The Gold in These Hills

I have enjoyed reading stories of the pioneers and exploration and settlement of the American West since grade school. As I have gotten older I have learned about how complicated this historical period really is and the impact it has on current affairs. Whether it is fiction or nonfiction for a reader to explore and cultivate a variety of perspectives and stories. Notice that I said the reader and not the author.

The Gold in These Hills is a story of two individuals named Juniper and Johnny separated by time, but connected by place: the mining town of Kenworthy in the San Jacinto Mountains. Juniper comes to Kenworthy as a mail-order bride. Shortly after their wedding, her husband goes missing. She regularly writes him letters about her days and prays that the letters reach him. Johnny, a present-day newly divorced father of two finds Juniper’s letters while renovating an old farmhouse and trying to rebuild his faith in love. Together, their stories weave together Gold Rush history, human experience, and the capacity to love. Juniper and Johnny are both white, although the story does feature some auxiliary characters who are indigenous. I would have loved a historical note to help determine what was fact and fiction when it came to the description and background of these characters.