Written in bone by S. M. Walker

Written in Bone is a nonfiction young adult book about forensic archaeologists that uncover the secrets of old Jamestown and colonial Maryland through the skeletons of its dead.  Throughout the book, Walker describes the different types of skeletons found as well as what the archaeologists learn about the people who died as well as the settlement of Jamestown by looking at the skeletons.  Along with giving insight into the history of Jamestown and colonial Maryland, Walker also provides readers with information into how forensic archaeologists are able to do their jobs as well as how they come to the conclusions they come to.

            Written in Bone does an excellent job of making such a complicated branch of science accessible to young adult readers.  Walker makes sure to define any terms that might be questionable to the reader and includes many pictures of the different types of digs and skeletons the archaeologists uncover.  This book is very engaging and does not spend too much time on one case or one skeleton, which, in turn, does not bog a teenaged reader down with too many details.

            What I found to be particularly interesting about this book is the fact that, although I love history, I never realized how much you could tell about a person or about a settlement just by looking at the bones of the dead and that sometimes archaeologists are able to even determine the cause of death of certain skeletons as well as find out if they were upper- or lower-class citizens in Jamestown.  This book has a certain macabre quality to it considering it is about examining the remains of some of the first English settlers in America, but if you can get past that then I think all types of readers will really enjoy this book.

            I would recommend this book to readers who might like things such as zombie fiction or mysteries, but are having difficulty getting into non-fiction.  Although zombie fiction might sound like a stretch, I think if the actual zombies are what the reader enjoys then they will find the skeletal remains of the settlers to be intriguing and the mystery readers will enjoy reading about the step-by-step discovery of the archaeologists.