From the Stacks: "One Came Home' chronicles frontier adventure, history

"One Came Home" by Amy Timberlake
"One Came Home" by Amy Timberlake

This book is part mystery, part western and one heck of a satisfying read.

In the rural frontier of 1871 Wisconsin, the corpse of a young, auburn-haired woman is found. The decaying body is identified as Agatha Burkhardt, granddaughter to the town's general store owner and fianc©e of the town's wealthy hotelier.

Thirteen-year-old Georgie Burkhardt does not accept her sister is dead, despite the fact the corpse was wearing Agatha's dress. Though the body is put to rest in the ground with Agatha's name on the tombstone, Georgie refuses to believe it is truly Agatha, much to the pain and dismay of her family. Georgie is convinced her sister is still out there and thus sets out on a life-changing adventure to find the truth. The average 13-year-old girl might not fare well out on the western frontier, but Georgie is anything but average. The young protagonist is shrewd, able and incredibly sharp with her rifle.

Author Amy Timberlake does a fantastic job developing Georgie's character, as well as the rich setting of the 1871 Wisconsin frontier. I simply gobbled up the plainspoken prose of Georgie's narration, which I found reminiscent of Mattie Ross from Charles Portis' "True Grit." Historical events are expertly entwined throughout the book, including the fascinating pigeon nesting of epic proportions. In the afterword, Timberlake shares with readers that learning about this historical event was one of her inspirations in writing this novel.

In addition to winning a Newberry honor, "One Came Home" also won the 2014 Edgar Allan Poe award for best juvenile novel. Although this book is considered juvenile fiction, I would highly recommend it to teens and adults as well. I think it would also be a great choice to entice reluctant readers into the wonderful world of historical fiction.

"One Came Home" is available to check out in hardback as well as in audiobook format from Missouri River Regional Library.

Noelle Parker is the Osage branch manager for Missouri River Regional Library.