This was quite a scary book! Molly wakes up and her parents are missing; she has to go live with an uncle she's never heard of or seen before. Soon he is locking her in her bedroom and feeding her drugged food. Molly starts dreaming of a skeleton man and a rabbit who helps to save her from him - the dream comes from an old Mohawk legend that her dad used to tell her. Eventually, with the help of her dreams to guide her, and her own ingenuity and bravery, she is able to bring an end to her nightmare and reunite with her parents.

The author masterfully ratchets up the tension from the very first page and keeps you on the edge of your seat through the whole book - it's short, but very potent! It's still somewhat scary in the end because Molly and her family don't really know or understand the "skeleton man's" motivation for kidnapping them and torturing them.

I really liked the emphasis on Molly's agency in the book; she's repeatedly told in her dreams that she must take action to deal with her situation, that no one can save her, that she must save herself, and that she is a very very brave person.

I loved it! ( )

This book is a very quick read , because it's creepily engrossing. I like the way the author presents a very strong female protagonist who uses her Native American heritage and wisdom (coming to her in the form of dreams and memories of her parents) to fight her uncle (the monster). This book is "bone-chilling"! ( )

Interesting story - not sure it's appropriate for elementary kids. A girls parents are taken by the skeleton man and he poses as the girls uncle. ( )

This is a really good scary story book especially if you haven't read it yet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A wonderful, scary story. Bruchac does a great job at making this story one that could happen. Having grown up on a reservation and hearing stories similar to this brought back old, shivery memories. Molly's ability to stay cool, be brave and plan how to save her parents will make readers admire her and want to find out how she manages to defeat the evil Skeleton Man. Even if this is a story from the Mohawk culture, it is a scary tale that will entertain any child who likes a good, scary story. ( )