Customer Reviews

The Ghost of Schafer Meadows

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Twelve-year-old Jessie Scott is NOT happy when her family has to move from New Mexico to the wilderness in Montana. Her brother, Jed, has no problem with it though. Jessica's father is with the U.S. Forest Service, so the family may be moved at any time to anywhere in the country. This time her father will be a ranger at the Schafer Meadows Ranger Station in Montana's Great Bear Wilderness. Jessie is not only missing her old friends, but her new home will have no televisions, cell phones, Internet, or even electricity. One good thing about the move, for Jessie, is that she has been given a puppy, Oriole.

Jessie and Oriole are soon exploring their new home and its surrounding areas. Strange things begin happening, such as items being moved. Jessie has been told about a ghost that some have claimed to see, including the assistant ranger who Jessie really likes. Though Jessie never believed in ghosts before, she cannot seem to shrug off the ghost she meets as simply a dream or her overactive imagination.

Is the ghost responsible for all the troubles that have occurred? Jessie and Oriole are determined to investigate and find out!

***** FIVE STARS! Most people do not know there are places in the United States that have no phones, electricity, or other luxuries. I find it hard to even imagine living over two hours away from the nearest grocery store. Wow! This story will not only show you how beautiful the wilderness is, but also test your wits with a mystery and a ghost. This is nothing like a Scooby Doo(tm) episode. It is more like a Hardy Boy(tm) or Nancy Drew(tm) mystery. As I watched Jessie explore the wonders surrounding her, I also examined the clues she gathered and I tried to piece them all together before she could. Proof is needed as well as a motive too.

Author Beth Hodder brings her career as a Forest Ranger to vivid and colorful life, teaching about the wilderness through the eyes of a smart girl on the verge of becoming a teenager. Filled with suspense, mystery, a haunting ghost, and a bit of danger, this story is sure to please! *****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

"The Ghost of Schaefer Meadows" is an award, winning, tingling young adult mystery set in the heart of the Great Bear Wilderness in northwestern Montana. 12 year old Jessie Scott is transplanted unwillingly from relatively urbane New Mexico to lost wilderness forests of Schafer Meadows Ranger Station, Montana, when her ranger father accepts a transfer. Suffering from the pain of relocation and lack of civilization, Jessie turns to her new dog, Oriole for company in her explorations of their new wilderness home. The remote life style of the Schafer Ranger station staff and family is virtually unchanged since the 1930's, with horses and mules providing much of the transport. In this majestic, forbidding setting, Jessie stumbles across a mystery and even a ghost that only she can finally resolve and untangle. The fast action and quick thinking skills of a resilient heroine make for excellent entertaining fiction for young (and older) adults. "The Ghost of Schafer Meadows" won a silver medal for excellence from the Independent Publishers Book Awards in 2008.