Jasper and the Riddle of Riley’s Mine by Caroline Starr Rose

An enterprising 10-year-old and his teenage brother join the Alaska gold rush “stampeders” for a good-hearted “Call of the Wild” adventure.

Jasper and the Riddle of Riley’s Mine by Caroline Starr Rose.  Ptunam, 2017, 273 pages.

Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 10-12

Recommended for: ages 10-14

Kirkland, Washington, 1893.  Since their mother died and their Pa slipped into depression and alcoholism, Jasper Johnson and his brother Melvin desperately need a change in fortune.  A screaming newspaper headline, GOLD! GOLD! GOLD!,  seem to point the way.  Melvin, age 16, takes off for the Klondike first but Jasper, after packing a knapsack, a washboard, and Pa’s gold watch,  catches up with him on the steamer Queen.  The gold watch is for a rainy day, but the washboard turns out to be very handy when the boys arrive in Skagway, Alaska. Mel’s stash of provisions has been stolen and a micro laundry is the only way Jasper can earn a little cash.  When they encounter Mr. Theroux and his nephew Stanley their luck appears to be headed up, for even though Mr. Theroux is an opinionated loudmouth, he has a boat for their journey up the Yukon River.  But their way is as strewn with mishaps as the steep climb over Chilkroot Pass is littered with discarded possessions, and their traveling companions are not what they seem.  Only one fact keeps Jasper going: the story of One-Eyed Riley, who abandoned a rich gold strike but left clues about how to find it.  If the boys can only follow the clues to the mine, their worries will be over.

Jasper narrates his own story in present tense—not the best choice for historical fiction, in my opinion, but his lively voice and haphazard grammar is reminiscent of Huck Finn, and his sharp eye for observation and metaphor make the narrative sparkle.  His lively tone carries us through desperate situations where the boys would have starved or frozen or been shot if help didn’t show up in the nick of time.  Still, the Call of the Wild never met with such good humor and spunk.

Considerations:

Intense situations (such as near-murder and starvation) may be too much for very sensitive readers.

There’s a small amount of mild profanity (e.g. “god-awful”), but the Christian characters in the story are admirable.

Overall Rating: 4.5 (out of 5)

• Worldview/moral value: 4
• Artistic value: 5

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Also by this author: May B and Blue Birds