Scattergood
Neal Porter Books/Holiday House, 2025. Cover art by Angie Kang
Peggy’s life as a farm girl has never been particularly exciting. But a lot changes in 1941. Her friend Joe starts acting strange around her. The Quaker hostel nearby reopens to house Jewish refugees from Europe, including a handsome boy named Gunther and a troubled professor of nothing. And her cousin and best friend, Delia, is diagnosed with leukemia—and no one will tell her.
Peggy has always been rational. She may not be able to understand poetry like Delia, but she has to believe she will find a cure. And yet the more Peggy tries to control, the more powerless she feels. She’s tired of feeling young and naïve, but growing up is proving even worse than that. A historical family drama that feels as alive and present as today, Scattergood is a raw and unapologetic snapshot of a girl battling her own shortcomings and the unsolvable equation of life.
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Praise for Scattergood:
★ “Equal parts tender and heartwarming and tragically heartbreaking…. An engaging, textured, and deeply humane coming-of-age novel.” —Kirkus, starred review
★ “Bouwman takes a seemingly mundane setting (1941 West Branch, Iowa) and crafts a heartfelt bildungsroman that even adult readers will enjoy. . . . This is a timeless coming-of-age novel that breathes new life into the middle-grade WWII genre.” —Booklist, starred review
A Junior Library Guild “Gold Standard” novel for advanced readers.
A Lit Hub “most anticipated book of 2025.”
The New York Times writes that “Scattergood is a brave, beautiful book, wise enough to reach for something beyond certainty.”
The Wall Street Journal writes that Scattergood is “a wise and tender novel.”
MIBA (Midwest Independent Booksellers Association) top ten children’s bestseller list, January and February 2025.
ALAN (Assembly on Literature for Adolescents of NCTE) lists Scattergood as a pick for May 2025. Included are some research-based lesson plans. (You need to scroll down to get to May.)
Scattergood is a CCBC Choice book for 2026!
“Nuanced, heartrending, and quietly astonishing, this is the coming-of-age novel at its best.”
Scattergood is one of the best books of the year in the Bank Street Best Children’s Books of the Year (2026 edition), where it is a starred book of “outstanding merit”!
Reviews from Authors
“Oh, mercy, there’s a lasting lump in my throat and its name is Scattergood.” —Liz Garton Scanlon, New York Times bestselling author of All the World
“Immersive, thoughtful, and absolutely gorgeous, Scattergood reads like a classic.” —Anne Ursu, National Book Award longlisted author of The Real Boy
“This is a novel that gives no easy answers, no simple equations; it suggests that life is complex and challenging, that easy answers are illusions. Its honesty is as bracing as its prose. Scattergood really is a courageous novel.” —Gary D. Schmidt, Newbery Honoree author of Okay for Now
“This novel is truly a masterpiece, emotionally engaging to the last page. I could not put this book down, and cried several times, gasped at others.” —Janet Fox, author of Carry Me Home
“Scattergood has an intensity to it, subtle but raw, that makes its tranquil rural setting burst to life in all its hidden complexity. Peggy’s struggle to understand—and to be understood—will resonate with anyone who has felt powerless to control their own small corner of a rapidly changing world.” —J. Anderson Coats, award-winning author of The Night Ride
“I think Scattergood may be perfect.” —Anne Nesbet, California Book Award–winning author of The Long Way Around