Twelve-year-old Jenna Sinclair begins her diary in August of 1849. She is an orphan living with her strict Aunt Grace at Fort Edmonton, where her father worked for the Hudson's Bay Company before his death. Shortly after Jenna begins writing her diary, Aunt Grace marries, and now Jenna must leave her home for the first time in her life, for her new uncle has been assigned to a job at a different fort. Jenna is very sad to leave her best friend, Suzanne, and her beloved grandmother, but she is also excited about the adventures she is sure to have on her journey.

Shortly after arriving at her new home, Fort Colvile, Jenna learns of a school for the children of high-ranking Hudson's Bay Company employees. Her aunt and uncle agree that Jenna can attend the school, and so she sets out on another long journey to Fort Victoria on Vancouver's Island. The school isn't quite what Jenna hoped for, as the teachers are very strict. But she eventually makes new friends, explores the island, tries to solve a mystery, and visits the local Indian tribe, while recording all her adventures in her diary, as she hopes to write a novel based on her adventures someday.

Where the River Takes Me is another good book from the Dear Canada series. Jenna is a likeable narrator, and the book is full of interesting historical details. This book is mostly a story of what everyday life was like for the child of a Hudson's Bay Company employee in the mid 19th century and I think it had less of a plot compared to some of the other books in the Dear Canada series. Still, this book is an enjoyable read that I recommend to readers who enjoyed other books from this series or from the similar Dear America series. ( )

Victoria, BC author, Julie Lawson's new novel hits the shelves just in time to celebrate the 150th anniversary of British Columbia. Like the other titles in the Dear Canada series, Lawson's novel, Where the River Takes Me: The Hudson's Bay Company Diary of Jenna Sinclair is written in the form of a diary (in this case, spanning the period between the end of August, 1849 and May, 1851).



The book opens in Fort Saskatchewan where the reader meets Jenna Sinclair, the orphaned child of a Cree mother and a Chief Trader with the Hudson's Bay Company. Jenna is being raised by her Aunt Grace, a stern woman who marries a blacksmith. The newlyweds and Jenna move to Fort Colvile and, from there, Jenna travels on alone to Fort Victoria where she becomes a pupil at the Staines School.



Loaded with historical details, this novel will be particularly interesting to readers able to visit sites mentioned in the story. As Lawson has done so successfully in her other historical fiction (the best known of which is White Jade Tiger), the author spins a good yarn and creates a compelling set of characters, some based on actual historical figures and others who are purely fictional. It is not an easy task to blend fact and fiction, but Lawson is a pro and handles the challenges of the genre with ease.



Jenna is a feisty, independent-minded character who gets herself into the occasional spot of trouble with her curious, free-spirited nature. Jenna's penchant for hiding in trees and spying on other people results in an interrupted murder attempt and a broken arm (Jenna's, when she tumbles from her perch in a handy spying tree).



The detailed historical notes (with photographs and images) describe the history of the fur trade and the Hudson's Bay Company and provide background and context for the fictional main character and her story. The author's note is also quite detailed and provides a glimpse of the writer's mind as she time-travelled back to the mid-1800s to recreate the world described in the diary. In part, Julie Lawson says of the research process, "[I found myself] unintentionally talking like Jenna and writing emails using her voice. I went blank when I picked up the phone, not knowing where I was. I wrote 1850 on cheques. I dream-walked to town and along Victoria's waterfront, my body here, but my mind on a brigade route somewhere else."