Destination Gold!

Sylvia Pantaleo is an assistant professor of education specializing in
children’s literature at Queen’s University. She is the co-author of
Learning with Literature in the Canadian Elementary Classroom.

The year is 1897 and 16-year-old Ned Turner has gold fever! As he
embarks on a journey from Victoria, B.C., to the gold fields of the
Klondike, he dreams of returning to Victoria with enough money to pay
off his deceased father’s debts.

The trip to the Klondike is arduous. Along the way, Ned becomes
indebted to a scheming and deceitful man named Montana, who wins Ned’s
prospecting outfit in a card game. Once the teen reaches Dawson City, he
secures employment with a prospector named Frosty Jack. Ned’s northern
adventures are interwoven with those of two other characters:
16-year-old Catherine, who is heading to the Klondike to escape her
troubled past, and Ned’s 12-year-old sister, Sarah, who is traveling
to the North to locate her brother because she and her mother have had
no communication from Ned since his departure from Victoria. Catherine
and Sarah meet on their way to the Klondike and a series of events
results in them living together in Dawson City. The lives of Ned,
Catherine, and Sarah eventually intersect and further adventures ensue.

Julie Lawson convincingly portrays the excitement and hardships faced
by those infected with Klondike gold fever. The events experienced by
the three main characters facilitate their personal growth in believable
ways. The details of the historical context are also believable, and the
plot is fast-paced and engaging. Author’s notes at the beginning of
the book provide further contextual information about the gold rush and
Lawson’s novel. Recommended.