Imagine you are about to complete your training as a smoke jumper _ a firefighter who parachutes out of an airplane. Small fires are breaking out in the area, and you must decide whether to stay at camp and complete training or miss your final test and help fight the fires.

Smoke Jumper, written by R.A. Montgomery and published by Bantam Books, is just that kind of book. It is a suspenseful, 112-page book about smoke jumping in the Pacific Northwest. You choose what will happen next because you are one of the characters in the book. For example, you can choose to be boxed in by a forest fire or to capture the arsonist who is connected with the fires. This makes it an exciting book. Being able to choose is like being there.

It also has pictures of the characters so you can see what is really about to happen. Here is part of the excitement:

Once on the ridge, you stop for a moment to rest and get your bearings.

"Hey, what's that?" Bill asks, pointing to the far ridge at what appears to be a figure.

"Looks like a person. But what's he doing?" you reply.

"He seems to be signaling. Maybe he needs help."

The figure is waving a shirt and moving back and forth within a 10- or 12-foot space. You try to shout, but it is too far, and the noise of the stream blocks your voice from traveling. You figure that hiking to the ridge would take you about fifty minutes or so out of your way.

"What do you think, Bill? Should we investigate?"

The book gives you a choice of what will happen next, by directing you to certain pages based on your selection.

I recommend this book for ages 9 and up because some of the adventures are more appropriate for this age category.