Cariboo Runaway

Steve Pitt is a Toronto-based freelance writer and an award-winning journalist. He has written many young adult and children's books, including Day of the Flying Fox: The True Story of World War II Pilot Charley Fox.

When things get tough for 13-year-old Elva and her family, she thinks
that all she has to do is find her father, who left home six years ago
to strike it rich in the goldfields of Cariboo, British Columbia. Elva
cuts off her hair, puts on a man’s clothes, and joins the thousands of
fortune seekers marching the 500-mile trail to Cariboo. But Elva’s
plans are upset, first when she discovers that her pesky kid brother has
followed her, and then when they see a friend murdered on the trail.
When they finally arrive in Cariboo, they soon discover that their
father is in jail for a crime he swears he did not commit. Elva must now
figure out a way to prove her father’s innocence before the real
criminal gets away.

This well-written, fast-paced tale was an immediate hit with young
readers when it was originally released in 1976. This new edition
includes period photographs, charcoal sketches, and historical notes.
The photographs show Victorian people and street scenes. The historical
notes connect the novel’s characters to actual places and people in
mid-19th-century British Columbia. A handy glossary helps young readers
figure out the difference between a half-bustle and a hobnail. Highly
recommended.