• Age: 9 to 12
• Grade: 4 to 7

In the tradition of Anne of Green Gables, an unforgettable young girl uses her pluck and wit to deal with life's turmoils.

It is the 1920s, and twelve-year-old Emily Pattersen lives in a logging community in northern Ontario — a place where lumber is king and the forests make many men rich. She, of course, has more important things to concern herself with: run-ins with know-it-all Tilly at school, dealing with her frustrating brothers, and trying not to roll her eyes at her very serious mother's penchant for assigning Duties.

A new set of worries comes to her when, against their parents' wishes, her hot-headed brother Joe sneaks off to work at a lumber camp. Emily is the only one who knows where he's gone. Scared and anxious, she gets the post every day to intercept Joe's letters, with word about his safety. Life has suddenly become complicated, as Emily struggles to remain an obedient daughter, while protecting her brother's secret.

Debut novelist Courtney Maika is as inspiring as the feisty young heroine she has created. She wrote A Forest of Gold while in grade twelve. A keen reader of the the Dear Canada series, she says: "...they really inspired me, so at one point, when I was sixteen, I thought 'Why wait? I think I'm capable of writing a book now.'" Readers will be glad she did.

Courtney Maika's profile page

Praise for A Forest of Gold:

"Emily Pattersen is funny, observant, warmhearted without being gushy, and thoroughly real." — Jean Little

"Courtney Maika was just 17 when she wrote A Forest of Gold, but the talented young author has created a winning character in Emily Pattersen...her voice is charming enough that one is compelled to keep reading, just to hear what she has to say...A Forest of Gold is filled with compelling characters, and would make a fine springboard for a series." —Quill & Quire

"With palpable details, Maika takes readers back to [1927]...With equal realism and wit, Maika brings an entire family and a town to life. Readers get a clear sense there are stories within stories in the Pattersen family, in Mattawa, and in this era, and the stories could go on forever, just as history does...A Forest of Gold is a delightful and fast-paced read." —Canadian Review of Materials

A Forest of Gold

This is a first novel for author Courtney Maika, who wrote it on her Christmas break when she was just 17 years old. Writing in a journal format, the author has clearly been influenced by the books in the Dear Canada series.

These are the journal entries of young Emily Pattersen, who receives the diary as a gift on her twelfth birthday in 1927. She immediately decides that she will use her journal as a place where she can be the “voice of history,” recording the day-to-day events in the lives of the Pattersen family.

Living on a farm in the Ottawa Valley, Emily introduces the reader to the enviable life she leads, where her parents recognize her for the talented student that she is and provide her with plenty of support. Emily’s idyllic world is disrupted, however, when much to her father’s concern, her older brother, Joe, runs off to work in a logging camp near Temagami, an adventure he has longed for. The endnote informs the reader that the author was inspired by her grandfather’s and great-grandfathers’ logging stories. Indeed, this fine novel clearly evokes that time and place in this country’s history.

This would make an excellent addition to a school library. As Jean Little has commented, this novel is “funny, observant, warm-hearted and thoroughly real.”