Walk on Earth a Stranger is the first book in Rae Carson’s new series, the Gold Seer Trilogy. The premise is brilliant: a historical fiction set during the Gold Rush, featuring a young adult protagonist with one extremely timely supernatural power – she can sense gold around her, like a human metal detector.
I was actually planning to go to the Yukon this summer to look for gold, so I’m already hooked into this story. Of course, such a talented gift would be valuable to a prospector… valuable enough to kill for. Walk on Earth is a clever YA novel with romantic and paranormal proclivities, but it’s Old West setting and theme is sure to be satisfying.
The open, harsh landscape and long distance roaming is common in dystopian or postapocalyptic fiction, but the same mood will be reached in uncivilized America.
What Walk on Earth a Stranger Is About
Leah Westfall can feel gold in the ground. In a country rushing west to dig it up, that makes her the most valuable person in any room, and the most hunted. The book follows her as she heads toward the California goldfields, hiding what she can do while the people around her chase the same metal for very different reasons.
It is a YA historical fantasy: real Gold Rush history, a supernatural gift, and a heroine who has to decide how much of herself to keep secret.
The Gold-Sensing Power
Sensing gold does not make Leah a superhero. It makes her a target: in the Gold Rush, her gift is valuable enough to kill for.
The Gold Rush Setting
As I said above, the open, harsh landscape and the long miles of travel give the book the same mood you get from dystopian and post-apocalyptic fiction, just moved into an uncivilized America.
Romance and the Paranormal Thread
The book has romantic and paranormal threads.
Where It Sits in the Gold Seer Trilogy
This is book one, so it is the right place to start. It sets up Leah’s world and her secret; the later books carry the story forward. You do not need to have read anything else by Rae Carson first.
For more like this, head back to our YA book reviews. For more picks in the same vein, see our best YA scifi and fantasy books for teens.
WORK IN PROGRESS...
