• Age: 10 to 14
• Grade: 6

This young adult historical novel focuses on Charlotte and her family, Loyalists who are forced to flee their home in the Mohawk Valley as a result of the violence of the “Sons of Liberty” during the American Revolution. At the beginning, fifteen-year-old Charlotte Hooper is separated from her sweetheart, Nick, who sympathizes with the Revolutionaries. The war has already taken the lives of her three brothers, and it is with a sense of desperation that Charlotte and her parents begin the long trek north to the safety of Fort Haldimand (near present-day Kingston). The novel portrays Charlotte’s struggle on the difficult journey north, and the even more difficult task of making a new home in British Canada. In her relationship with Nick, the novel explores how the ideals of the American Revolution were undermined by a revolutionary ethos of violence. In the flight north, the Mohawk nation plays an important role, and Charlotte learns much about their customs and way of life, to the point where she is renamed “Woman of Two Worlds.” Later in the novel she is able to repay her Native friends when she plays an important part in helping the Oneidas to become once again members of the Iroquois confederacy under British protection. The story of Charlotte’s journey north is a tale of paradise lost and a new world gained. Strong and capable, Charlotte breaks the stereotype of the eighteenth-century woman, while revealing the positive relationship between the Loyalists and the Native peoples.

Jean Rae Baxterholds a B.A. and M.A. from the University of Toronto and a B.Ed. from Queen's. She has been nominated for the 2022 Governor General's History Award for Popular Media: the Pierre Berton Award.
Although she grew up in Hamilton, "down home" was Essex County, where her ancestors had settled, some as Loyalists in the 1780's following the American Revolution and some a century earlier, in the days of New France.
Jean has written six historical novels, the "Forging a Nation Series," covering the period from 1777 to 1793:
The Way Lies North (2007)
Broken Trail (2011)
Freedom Bound (2012)
The White Oneida (2014)
Hope's Journey (2015)
The Knotted Rope (2021)
With The Battle on the Ice she moves ahead to the Patriot Wars of 1837—1838. Jean's historical novels have won awards in Canada and the United States, including all three Moonbeam medals, ——Gold, Silver, Bronze?for Young Adult Historical Fiction.
She was also nominated for the 2022 Governor General's History Award for Popular Media: the Pierre Berton Award: About her series, "Forging A Nation" the committee write: "We were honoured to learn more about your work as a teacher, writer and public speaker. Your series… has done the important work of introducing young readers to the stories of the past and fostering a life—long interest in Canadian history."
She has also authored a murder mystery, Looking for Cardenio, and two short story collections, Twist of Malice and Scattered Light.•
As a teacher of creative writing Jean holds workshops on using the tools of fiction to bring family history to life.

Jean Rae Baxter's profile page

“This novel is incredibly subtle in its intensity and details. You don’t realize how catching the story is until you are unable to put it down, and the last words are read . . . the adventure sneaks up and grabs you from behind.” — What If? Magazine

The Way Lies North

This book is part survival guide and part love story. It tells the tale of Charlotte and her Loyalist family who must leave their home and run for their lives when they are forced off their land during the American Revolution. Charlotte also leaves behind her beloved Nick who unfortunately sympathizes with the Revolutionaries. The people of the Mohawk Nation are friends of the fleeing Loyalists and help them travel north to Canada to get to safety. Nick, on his own journey of discovery, becomes a courier for the Loyalists and he and Charlotte are reunited. The time Charlotte spends with the Aboriginal guides on this dangerous trip and during additional ones she must take, gives her much insight into the ways of the Mohawk people. She becomes well versed in their traditions and customs and eventually lives up to her new Aboriginal name, ‘Woman of Two Worlds’.

Baxter has written several short stories. The Way Lies North is her first novel.

The Way Lies North

This book is part survival guide and part love story. It tells the tale of Charlotte and her Loyalist family who must leave their home and run for their lives when they are forced off their land during the American Revolution. Charlotte also leaves behind her beloved Nick who unfortunately sympathizes with the Revolutionaries. The people of the Mohawk Nation are friends of the fleeing Loyalists and help them travel north to Canada to get to safety. Nick, on his own journey of discovery, becomes a courier for the Loyalists and he and Charlotte are reunited. The time Charlotte spends with the Aboriginal guides on this dangerous trip and during additional ones she must take, gives her much insight into the ways of the Mohawk people. She becomes well versed in their traditions and customs and eventually lives up to her new Aboriginal name, ‘Woman of Two Worlds’.

Baxter has written several short stories. The Way Lies North is her first novel.

The Way Lies North

A fascinating story about two young people who flee the violence of the American Revolution and discover a new way of life with help from the Mohawk people in the land that is soon to be Canada.