Skeleton Creek

I've read silly, funny, puzzling, police procedural and spooky mysteries. But I'm highlighting this mystery because of the way it employs mixed media.

Skeleton Creek, by Patrick Carman, is Ryan's journal. Ryan was in a mysterious accident at the dredge (a mysterious place), and shattered his leg, rendering him housebound. His best friend, Sarah, is still out and about, and while Ryan loves to write, Sarah loves to film. As you hit markers in the text, Ryan will send you to a website: http://www.sarahfincher.com/, where Sarah posts the videos she makes around town. Don't worry, you can't do much with this website unless you also have the passwords, which are sprinkled through the text.

While Ryan does write like a high school boy, the videos are deliciously creepy and the pacing is just right. Don't read (or watch) this at night!

Please tell us what your favorite mystery is!

~ That One Girl

The Brothers Torres, by Coert Voorhees

In The Brothers Torres, by Coert Voorhees, fourteen-year-old Francisco Towers has always idolized his big brother. But lately, Steve is going farther and farther trying to fit into the dangerous gang culture in their small New Mexico town. Now, it's time for Frankie to make his own decision about where he stands.

This is a powerful story about a boy caught between not just one rock and a hard place, but several. Frankie is caught between white and Latino, between idealism and hard economic realities, between his brother's example and his own definition of himself.

- Maureen K.