Cliff-Hanger

Mysteries in Our National Parks #3

by Gloria Skurzynski, Alane Ferguson

Twelve-year-old Jack is excited about going to Mesa Verde with his mother after she is called upon to investigate a cougar attack, but when he arrives, he realizes that his plans of exploration have to be changed. Reprint.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Adventure, Middle Grade, Young Adult, Childrens, Mystery Thriller

150 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

"May you live in interesting times."

That ambiguous wish was not meant to be kind, because interesting times can be difficult. You and I certainly live in interesting times - dangerous, challenging, and fascinating.

My parents were born just before the start of the twentieth century; my youngest grandchild arrived in this century's final decade. The years in between have been the most dynamic in the history of the human race. Technical knowledge has exploded; so has the Earth's human population. We can create almost anything, yet each day we lose parts of our planet that can never be replaced.

I'm greedy: I want to write about all of it - the history, the grief, joy, and excitement of being human in times past; the cutting-edge inventions of times almost here.

--from the author's website

Gloria Skurzynski has also co-written books with her daughter Alane Ferguson.

Reviews

[Sarah B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well this is another book in that National Park series I have been reading. I believe this is the third book but I am not reading them in any particular order and it's clearly not required either. The books pretty much follow the same formula each time: a new park, a new animal issue and a new child to take to the park with the family.

This time the child they are watching is a girl named Lucky...or that is what she tells them her name is. Right off from the start I knew something was wrong with her: the things she said and her behavior was way off! And the further the story went the worse it got. Truthfully I didn't like her at all. But I do think this is realistic as I believe many children in this situation where they get placed with another family are going to have problems. But I was very surprised at the end when the book revealed what was going on! I didn't see that coming!

One thing I must say this book actually did well (to my surprise) is in describing Mesa Verde. In most of the books in this series I think that part is generally a huge flop! They can visit a park and I am left with a very vague feeling about it (like in the Grand Canyon one where they never actually went into the canyon) - but this one - this one is different! I felt something about this place: the dangerous ladder they had to climb, a rock tunnel, handholds carved out of a cliff, the little caves... But that ladder! That sounded terrifyingly high and wobbly and dangerous! I cannot imagine climbing a ladder like that and then it's 100 feet yet?! No thank you!

The bit about the mountain lion at the end was a big surprise. Imagine coming face to face with a starving cougar! That is exactly what the kids face in this story.

This book contains much of the usual squabbling that is in the others. Jack really wants to believe Lucky but Ashley thinks something is up! You will have to read it to find out which sibling is right. Quick moving story with scary cliff hanging scenes and a fast moving plot..

[Daciana Washburn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice simple mystery revolving around the mesa verde national park - read it to my son who gave it 4.5 ⭐️

[Cate · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did not like this book near on the reread as much as I did the first time. The way that Lucky pulled so many manipulative tactics on Jack made me want to throw my Kindle across the room sometimes. Still, it's a great book for middle-grade and early teens to read, and very educational when it comes to Mesa Verde NP.

[Sarah Elizabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

This one isn't as good as "Wolf Stalker", but it's still a great way to teach kids about parks, wildlife, protecting parks etc. What I didn't like about this one was Lucky--she was manipulative and not a great friend to Jack, even though he was a good friend to her. Jack's consequent behavior to Ashley bothered me, too.

[IAmTheHolly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jack and Ashley are back, with their family's last foster kid, Lucky.  This time they are off to Mesa Verde National Park so their mom can figure out what's going on with a problem mountain lion in the park.  Lucky is a fast talker and Jack ferociously defends her, even though Ashley thinks something is up.  

I visited Mesa Verde for the second time this previous summer, and I'm so glad I had the opportunity to go back.  I feel like I would have appreciated this summer's visit even more had it not have been 97 degrees the days we were there.  Having been there, it was even easier to envision the setting of this story, and the authors did a great job bringing that setting to life.

This was another great story in the series.  The authors do a great job not only creating interest in the park, but telling a great story with Lucky, and spreading the word about conservation (in this one, occasionally mountain lions are a problem...when they've become too adapted to humans...and we shouldn't just shoot them all when we've created that problem).  There's a great opportunity here for discussion with kids, not only with the park and conservation, but with empathy, honesty, and how not everyone has the same experiences growing up. 

Again, I wish I had the opportunity to bring these books to students, and I hope I will in the future.  These are incredibly well done!  I will continue to read them from time to time.  Even though they are short kids books, there is so much packed into these stories.

I'll go 9 of 10 overall and 5 of 5 for readability.  Check these out!

For more reviews, check out bedroopedbookworms.wordpress.com!

[Marcie · Rating 3 out of 5]

After visiting Mesa Verde last summer, I purchased Cliff-Hanger: A Mystery in Mesa Verde National Park for a classroom travel trunk. Its an authentic, fast-paced read that complements the study of the Ancestral Pueblo.

[Garrett · Rating 5 out of 5]

The foster kid betrayed the Landon’s and left with her dad.

[Svetti · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember about this book it was really good i liked learning about the national park and how these two kids got lost and tried to find there way back home.

[Gopal Sadagopal · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not worth reviewing!

[aem · Rating 3 out of 5]

pre-teens investigate during visit to national park. can't say Jack is all that likable though...

[GoatRobe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Surprisingly interesting, though a bit over ambitious. Mesa Verde plays a key role in the story, but usually relegated to the background by the fantastic stories Lucky tells.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mesa Verde National Park is on my wishlist of places to visit (I'll make it out there someday!) and this installment of the MYSTERIES IN OUR NATIONAL PARKS series takes place there. Jack and Ashley's mother has been called to investigate a recent unusual cougar attack, but their newest foster kid is the central mystery -- there's nothing known about her and she refuses to tell any truthful facts about herself, insisting on going by an alias "Lucky Deal." Eventually Jack and Ashley learn the truth about Lucky, and we learn why a cougar has been attacking people, and I actually liked how the ending of the book was left to be unresolved. It always impresses me how much this children's series doesn't play down to kids.

I'd also like to mention that the ongoing theme of kid characters doing really stupid things continues in this book! These kids are REALLY bad at running around cougar-infested cliffs in the dark. Who does that??

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this today after my entering-7th grader, who enjoyed it. I thought it was a pretty good story. We had visited Mesa Verde earlier this year, including Spruce House, and so it was easy for me to visualize the scenery and the ruins. The main characters were 12 and 13, so I almost felt like this was too juvenile a read for my 7th grader - or just a light read.

I liked the topic of honesty between Jack and Lucky. Jack knew a world where most people were honest, and Lucky wasn't sure she'd ever met an honest person before. Lucky said, "I guess I've always known that some people were really honest, but, it's not like there's any of that in my life." Jack had to decide whether he trusted Lucky or his sister Ashley, and he came to the self-awareness that he "was learning to break rules. Just like Lucky."

[Elizabeth Heuston · Rating 5 out of 5]

By: Gloria Skurzynski and Alane Ferguson

Genre: Chapter Book. Fiction. Mystery

Audience:Third to sixth grade

Topic and Theme: To be trustworthy and always go with the hunch if you have one. Teamwork

Curricular Uses: Read Aloud. Independent reading

Reading Level fluent

Literary Elements: dialogue, symbolism

Thoughts: The Landon kids are stuck with a mysterious girl, who is untrustworthy. They have to find the missing artifact before something terrible happens. Great story.

[Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a nice little family mystery set in Mesa Verda National Park. The story moved quickly and the ending included some good information about parks and wildlife. So, it was a story as learning tool, as well as entertainment. I would think this story would be very appealing to students in grades 4-6 but probably not draw as much interest from students in 7th and 8th grade.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall this is a sweet preteen book. I found the misuse of adverbs really (or in the case of the book's dialogue "real") distracting. I think that while English is a flexible language, I count on books to help people know how the language should work.

[Kayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the kids I work with was reading this in school. She begged me to read it so I did. I was actually surprised at how much I actually liked the book. It definitely is a cliff-hanger and had me excited to turn the each page.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was good, but, like Deadly Waters, I liked Mesa Verde National Park better.

[The Third Place A Teen Library]

F SKU mionp bk.2

[Jody Kyburz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another little mystery in the series taking place in a delightful national park (Mesa Verde). All's well that ends well.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Young Adult

[Laurie D'ghent · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm still shocked by how much I like this series. The voices are real, the relationships poignant, and the plotline thrilling. Yes, it's a children's book. And, yes, I love it.

[Sandi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this with the kids and really enjoyed it! It was suspenseful and very descriptive. The kids want to visit Mesa Verde now. :-)

[Reving · Rating 5 out of 5]

http://revingsblog.blogspot.com/2016/...

[Jaq · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay so my 12 year old hat d this story.

I however enjoyed it, it is a god simple tale, told with the background of a beautiful park that I was lucky enough to visit last year.

[Garret · Rating 3 out of 5]

read to my son

[Dylan Demarais · Rating 3 out of 5]

good