Rivers of the North by Jeffrey W. Tenney

A rugged coming-of-age story set against the cultural battlefield of America’s pioneering past, Rivers of the North by Jeffrey W. Tenney offers an unfiltered glimpse at a hard-scrabble era of survival. After the shocking murder of his grandfather, sixteen-year-old Quincy Sutton leaves Illinois with a group of Mormons seeking a safe haven in Minnesota. Drawn in by youthful infatuation and the possibility of reuniting with his long-absent father, Quincy embarks on a harrowing journey of self-discovery on the expanding American frontier, but crooked lawyers, murderous schemes, religious divides, and the savagery of the “civilized” stand in his way. Mixing historical fiction, thriller, and young adult themes that can apply to any era, this is a carefully crafted and emotionally charged novel that will appeal to readers of both YA and character-driven historical fiction.