Raft Baby is a sprawling historical novel set in the Peace River country in the early 1900s, a period and a place that tested the mettle of all who came there. The novel is complex and layered, with multiple narrators and interwoven stories. Its main story, though, is the mystical tale of a young girl straddling two worlds in ways of which she is not always aware, with elements of love, sacrifice, greed, envy, heartbreaking sorrow, and unexpected twists in plot. The novel is set mostly in the past and chronicled through various voices that tell of the Raft Baby's amazing journey. We also hear directly from the Raft Baby herself, both at the beginning of the novel and at the end. Her voice is vital, true, and clear and it validates the novel's history and circumstances in the gentlest of ways.