge. Ryan and Sarah decided they want to explore the old dredge. They go exploring in the middle of the night. When they see a ghost, Ryan gets so scared that he falls and breaks his leg. His parents forbid him to have any more contact with his best friend, Sarah. They think she is the one that gets him into trouble. Ryan and Sarah decide to keep in touch through e-mail which they then delete from their computers and their computer history so that their parents can't tell they've been keeping in touch.

Sarah has a video camera. She video's herself and then sends the video's to Ryan. The thing that is unique about the book is that the reader can go online and listen and watch Sarah's videos to Ryan.

Through the videos and trips to the old dredge we, as the readers and viewers, get to see what Sarah and Ryan see. There are ghostly images and some scary things that even made me jump as I watched. I think it was a very well put together book and I enjoyed it very much. I recommend it and the sequel, The Ghost in the Machine, to the middle school age student. We actually can't keep a copy of it in our library because it is always checked out.

One of the drawbacks of the book would be if the student does not have access to a computer at home. Skeleton Creek does leave you hanging at the end, but picks right up in the sequel.

With little or no language or sexual content I have no qualms about featuring it as one of my Edifying posts.

SWOON by Nina Malkin - REVIEW

Candice (Dice) has been transplanted from a busy New York City to a quiet Swoon, Connecticut – and nothing much happens in Swoon. She spends her time hanging out with her cousin Pen since her parents stay away most of the time because of their jobs. Mostly just home for the weekends, they aren’t involved in Dice’s daily life.

Dice’s life gets a little more interesting after Pen has an accident during a dangerous stunt while climbing a tree. While unconscious, Pen is inhabited by a vengeful ghost named Sinclair Youngblood Powers. Dice is aware of this change due to her heightened psychic abilities and immediately feels drawn to Sin, but after she realizes what he plans to do, she makes it her mission to send Sin back to where he came from and out of Pen’s body. But, things don’t go as planned. Sin becomes flesh and blood and way more dangerous than before. Dangerous to the town because of the revenge he is exacting on its inhabitants and dangerous to Dice because of the deep feelings Sin brings out in her.

SWOON is dark, sensual, and edgy. There are a lot of references to sex and drugs so be aware when recommending this book to adolescents. This would definitely be a book for high school students and above. Nina Malkin should be commended for creating a unique paranormal story. She weaves together many loose ends to create a thought-provoking story. SWOON will stay with you long after you read it.