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Sasquatch

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There are things in the woods we don't know about... 

Dylan's father has always been a little unusual. When he joins a Sasquatch-hunting team led by a top bigfoot-researcher, Dylan feels he needs to keep an eye on his dad, so he teams up with an aging field biologist, Samuel Johnson, on the slops of Mount Saint Helens. But as the two of them track the Sasquatch-hunting party, Dylan might be in more trouble than he thought...

Even as they follow his father's group, somebody is following Mr. Johnson. And on top of everything, Dylan is beginning to realize that his father may not be quite so wrong about bigfoot after all--maybe the Sasquatch  does  exist. And maybe it's closer than Dylan ever guessed. 

188 pages, Paperback

First published January 28, 2002

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695 people want to read

About the author

Roland Smith

150 books834 followers
Roland Smith is an American author of young adult fiction as well as nonfiction books for children.
Smith was born in Portland, Oregon, and graduated from Portland State University and, following a part-time job at the Oregon Zoo in Portland, began a 20-year career as a zookeeper, both at the Oregon Zoo and the Point Defiance Zoo in Tacoma, Washington. After working to save wildlife following the Exxon Valdez oil spill, in 1990, he published his first book, Sea Otter Rescue, a non-fiction account of the process of animal rescue. Smith continued to draw upon his zoo experiences for other non-fiction titles, including Journey of the Red Wolf, which won an Oregon Book Award in 1996.
In 1997, Smith published his first novel, Thundercave. The book continues Smith's theme, as teenage protagonist Jacob Lansa follows his biologist father to Africa where the father is researching elephants. The Lansa character also appears in 1999
s Jaguar and 2001's The Last Lobo. Other novels by Smith include The Captain's Dog: My Journey with the Lewis and Clark Tribe, Zach's Lie, Jack's Run, Cryptid Hunters, Sasquatch (novel), about a boy who searches for Bigfoot. Peak, the story of a teenage boy obsessed with climbing mountains, Elephant Run and Tentacles(novel). In 2008, Smith published the first book in the series I, Q, titled Independence Hall. Smith's books have won "Book of the Year" awards in Colorado, Nevada, South Carolina, and Florida, as well as in his native Oregon. Smith lives in Tualatin, Oregon with his wife and stepchildren.

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5 stars
411 (28%)
4 stars
494 (34%)
3 stars
411 (28%)
2 stars
89 (6%)
1 star
33 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 161 reviews
Profile Image for faith.
33 reviews22 followers
May 28, 2022
school project

wtf was this
Profile Image for Library Lady 📚 .
Author 6 books256 followers
September 23, 2019
This book was interesting enough to finish. It's cute and well-paced, neither too fast nor too slow. I read it quickly and found it entertaining, but nothing stood out in an exceptional way for me. If you like bigfoot/sasquatch mythology, you'll probably like it. Give it a try.
Profile Image for Ellis Stice.
3 reviews
April 8, 2011
Elements and Style: Roland Smith uses a simialar Style of writing like in his other book "Thunder Cave". He creates very wierd and awkward characters along with some normal ones that make the story more interesting. The reason they're awkward is because they are so obssesed with the "Sasquatch" or "Big Foot" and also they have some "interesting stories". Roland creates a humorous novel with some dark and intense moments also. I loved this book and recommend it to any reader and it's not that hard to read.

Characterization: In this book Rolan creates interisting characters that are "wacky" and fun but he also creates very tense characters. Dylan's a little nervous about staying with his dad alone while his mom is away, because his dad has recently become obssesed with the 'Sasquatch" or "Big Foot". And things only get worse when his dad gets Dylan caught up with all of it.

Plot: This Story starts out by having you learn about the main character, Dylan. His dad works as a real esate agent and his mom just got her degree in archeology so she is doing her first job in Egypt. Dylan's a little nervous about being alone with his dad, because his dad has been acting a little strange lately with his new "tinkering" subject. His dad believes in the Sasquatch and/or Big Foot and his dad enters a Sasquatch group where they hunt for the Sasquatch. So his dad goes on a trip with the group to Mount Saint Helens where the Sasquatch was sighted and Dylan follows his dad and the group with a aging feild biologist Mr. Johnson. Also it turns out that Mount Saint Helens is very close to bursting so Dylan has a lot of reasons to be nervous. What could possibly make it worse for Dylan? He feels he's being watched.............
5 reviews
March 22, 2010
“Sasquatch” by Roland Smith,this book is about a kid named Dylan, who joins an aging field biologist on the mountains named Samuel Johnson, to try to keep his dad in control ever since he joined the sasquatch-hunting team. Dylan’s father’s mission is to find a Sasquatch and kill it, but Dylan looks out for his dad to try to stop him. But as they continued on their searches they see realize that something or someone is following them. Is it the Sasquatch is it a person, read to find out.
While I read this book I figured out that one of the themes in this book is caring for each other. When Dylan’s mother leaves to go to Egypt, Dylan figures since his mom left, he is now the one that has to look out for his father so he won’t do anything stupid. But his dad joins the sasquatch-hunting club, so Dylan joins a field biologist to be with his dad on the mission, to keep on eye on him.
Overall, I think that Sasquatch is an interesting, well written book. There are lots of action scenes and lots of different stuff going on. I would rate this book a four out of five, I think it’s a book that should be read and shouldn’t be ignored.
Profile Image for Ellen.
795 reviews3 followers
May 1, 2019
When I was a kid my mom read this aloud to my family. This past weekend while visiting my parents, she started reading it aloud again. I finished it in one sitting and it was a fun dose of nostalgia. A fun read for sure and now I’m keeping my eyes peeled for Sasquatch!
Profile Image for Nate.
494 reviews31 followers
August 15, 2017
Sasquatch was a cool mashup of Pacific Northwest lore, including the answer to how Sasquatch can remain undetected and who DB Cooper really was. Cool stuff, and the informative nature of the book concerning the 1980 Mount St. Helens eruption and all humans think they know about Sasquatch was highly enjoyable.

The spoilers below are character notes for our OBOB team.

Profile Image for anna.
1 review
November 15, 2022
This book sucked. Dylan is the flattest character known to man, just like the pancakes that he “enjoys”. He says he enjoys pancakes, but then he eats spaghetti? Where is the character consistency? He also judges people by their gut sizes when he constantly orders massive hamburgers from restaurants, which is kind of messed up. Buck? More like suck. Because he sucks. Dylan’s dad is a spaghetti-cooking idiot. These people know nothing about the scientific process, and they are overly obsessed with the Sasquatch. The only good part of this book is the allusion that Dylan’s mom, who “travelled to Egypt” is actually the Sasquatch in disguise, but honestly I doubt the author even meant for this to happen because the writing was so bad. The ending was also unclear and kind of bad, much like the rest of the book. In conclusion, when they say “Sasquatch”, I think they mean “Assquatch”, because this book is complete and total ass.
Profile Image for Arooma .
23 reviews
May 16, 2024
I picked this up randomly, without checking the reviews or reading what the book was about. Frankly, it was a fun read, a bit childish but then it's for ages 10 and above so that's on me. Nothing too exceptional, the characters are one-dimensional but this is an adventure book and it fulfills that pretty well. Could be a more interesting read if you're into bigfoot lore.
Profile Image for Lucas.
8 reviews
October 13, 2018
"Sasquatch" by Roland Smith this book is about a kid named Dylan, who joins and field biologist and the mountains named Samuel Johnson, To try to keep his dad in control ever since he joined the Sasqauatch hunting team, Dylans fathers mission is to find a Sasqauatch and kill it, but Dylan looks out for his dad to try to stop him. They continued on their searches they soon realize that something or someone is following them. While I read this book out that one of the themes in this book is caring for each other. When Dylans mother leaves to go to Egypt, Dylans figures since his mom left he can go to make sure his dad won't do something stupid. So dylan joined the team to, So he could keep a eye on him. Overall, I think that "Sasquatch" is an interesting, well written book. Theres lots of action scenes and lots of different stuff that goes one. I would rate this book four out of five star's. I think its a book that should be read more.
Profile Image for Kathleen .
16 reviews
February 27, 2010
I read this because I teach middle school and our school was going to read it as a school-wide novel study. I was torn about which star rating to give it...as far as a middle school or elementary school student, I might have liked it more, but as far as I'm concerned there are more interesting young adult/children's novels out there. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either. The characters are flat, but it's a cute adventure story for kids.
Profile Image for Deanne.
9 reviews
September 16, 2010
I loved this book. It is a definite must read. It is suspenseful, has a great message and leaves you with a great feeling. One of the best children's books I have read in a long time. Dylan's Dad joins a Sasquatch expedition. In the meantime, Dylan goes with Buckley Johnson who once (hijacked a plane) and tries to help save the sasquatch from being killed. His Dad gets obssessed with it all. I enjoyed the storyline of this book.(less)
Profile Image for Laura.
667 reviews7 followers
July 20, 2014
Elementary OBOB, book 3. I loved it! The combination of two Northwest legends (I won't disclose the second legend, or I may have to mark this review as containing spoilers) was genius. Being from the Northwest myself, I especially enjoyed the location descriptions and geographical info. But what I most enjoyed was the exciting, suspenseful, entertaining, and dare I even say believable tale of family, friendship and legends.
Profile Image for Lilly.
212 reviews7 followers
January 2, 2017
As we all know, anything involving Bigfoot, I'm down for. But imagine my surprise when I was getting all emotional towards the end of this little book! In general, it was exactly what I was expecting, but there was also much frustration and excitement. The characters were so funny and believable, and the story took a great turn for the better. And each section was accompanied by a relevant bible verse, which was cool and unexpected! I just loved this book. :'D
Profile Image for Ginna.
80 reviews
February 14, 2015
The boys book club chose this title. It moved quickly but not thrillingly. I was tempted to put it down even when I had just a few pages left! I predict the boys will like it though - volcano eruptions, earthquakes and Sasquatch!
Profile Image for Mitchell.
6 reviews
September 18, 2012
this book sucks so bad i wanted to cry...honestly it just horrible in every sense of writing..
1 review
October 17, 2017
The book that i had was written by Roland Smith the title of the book is titled Sasquatch I was excited to read this book then it was like i was left in the dark.Dylan and his father are two curious people/explorers who try to answer a question that nobody in this world could answer is Sasquatch real.
Characters: I thought that the character Dylan could have been written way better then what he was. He was apparently the main character in the book but he didn't have the characteristics of one. He didn't take charge in anything when something bad was happening he turned the other way and his bad faced everything. If i had to pick the main character in this book it would be the dad.
Plot: The one thing i will give points to is the plot in this book because it stays on topic the whole time and that's to try to figure out if Sasquatch is real or not. But the plot can get miscommunicated a lot in this book because they talk about one topic for a little bit then they go back to the original topic. But in every book there is something that is going to change everything and that happens in this book. Overall in this book if you just like the plot i would recommend it.

Conflict: The conflict in this book is a little confusing because they tried to add two conflicts at once and it didn't work. It made it interesting but in a bad way it was like trying to catch up to a cheetah the book was just way to rushed. One conflict that they had was really good and i enjoyed it but then again they tried to fix something that wasn't broken and it ruined the good conflict and the rest of the story. One of the conflicts where on the way to the meeting they had to see the pictures that they didn't want the world to see but then the bad conflict kicked in and the way they worded it you can predict how the ending is going to turn out.
What I learned: What I learned from this book was that no matter how good a plot can be it can all change with a bad conflict. And that's what this book had it had a good plot and one good conflict but then they took a chance on another conflict and it didn't work. The whole book was just a roller coaster ride it was up then down then side to side it was not a pleasant read that is why i gave it a poor rating I just didn't enjoy reading this book i like it when a book stays with a good plot and one very good conflict and this book was just trying to hard.
1 review
October 3, 2019
This book is a great book, for anyone looking for a great storyline to follow. Roland Smith did a good job in this book of taking the normal myth of Sasquatch and giving it a little twist. One way he did this is instead of saying there is one Sasquatch on earth, there is a bunch that roam Mt St Helens. This was a very interesting twist to the original myth. I also liked that in the story you can see it is preferred to use the Indian name Sasquatch as multiple times a character says Bigfoot and is immediately corrected. I also liked how the book had a little mix of genre. The book has a bit of adventure, action, and mystery behind it. The book is mainly about a boy named Dylan whose life was not the same after his dad was on a hunting trip and came back stranger than he was before. After his mom left for Egypt, Dylan and his father were involved in what turned into a crazy adventure. I really liked this book and how it turned out to be a fantastic story that made events lead to other events. Roland Smith and his writing style in the book is vary descriptive and well presented. The ending of my book wasn't that bad and left me hoping for a sequel to the book. Especially which the character Buckley Johnson I really enjoyed this book and think anyone that enjoy a book of action, adventure, and mystery would love the book Sasquatch.
Profile Image for Michael Williams.
6 reviews3 followers
October 12, 2017
The setting in the book sasquatch is at a boys house named Dylan and the point of view in this story is Dylan telling the story so it’s first person. Some of the major characters in this story are Dylan, his dad, his mom, buck, clyde, flagg, henry, dean, and the sasquatches. The mood for the entire book is mostly Dylan being worried about something. He was worried about his dad at first going to the mountain then when he got to the mountains with buck he realized that he should be protecting the sasquatch not hunting them so then he was worried about his dad and his friends finding the sasquatches.

I really liked this book and I thought that it was very interesting and entertaining. One reason that I thought the book was entertaining is because there was a lot of action like when the volcano erupted and buck was driving through all the trees falling with an injured person in his jeep. I agree that the author made the volcano erupt at the worst time because it gave the book a lot of action cause it caused conflict between dylan and clyde because clyde saw the sasquatch and was going to kill it and dylan tackled him the clark kneed dylan in the stomach and then a tree fell on clark and he died.

I really liked this book because it was thrilling and it was cool and it was described really well. I would recommend this book to my little sister emma because she likes to read fiction and fantasy.
Profile Image for Denise Spicer.
Author 16 books70 followers
August 4, 2023
Roland Smith Hyparion 1998/1999
188 pages Local Wilsonville, OR author.
14-year-old Dylan and his eccentric dad join a group of Sasquatch hunters and end up on the slopes of Mt. St. Helens. In this exciting page-turner, their search leads them to cabin and campsites while the mountain is experiencing tremors and is closed to visitors. A fun read for kids and adults. There are adventures in caves and caverns and SPOILER ALERT!!! Sasquatch is real AND (in a clever twist ending), one of the characters is the famous D. B. Cooper.
Profile Image for Kaitlyn Bowie.
6 reviews1 follower
January 28, 2023
This was a fun between books read. I happened to pick it up from the free classroom library where I work because I’m a fan of cryptids. The plot got a bit out there towards the end, and there was quite a cast of characters, and I sometimes had to stop and recall who was who. Overall though, a fun book to read on a road-trip, camping trip, flight, or snuggled up in bed with when you just want to let a story take you on a ride.
Profile Image for Chris Thompson.
812 reviews14 followers
July 1, 2015
What if Sasquatch were real? What would we do if we did discover Sasquatch? What would Sasquatch do? These are all questions at the heart of Roland Smith's young adult novel, Sasquatch, and he does an interesting job in answering them. The story has enough maturity to make it believable, while still making use of enough young adult tropes to keep teen readers interested. There are elements of mystery as new characters are introduced and as the possibility of meeting Sasquatch nears. Smith wonders whether Sasquatch might be just as compassionate as human beings are capable of, and that makes for a much more compelling read than you might imagine.

Dylan Hickock's father loves to tinker with things. He's the kind of person who will devote all of his resources to solving a problem. One day when he returns from a hunting trip, Dylan realizes a new problem has arisen. Yet this one his father keeps to himself for a while, in order to keep his wife's mind at ease. She is planning to go to Egypt for several months to complete her college degree. This leaves Dylan alone with his father's new obsession, and Dylan, of course, becomes involved as well.

This obsession revolves around the existence of Bigfoot, or Sasquatch. Dylan's father claims he saw Sasquatch while on that hunting trip, and he takes Dylan to a secret Bigfoot meeting where a man shows photographs of who he claims is Bigfoot racing up a mountain carrying a deer carcass. A group of men want to investigate this area, around Mount St. Helens, and seek out Bigfoot. Here's where the trouble begins. There are four groups of thought regarding what to do with Bigfoot once he's found: 1) tranquilize him and study him; 2) kill him; 3) capture him at any cost (dead or alive); or 4) leave him alone. The first three options seek to expose Sasquatch to the public. The idea is that he can be better protected if his existence is made known. However, to kill a Sasquatch means to kill what is likely an endangered species, and it also means ending the life of a sentient being.

Dylan's father joins the expedition as a saboteur, and he is helped by Buckley Johnson, a mysterious man with a bad hip who would rather see Sasquatch left alone. It seems that Buck knows much more about Sasquatch than he lets on. The expedition team to hunt Sasquatch convenes at Dylan's house, where Dylan meets Dr. Flagg, the leader of the group. Dr. Flagg's philosophy is to capture Sasquatch at any cost, though he seems to lean more towards killing one. That's why the team has brought in Kurt Skipp, a skilled hunter and a man of few words. Dylan knows Skipp is trouble when he first sees him slice an apple into four pieces with the mere flick of a wrist.

The story does move at a moderate pace, a tad slow, and perhaps without as much action as one might expect from the title. All of the action comes right at the end. Smith seems more interested in the possibility that Sasquatch exists, and how people will react to discovering it. I think it's a small group of people who believe Sasquatch exists, or who are even interested in its existence, but there is always somebody claiming to have some blurry photo of the beast and there is always some new TV show set out to find one. The evidence suggests Sasquatch doesn't exist, but Sasquatch is a mythical being that can't be killed. The world is a large and mysterious place. Mankind has seen a lot of it, but not all of it. The ocean harbors all sorts of unknown beings, but on the land, the possibilities of discovering a new creature the size of Sasquatch are much more limited. It's true, as the book argues, that scientists do continually discover new land species all the time, especially in the rainforest, and that's what keeps the hope of Sasquatch's existence alive.

Smith approaches the topic of Sasquatch with a lot more compassion than I expected. My expectations based on the cover, and my misconception this was a horror story, led me to believe there would be lots of murders. That's not quite the case. Most of the mystery comes from the human characters, such as Buck and Kurt Skipp and whether Mount St. Helens will erupt during the Sasquatch expedition. Sasquatch, in fact, may be the least dangerous character of the bunch, and in that sense Smith may approach wildlife with a touch of naivete, just as a Disney film sometimes portrays a dangerous animal like a bear as friendly. It's hard to believe that a Sasquatch could be morally cultivated to know right from wrong rather than a being that acts on instinct to protect itself.

Still, Sasquatch could symbolize humanity's desire to tinker with the unknown. It's in our nature to discover new things about the world, as though we're afraid the world would become dull without any new discoveries. But what price do we pay by not leaving things alone? Is that price worth what we gain from the discovery? The novel stops short of answering these questions, and instead wraps up the story with a series of action set pieces. In the search for Sasquatch, it remains just as mystical as before the search. The book ends up being satisfying, but difficult to recommend. Just like many young adult novels, there is a mix of sophistication along with the usual YA tropes, but in both cases there doesn't seem to be enough to fully satisfy either adult or young adult readers.
6 reviews3 followers
January 23, 2018
Sasquatch is a great book. I liked this book because I have read other books by Roland Smith and enjoyed and this book had an interesting topic that is new to me. One thing that was interesting was the setting of the book, very close to home. I had never thought much of the topic of this book, but how it's put into a story and narrated by kid, makes it enjoyable.
Profile Image for Andrea Bayhan.
67 reviews
October 26, 2022
Please do not take my one-star rating as an indication that this book should be avoided. On the contrary, and with apologies to Mr. Smith, it falls squarely and comfortably into the "so bad it's good" category. If given the chance, don't deny yourself the pleasure.

And I truly enjoyed the characters of Dylan and Buck, aka...well, I won't spoil it.
Profile Image for Kay Mcgriff.
561 reviews7 followers
April 21, 2018
Another fun adventure in search of a cryptid--this time Big Foot or Sasquatch in the Pacific Northwest. Throw in an impending volcanic eruption, a mysterious wildlife biologist and a slightly eccentric dad, and things really heat up.
33 reviews2 followers
November 7, 2019
I loved this book. It was set in Portland, Oregon and Mt St. Helens, Washington. It was very authentic. Especially the Powells Bookstore visit. I would highly recommend this novel. It is a stands alone novel, though there are other cypids books in the series.
3 reviews
May 13, 2024
I heard Roland Smith speak several years ago at the Bentonville Youth Lit Festival. He spoke about how his dad worked for the team (at the airport or with the state?) that was investigating the DB Cooper incident. He said that his dad's experience was part of the inspiration to write the book.
690 reviews
February 1, 2025
Nothing special, but not bad either. From the science perspective it's decently well-done and believeable so far as a sasquatch book goes, but most of the characters were caricatures to the point of goofiness.
Profile Image for Corey Bennett.
36 reviews
June 8, 2017
when I first read this book I was pretty young and loved it prob shouldn't of re-read it...it's not bad liked it but didn't live up to what I remembered
Displaying 1 - 30 of 161 reviews

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