Riding the Flume (Aladdin Historical Fiction)

by Patricia Curtis Pfitsch

Book Overview

Don't tell anyone -- the only safety is in secrecy. During the summer of 1894 the giant sequoia trees -- the oldest living things on earth -- are being felled for lumber in northern California. When... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0689866925
• Release Date: April 2004
• Publisher: Aladdin
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 7.6" x 0.7" x 5.1"

Customer Reviews

Katie's Book Review

I love this book it is one of the best ones I have ever read.This story is about a young girl named Francie,and she lives in Northern California in 1894.When Francie's older sister Carrie dies in a landslide then their whole family has problems her dad is very upset and her mom is to.When Mr.Court comes to town then he tells Francie to count the rings on the old Sequia tree. When Francie gets to the stump she finds a note from her sister,Carrie wrote the note six years ago. When Francie returns home she goes serching for her sisters diary when she finds it she reads it.Then she found out that someone gave Carrie a tree the only way to find out if it is hers it to find out if the will is real so then Frncie has to go to Mr. Court to see if it is real..To find out what happens in the rest of the story you might want to read it.

Hannah's review

Riding the Flume is one of the best books I have ever read! It is about a 15-year-old girl named Francie whose sister died in a landslide six years ago. She lives in California in 1894 where the sequoia trees are being chopped down for lumber. Francie one day finds a note written by her sister in a sequoia stump. She tries to figure out what Carrie's secret is. When Francie finds Carrie's diary, she discovers that a man named Old Robert left the largest sequoia to Carrie in his will. When the huge tree is discovered, the loggers plan to cut it down. Francie has to somehow stop them, so that the last thing left of Carrie is not lost. She must get to St. Joseph so she can show Mr. Court the will to prove that the loggers have no right to cut it down. Francie has no way to get there, unless she rides the flume. Will she risk her life to save Carrie's tree? Will she be able to stop the loggers before the tree is gone? Read this book to find out!

Thrilling Ride

This novel was nominated for the 2003 Edgar Awards in the "Best Juvenile" category, and it is a wonderful and richly-rewarding book: fast-paced, exciting, well-written. I read the book in one sitting. Pfitsch pulls the reader into the story in the first paragraph--a description of the felling of a giant sequoia--and the reader is hooked from that beginning to the novel's final pages, which include a thrilling ride down a western mountain in a flume boat by the book's protagonist, a young girl named Francie. Set in California in the late 1800s, the book is expertly researched and features a plot that will keep readers, young and old, on the collective edges of their seats. Pfitsch's book has mystery, villains, and the uncovering of secrets. Francie's sister, Carrie, who died six years before this novel opens, is an important part of the story. Carrie's diary contains important clues. As Francie reads the diary, she reaffirms her closeness with her sister and works to solve a mystery involving loggers and the lumber industry. This is a great adventure story, an engaging mystery, and an evocative story of a young girl's search for truth and justice. The plot has some great twists and turns. There's never a dull moment. I would highly recommend RIDING THE FLUME to YA readers and their parents.

very good mystery

Francie finds a note hidden in the stump of an old Sequoia, and realizes it's her sister Carries handwriting. For almost any other girl this might be normal. But not for Francie. Carrie died 6 years ago. Is Carries secret still important? ride the flume or give up?? " should francie risk her life for the secret her sister fought to keep?" this book was very good and once i started i couldnt out it down! "don't tell anyone he only safety is in secrecy." ~tara~

A ride to remember

This book ` Riding the Flume' tells and exciting and suspenseful tale of a young girl finding herself. The books descriptive writing of the social, and economic struggles of this difficult time made the era come alive for me. Even if I hadn't ever seen the giant sequoias, the pictures painted in this book, would let me know how huge they are, how much they are a part of our history, and how - believing in something strongly enough, can give one the strength to accomplish it. I throughly enjoyed the book and would recommend it to anyone wanting to take an exciting ride.