Death Mountain <small>by Sherry Shahan</small>

It is so refreshing, and to be honest, exciting, to run across an author that actually knows her subject; in this case wilderness survival and young people, and she then possesses the skills needed to tell a very compelling and realistic story, i.e. this lady can write!

Through a very believable and realistic set of circumstances, two young girls find themselves lost in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The author is able to hook the reader right from the start with her realistic, and I must say likable characters. Even the individuals, who inhabit the background of this story, playing minor roles, stand out, and with brief sentences and descriptions Ms. Shahan gives the reader the feeling of "knowing" them and knowing them all their lives. I did not find one character in this book that I could not name a counter part to in real life. The dialog between the two main characters in this work and indeed, between each individual throughout is quite realistic...there is no forced or contrived chatter here. Anyone who has been around teens will recognize the fact that the author knows her kids.

Sherry Shahan's knowledge of the wilderness and the ability to survive is again quite remarkable. I was quite taken with her description of the thunderstorm (which by the way, contrary to some comments here, are not at all "freaks" when hiking or camping in the high country). Having been caught four times in these situations; The Rockies twice, Sawtooth Mountains once, and a mountain chain in Northern Turkey, I can attest to the fact that these are terrifying events and can catch even the savviest off guard. Trust me, I did not just fall off the back of a turnip wagon when it comes to this sort of thing and even I was caught. This book is a great warning to day hikers who should take note here! The author has described this storm and its effects perfectly.

I was quite impressed with the description of the various mood swings, logic and illogic of the teen protagonists in this story. Life is not simple during the early teen years; lack of life experience, hormones and situations that the teen has no control over all make this a very difficult time in every person's life. The author has nailed this aspect perfectly. I doubt seriously that when a member of this age group reads this work that they will not be able to identify with the characters instantly. Adults too, if they have any memory of their younger years will have great sympathy and empathy when they search their memories.

Conflict with parents, misunderstandings, perceptions distorted by age and experience are only too common in this day and age (of course during what era where they not?). The author has blended these internal and real conflicts with her story of physical survival. The reader must answer for themselves the question as to the difficulty of surviving a physically harsh environment versus surviving an emotionally harsh environment is more difficult.

The implication also has been somewhat hinted at that this is a "girls" book. Balderdash! This work is completely suited for both female and male readers. I can remember one of my favorite books while growing up (also one of my wife's) was Girl in Buckskin. Hey folks, a well told story has no gender limitations, nor in this case age restrictions. As an old man I must admit to having completely been captivated.

Now as one reviewer has pointed out, this is not a "how to survive in the wilderness book," although the spirit of common sense and a little knowledge comes shinning through on every page as these two young girls battle for survival.

Well written, realistic, exciting and thoughtful, I cannot see how you or your child could possible go wrong with this work. On a personal note I must admit that I found it quite refreshing that there was not some sort of blood sucking vampire jumping out at me from every page which is all too common in YA books these days. This genre is fine and dandy but is sort of being overly done at this time, and this was a very nice departure for a change.

Recommend this one highly. It is an excellent work and I strongly suspicion that we will be hearing much more from this author as time goes by.

Don Blankenship
The Ozarks