Review Detail

It’s hard to imagine that any sort of young reader book could be terrifying. R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps for example, does give you a couple of its namesake bumps, but overall the bit of fantasy involved makes Stine’s books mostly entertaining rather than frightening. Joseph Bruchac’s "Skeleton Man," however, is just downright terrifying, and I love that!

What makes Bruchac’s work so scary is that it’s based on an event that could actually happen. Molly’s parents mysteriously disappear, and a long lost, rather creepy relative becomes her caretaker. Molly is convinced that this “uncle” is no relation to her whatsoever, and that he is actually the Skeleton Man of Native American myth.

Whether or not this man is of mythical origin, it is clear that this is one sick fella. He locks Molly in her room every night and records her every move in and out of the house, and if that doesn’t spell pedophilia I don’t know what does!

As Molly unravels the mystery of who this guy really is and tries to discover the location of her parents, the realization that this creep is trying to make Molly meet an untimely end becomes ever more present. What makes Bruchac’s writing so scarily brilliant is that the entire story is written from the perspective of an elementary school-aged girl, but is still able to incite fear in readers of any age. The story is also only 114 pages long, further proving that Bruchac really knows how to pack a scary punch to his writing regardless of length. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time! I can only imagine what must go through the minds of 10 year-olds who read this!