In her latest historical novel for young adults, B.J. Bayle tells the story of the Fraser family, who sail from Scotland to the newly formed Red River settlement (now Winnipeg). Centred on 15-year-old Angus, the book is a vivid portrait of the determination and strength of Manitoba’s earliest settlers.

After a difficult ocean crossing, Angus, his family, and the other passengers are forced off the ship due to illness, and spend their first Canadian winter in tents. When they finally make it to Red River, they battle nature once again to cultivate the fields and build homes before the cold weather returns.

Despite the settlers’ success in taming the landscape, they are soon faced with human-created challenges, namely the growing war between the Hudson’s Bay Company and the North West Company for control of the fur trade. Many settlers leave for Ontario, while those who remain intermittently flee their homes for fear of violence. Desperate to protect his family’s land, Angus decides to stay and fight alongside the HBC men, and is present at many key battles before a peace agreement is finally reached.

The novel is fast-paced and engaging, and the relatable characters will have readers hoping for their survival. Bayle also presents a nuanced portrayal of historical events. For example, neither the HBC nor the NWC and its Métis allies are portrayed as outright heroes or villains during the Seven Oaks Massacre, in which HBC governor Robert Semple was ambushed and killed.

Although the number of characters and places in the story risks overwhelming young readers, Red River Rising succeeds in contextualizing a contentious period in Canadian history, and giving a human face to those who worked so hard to establish new lives in a strange land.