Down the Yukon [Hardcover]

Will Hobbs (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up

Amid the shouts and the cheers and the splashing of oars, it was pandemonium. "Nome or bust!" I yelled.

In the shadow of the Arctic Circle, Dawson City is burning down, changing forever the lives of thousands in the Klondike goldfields. All the talk is of Nome, nearly two thousand miles away, where gold has been discovered in the beach sands.

Jason Hawthorn is itching to join the new rush. He and his brothers have been cheated out of their sawmill, and Jason has vowed to buy it back. A race to Nome has been announced, with a $20,000 prize. Jason's partner in his canoe is the girl he loves, Jamie Dunavant, freshly returned from the States, as she promised she would.

The Great Race across Alaska will be a grueling test for the two of them as they face the hazards of the Yukon River, two very dangerous men Jason has reason to fear, and the terrors of the open sea. Only their combined skills, courage, and mutual devotion can pull them through.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5 Up-In this sequel to Jason's Gold (Morrow, 1999), 16-year-old Jason Hawthorn endures even more hardships in the Yukon. His brother Ethan loses their sawmill business to swindlers in a poker game and the new settlement of Dawson City is devastated by fire. Jamie Dunavant returns, still Jason's girlfriend. When a contest involving a race to Nome is announced, the two of them decide to enter in hopes of winning the $20,000 prize money to buy back the sawmill. The pace of the novel picks up dramatically as the race begins. Accompanied by Ethan's affectionate mutt, Burnt Paw, Jason and Jamie aim to outpaddle over 300 entrants down the Yukon but adventure gives way to survival when the sawmill swindlers sabotage their canoe. It is a suspenseful trek over land and sea as the teens race the bad guys to the finish line, and a few conveniences make for a happy-ever-after ending. Swedish immigrants, Eskimos, and a Russian priest are minor characters who befriend the heroes and give a real flavor of Alaska in the late 1800s. An appended author's note further separates fact from fiction. More exciting than its predecessor, this bookwould make a great read-aloud.
Vicki Reutter, Cazenovia High School, NY
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 5-8. Fans of Hobbs' action-packed historical adventure novels will welcome this sequel to Jason's Gold (1999). When fire destroys much of the Canadian gold rush town where the Hawthorne brothers live, a shady character named Donner takes over their mill, and miners leave to find gold in Alaska, Jason decides to compete in a race to the new gold fields. With him in the contest are Jamie, the plucky young lady who appeared in Jason's Gold, and a mongrel dog, Burnt Paw. As if river travel, grizzly bears, a kayak journey across open sea, and a budding romance aren't enough, Jason and Jamie must also deal with ruthless Donner, their main competition in the race. The ending, though predictable, features an appropriate twist. Hobbs includes an epilogue about Jason and Jamie, notes on the historical basis for some of story's characters and events, and a map. Readers looking for an exciting adventure won't be disappointed. Catherine Andronik
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins; 1st edition (April 10, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688174728
• ISBN-13: 978-0688174729
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,501,506 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

WILL HOBBS is the author of eighteen exciting outdoor adventure novels for upper elementary, middle school and young adult readers, as well as two picture book stories. Seven of his novels have been named Best Books for Young Adults by the American Library Association, and Ghost Canoe, Will's first mystery, won the Edgar Allan Poe national award for Best Young Adult Mystery. The ALA's list of the "100 Best Young Adult Books of the 20th Century" includes two of Will's titles: Far North and Downriver.

A graduate of Stanford University and a former reading and language arts teacher, Will lives with his wife, Jean, in Durango, Colorado. Visit Will's website at www.willhobbsauthor.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The Race, November 22, 2005

By 

gotigers (Versailles, Oh) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Down the Yukon (Hardcover)

It's about a boy named Jason and his brothers, living in Dawson City. They have their own sawmill called Hawthorn Brothers Sawmill, where they work to make a living. One day all of the brothers were at a place eating, and a guy starts to kick this dog sitting there, so Ethan, the oldest brother, tells the man not to kick the dog. They got into a pushing match, but somebody in the crowd yelled at Ethan not to fight the guy, because he was pushing a former boxer Sydney Mauler. Then somebody said they should have a boxing match, and they had one two weeks later. Ethan ended up winning and becoming famous. He stopped working at the mill and started to drink and gamble a lot. He was winning everyday, and then one day he started to lose, and everyday he lost more and more until he was broke. Then a lawyer took their mill by having Ethan sing a paper when he was drunk, so they lost their mill. Jason's old friend Jamie Dunavant comes back to Dawson City and they fall in love. Jason told her he was going to Nome for to make money to buy the mill back. Jamie then found a contest. It was a race to Nome for two people and $20,000 the prize. It would be able to buy the mill back. So can Jamie and Jason win the race and get the mill back? You'll have to read the book to find out.
The parts I liked were that there was a lot of adventure and I like adventure books. The parts I didn't like were that it was kind of a love story and there were some boring parts. I would recommend this book to people who like adventure and love stories too. It`s the sequel of Jason's Gold, so if you liked that then you'll like this

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Life Threatoning Adventure, September 28, 2005

By 

vtown (Versailles, Ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Down the Yukon (Hardcover)

This book is about a teenage boy and girl who like each other. The boys name is Jason and the girls name is Jamie. Jason has been waiting for Jamie to come back to the north. When Jamie does finally come back to the north, they both decide to join a big race down to Nome. The winner of the race gets 20, 000 dollars. Jason needs this money to buy back his mill that he and his two brothers owned, but lost.
I liked this book because it was a suspenseful adventure. I didn't really like how it was a love story.
I can compare this book with Gary Paulsen's book; The River.
I would recommend this book to people who like suspense, adventure, and love stories.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Philly's Book Review, February 10, 2005

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Down the Yukon (Paperback)

Jason's brother Ethan loses the family mill in a poker bet. Jason and his friend Jamie decided they need to enter the Great race to get the mill back. First prize in the race is twenty-thousand dollars. Donner, the man Ethan lose the bet to, said he would sell the mill back too him for three thousand dollars. After days on the Yukon Jason and Jamie get their canoe stuck on a log. After hours of hard work they get it unstuck. Jason and Jamie make up the time by paddling hard. Jason and Jamie see that another family has gotton stuck and decided to help them. They leave there boat on a near by island. After helping the family, Jason and JAmie return to find that Donner, who is also in the race, has chopped down a and it has crusted there boat. Now they have to build a boat. Will they make it in time? Will they win back the mill? To find out read Down The Yukon by Will Hobbs.