Ghost Town (23 page)

10 Q
UESTIONS FOR
Y
OU AND
Y
OUR
F
RIENDS TO
C
HAT
A
BOUT

1. Mr. Ramsey gives the BSG the chance to take a trip of a lifetime to a cool resort in the Wild Wild West. What's your dream vacation destination? What sorts of things would you want to see and do there?

2. Maeve and Isabel have to work extra hard to earn money for the trip to Big Sky Resort. Have you ever worked to earn money for something special? What did you do to earn the money? How did you spend it?

3. Why does JT stay in Dry Gulch after all those lonely years? Do you think he's happy living a solitary life? Why or why not?

4. Charlotte finds a secret diary that holds an important key to a long lost romance.
Do you keep a diary? If so, why is it important to you? What kinds of things do you write in it? How would you feel if someone else found it and read it?

5. How do Charlotte, Avery, and Maeve work together to solve the mystery of Dry Gulch?

6. Do you think Lissie and Charlotte could become friends? Why was Charlotte so nervous about Lissie at first?

7. Katani is excited about riding horses at Big Sky, but when she gets to the ranch she finds another sport she's good at. What are your unique talents? Have you ever discovered you have a talent for something that you didn't think you could do at first?

8. The group stranded in Dry Gulch has to make do with limited supplies. If you were stranded somewhere, what are the top three things you'd want to have with you?

9. Charlotte, Avery, and Maeve have a totally different experience in Montana than Katani and Isabel. Who do you think got the better end of the deal? Would you rather visit a posh resort or a cool, historic ghost town?

10. The BSG are surprised that country stars Nik and Sam are just like them—real girls with real feelings who like to hang out with their friends and do “normal” stuff. Were you surprised at how down-to-earth Nik and Sam are? What would you say or do if you met a celebrity?

1
. What is the name of the resort in Montana where the BSG and Mr. Ramsey are headed for the trip of a lifetime?

A. Wolfpup Ranch

B. Montana Dude Ranch

C. Big Sky Resort

D. Lissie MacMillan Resort

2
. Who has the most questions for Mr. Ramsey about the trip to Montana?

A. Mrs. Fields

B. Aunt Lourdes

C. Charlotte

D. Ms. Rodriguez

3
. Who calms Maeve down when she is freaking out on the plane?

A. Nik and Sam

B. Riley Lee

C. Lissie

D. Aaron Olcrest

4
. What type of music do Nik and Sam sing?

A. Jazz

B. Country

C. Hip-Hop

D. Classical

5
. What is the name of the ghost town where some of the BSG get stuck?

A. Dry Gulch

B. Green Springs

C. Millertown

D. Grand View

6
. What kind of animals has JT been rescuing on the sly?

A. Blue jays

B. Wolf pups

C. Miniature horses

D. Bears

7
. What ingredient does Maeve use to make a new and improved kind of s'more?

A. Peanut butter

B. M&Ms

C. Swedish Fish

D. Sardines

8
. What sport does Katani discover she is a “natural” at?

A. Soccer

B. Table tennis

C. Dogsledding

D. Pool

9
. What color are the scarves Katani gives to Nik and Sam?

A. Navy blue and white

B. Lime green and purple

C. Purple and red

D. Light blue and yellow

10
. What do the initials “J.T.” stand for?

A. Jericho Tanner

B. Jamie Talbot

C. Jessica Tildsley

D. Jasper Tucker

Answers:
1
. C Big Sky Resort
2
.B. Aunt Lourdes
3
. D. Aaron Olcrest

4
. B. Country
5
. A. Dry Gulch
6
. B. Wolf pups
7
. C Swedish Fish
8
. D. Pool

9
. B. Lime green and purple
10
. D. Jasper Tucker

Charlotte Ramsey

Mammoth:
(p. 1) adjective—
huge; gigantic; enormous

Sufficient:
(p. 7) adjective—
enough; the right amount

Amenities:
(p. 12) noun—
special features and offerings

Profit:
(p. 15) noun—
the money you walk away with after subtracting any expenses

Chandelier:
(p. 29) noun—
a fancy ceiling light

Surge:
(p. 33) noun—
a big rush or burst of movement

Exasperated:
(p. 46) adjective—
annoyed or irritated

Ominous:
(p. 65) adjective—
threatening; spelling disaster

Concierge:
(p. 71) noun—
employee at a resort who makes sure all the guests are comfortable

Giddy:
(p. 72) adjective—
super duper excited

Plush:
(p. 72) adjective—
cushy, luxurious, and oh-so-comfortable

Bravado:
(p. 83) noun—
a whole lot of bravery and courage

Catapult:
(p. 98) verb—
to be thrown forward

Silhouette:
(p. 112) noun—
a shadowy outline of a person or thing

Delicacy:
(p. 116) noun—
a truly special, unique, and often expensive type of food

Equestrian:
(p. 135) adjective—
relating to horses

Pungent:
(p. 145) adjective—
strong smelling or tasting

Memento:
(p. 162) noun—
something special that reminds you of something that happened in the past

Peruse:
(p. 174) verb—
to read something very carefully

Definitions adapted from
Webster's Dictionary
, Fourth Edition, Random House.

Big Fun Facts about Big Sky Country

What do you mean there's a Spanish Mountain next to Idaho?

The name “Montana” comes from the Spanish word for mountain: “montaña.”

Move over, Nessie!

Flathead Lake, seven miles south of Kalispell, Montana, is said to be home to the legendary Flathead Lake Monster. The first reported sighting of this large, underwater animal was in the late 1880s. Since then, many people think they've glimpsed the colossal creature, but no one has yet identified it. Is it a sea monster? A dinosaur? Or just a really big fish? YOU decide!

Reserve a space for me!

Montana is home to seven Native American reservations: Blackfeet, Crow Creek, Flathead, Fort Belknap, Fort Peck, Northern Cheyenne, and Rocky Boy's. Every August, Montana residents celebrate the state's Native American heritage at
the Crow Fair and Rodeo, a festival featuring parades, horse races, and traditional costumes and dancing.

Let it snow . . .

The largest snowflake ever recorded was found at Fort Keogh, Montana, in 1887. Unbelievably, this fabulous flake measured eight inches thick and nearly fifteen inches across. With snowflakes like that, no wonder Montana is called “Big Sky Country!”

Huckleberry Haven

Trout Creek, Montana, is home to the Huckleberry Festival, started almost thirty years ago. People from all over the world attend to taste and buy these berries, which are indigenous to the Pacific Northwest. The Festival features huckleberry ice cream, huckleberry pizza, huckleberry cheesecake . . . and who could forget the Miss Huckleberry Pageant?

Dino-mite!

Buried beneath Montana's breathtaking canyons and mountain ranges are tons (literally!) of fossilized dinosaur bones. In fact, Montana is an especially good place to look for the bones of duckbilled dinosaurs, or hadrosaurs. And these fossils really “rock”: the first hadrosaur unearthed in Montana was nicknamed “Elvis”!.

An Avery Madden Crazy Critters Exclusive

After hearing all those fairytales my mom read to me as a kid, I thought I had the scoop on wolves: BIG and BAD. I mean, just ask the three little pigs if you need the proof! But that
bad
reputation isn't entirely true, says William T. Wolf, a long-time resident of Montana who also just so happens to be a member of this noble species. Since these furry gray guys usually get such a bad rap, I decided to give him a shot at setting the record straight—as long as there's no howling involved!

Avery Madden:
So which are you, Will, big or bad?

William T. Wolf:
Well, if you put it that way, I guess I'll go with big. Around my parts—that's western Montana, mostly—we're members of the species
canis lupus
, although you can just call me a gray wolf. And since you're so stuck on this size issue, I'll have you know that I'm about five and a half feet long, from the tip of my nose to the end of my tail.

AM:
Whoa, you're bigger than me!

WW:
But what I'm tryin' to tell ya, Avery, is that we might be
big
, but we're not all
bad
. In fact, from our point of view, you humans seem pretty scary!

AM:
Really? Puny little us?

WW:
Well sure. Back around sixty-five years ago, you guys pretty much drove my family out of its home. Thanks to human hunting, by 1940 there were no gray wolves in Montana anymore.

AM:
Wow, I never thought of it that way. I guess who's “bad” all depends on how you look at it. So one last question: if you're not really bad, then what are all those
forty-two
gleaming white teeth for?

WW:
The better to talk with you, my dear.