GHOST CAVE

A routine adventure story, set in the summer of 1954, about three sixth-grade boys who explore a cave, get lost, and are (possibly) saved by a ghost. The boys are inspired by the offer of a reward to search for lost Indian relics. Marc's pet, Bluedog, blunders into the cave, where they find the ancient grave of an Indian boy before getting lost in the cave's depths. Finally, though, Marc will see a mysterious, dark-haired boy pointing out a path that leads to deliverance. Told from Marc's point of view, the story derives some added interest from a subplot concerning Marc's uncertain relationship with his father during his mother's illness. Steiner does have some good ideas, then, but her prose is leaden, her characters stock, and her plot lacking in suspense. A minor effort.