First published 1975
Clay Calvert has no family left in Oregon Territory. The year is 1906, and settlers stream into the region chasing promises of free land and fresh starts. Clay moves from camp to camp, town to town, learning what he can from the people who take him in. He meets hop pickers and horse traders, loggers and storekeepers, each trying to carve out a place in this rough country. The work is hard and the winters are harsh. Some settlers give up and head back east. Others dig in deeper, determined to make their claims pay off. Clay watches them all, absorbing their skills and their stories. As he grows from boy to young man over two years of constant movement, he must decide what kind of life he wants to build for himself. The American Dream looks different to everyone Clay encounters, and he discovers that finding his own path means understanding what home really means.
Genres: american-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, american, adventure
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, found-family
Setting: Oregon Territory
Period: 1906
380 pages · Hardcover · Norman Berg