Gary Paulsen is the popular author of three Newbery Honor books. He and his wife have homes in New Mexico and on the Pacific.

Twins Jeremy and Jason Parsons are helping their grandma run the Thunder Valley Ski Lodge while their grandfather recuperates from a broken hip. When Grandma Parsons joins their grandfather at the hospital, the boys are left to take care of the lodge on their own. Strange things begin happening once Grandma leaves, though. Could it be the work of a mysterious secret society called "The Broken Tree"?