Riding the Flume (Aladdin Historical Fiction)

Riding the Flume (Aladdin Historical Fiction) by Pfitsch, Patricia Curtis. paperback edition. ISBN: 9780689866920.

Dont 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 fifteen-year-old Francie finds a note hidden in the stump of an old sequoia, she immediately recognizes her sisters handwriting. But Carrie died in an accident six years ago. Could Carries secret still be important? Francies search for the truth turns dangerous, and she needs to get to St. Joseph fast. Shes faced with the choice of either giving up, or riding the flume, a rickety track that carries lumber from the mills in the mountains to the lumberyard in St. Joseph. Should Francie risk her life for the secret her sister fought to keep?