I Survived the Eruption of Mount St. Helens, 1980

For years, Washington state locals treasured Mount St. Helens as a beautiful place to hike, ski and camp, but all of this changed with its sudden, deadly eruption in 1980. The novel begins with fictional characters Jess Marlowe and her friends, Eddie and Sam, as they hike in the woods close to the volcano. Suddenly, they are stunned by its abrupt, powerful eruption. Jess is knocked over by the force of the hot wind racing down the sides of the volcano, and she chokes on the ash-filled air. The mountain’s eruption also triggers a massive avalanche of melted ice, mud, and rock, from which Jess and her friends must escape.

Eight weeks earlier, Jess is heading down the highway with her friends, the twin brothers Eddie and Sam Rowan, as they head to the Rowan family cabin on Loomis Lake. Jess is feeling particularly eager to get to the cabin because she has heard rumors from her friends at school that the legendary “Skeleton Woman” lives in the woods in this area. Skeleton Woman is reputed to be a dangerous witch who hunts children and uses their bones to make magical powders.