Book Review

Beth Hodder is very familiar with the Flathead National Forest and the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex. She worked for the forest service for many years conducting plant surveys, planting trees, working on campsite rehabilitation and other related work. It was there that she met her husband who spent 13 years working at the Spotted Bear Ranger Station and living in the ranger's house at Shafer Meadows. She recently retired to pursue other interests which included writing her debut children's novel, "The Ghost of Shafer Meadows."

In this adventure for upper elementary and middle-grade children, 12-year-old Jessie Scott doesn't see how she can ever be happy about the family's move from New Mexico to a remote wilderness area in the Rocky Mountains of Montana. She will not only miss her friends, but television, cell phones, the internet, and even electricity, too. To her surprise, life at the forest service ranger station offers new and exciting adventures that soon connect her to the wild outdoors. Even the mysterious rumors about her new home being haunted—and a visiting apparition intrigue her more than they frighten her. When evidence of theft and vandalism invade her mountain paradise, Jessie and her dog, Oriole, play a part large in solving the mystery.

Author Hodder's first-hand experience and connection with the Montana wilderness is evident as she captures a strong sense of place and takes the reader on a vivid journey. Readers will feel as if they are there, an experience they will want to duplicate in real life. For more about the book and for ordering information visit Grizzly Ridge Publishing.