Gold Dust

It's 1897. A new gold rush is on, and Katy O'Connell of Willow Bend, Mont., is a woman ahead of her time. She has gold fever and wants to make her fortune the hard way: pan for it. Dressed as a boy, Katy offers her services as a guide to Jonah Armstrong, a Chicago newspaper reporter en route to Canada to cover the story. Despite Katy's boyish clothes and her various male vices (brawling, riding, shooting, etc.), she's all girl and a wonderfully interesting and complex character. Jonah is not the typical alpha hero, but he's appealing just the same. Carmichael's (Outcast) plot is simple and uncomplicated, and the action never-ending. The description of the trek to the Canadian Klondike reads as if the author's been there and done that. (June)