by Patrick Carman
ages: 10+
First sentence: “There was a moment not long ago when I thought, “This is it. I’m dead.”
Review copy received from the author. Release date February 10, 2009.

First: This is no mere book. It’s an experience, one that (as M said when I told her about it) is a bit before it’s time. See, it’s a book, but it’s also a movie. But, it’s easier to explain using the plot…

Ryan and Sarah are best friends. Best friends who have been forbidden to see each other. Because they’ve been snooping around town, trying to figure out the mystery of the Dredge. They went out there, late one night, and Ryan had an accident and broke his leg. He’s holed up in his room, doing all the writing (the book part). Sarah, who can still get around, has the video camera, and emails him passwords to a website with her videos (the movie part). Between the two of them, they will get to the bottom of the mystery… (just not in this book, so you’re prepared.)

On the one hand, this is a brilliant idea. Really. Not just for reluctant readers, but for fans of mysteries… I loved the mood of the book, and that the mood carried over to the movies. I was concerned about it being hokey, but it actually works quite well. There’s no soundrack, so it’s all a bit eerie, which works in building suspense. The mystery itself is quite intriguing, but fairly complex (about halfway through the book, I figured there would have to be a sequel, because there’s no way it was wrapping up before the end of the book, at least not satisfactorily). There’s also a bit of mystery about the mystery: is it a straight-forward ghost story? Or a murder? Or a conspiracy? Very nice.

The technical side, at least for me, left something to be desired. Since I read while my kids watch TV, and the computer is in the same room, it often made it hard for me to hear on the videos what was being said. Especially since the videos entailed a lot of whispering and quiet or faint sounds. And then there’s the fact that my computer’s ancient, and the screen overly dark, so I couldn’t see what I was supposed to be seeing half the time. Frustrating. (But not the fault of the book or the author.) M suggested that it would be cool if it were all in one package (the Kindle perhaps?) where you could read the text and watch the videos without having to switch mediums (it is also not a book for reading in school… again, having to find a computer, and a quiet room, to watch the video “chapters”).

Still, I am intrigued by the idea, especially as a way to keep the book publishing business alive. I don’t think print books are dead, but there’s always room for experimentation. And this is one experiment that worked fairly well.