If you are familiar with Natalie Hyde’s book Mine! then you will familiar with many of the cast of characters in her new book Up the Creek. A story set in Dawson, Yukon and the surrounding area, readers will enjoy this story of mining for gold.

Chris Dearing finds himself living with Neils and Anna just north of Dawson after reclaiming his grandfather’s land and gold claim. Chris’ father is serving a prison sentence but as soon as he is let out, the two of them are going to mine the claim for gold. Only problem is there is a lot of work to be done to make the claim habitable and profitable and Chris sees it as his job to get everything ready for when his dad shows up. Chris has been let down so many times in his young life. His dad has always had a problem with alcohol and Chris has always had to be the parent of the relationship. 

Natalie Hyde surrounds Chris is a whole host of eclectic characters to support Chris. There is Vinnie the food truck driver, Shard, Chris’s best friend Fiona a bike bar owner with a heart of gold, Flash Gordon the local junkyard owner and Lucy, the guard goose. There is no shortage of charm in this story that’s for sure and so many people who are there for Chris even if he doesn’t necessarily realize it. Natalie Hyde does a masterful job of really capturing the pain of being a child in the foster system, a child who feels like his parents are constantly letting him down, not fighting for him. The relationship with Neils and Anna is especially wonderful. They fight for Chris in their own subtle way, as do Fiona and Vinnie and Shard. 

I have never read a story set in the Yukon and I really feel like Natalie Hyde captured life in the far north so exceptionally. I have to imagine that living up in Dawson would have it’s fair bit of challenges and would require those who live there to be especially tough and hardy but also very kind and community driven. When they say it takes a village, I would expect no more so than when living in a remote community. I would not be surprised to see this charming story on awards list in the near future.