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Scattergood
In rural Iowa in 1941, twelve-year-old Peggy’s quiet life is turned upside down by refugee arrivals, first love, and a heartbreaking diagnosis.
Growing up a farm girl, Peggy’s life 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 doesn’t even know it.
Peggy has always been rational. She may not be able to understand poetry and speak in metaphors like Delia, but she has to believe she can find a way out of this mess, for both of them. There has to be a cure. And yet the more she tries to control, the more powerless she feels. She can’t make Gunther see her the way she sees him. She can’t help the Professor find his missing daughter. She’s tired of feeling young and naive, but growing up is proving even worse.
Growing up a farm girl, Peggy’s life 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 doesn’t even know it.
Peggy has always been rational. She may not be able to understand poetry and speak in metaphors like Delia, but she has to believe she can find a way out of this mess, for both of them. There has to be a cure. And yet the more she tries to control, the more powerless she feels. She can’t make Gunther see her the way she sees him. She can’t help the Professor find his missing daughter. She’s tired of feeling young and naive, but growing up is proving even worse.
320 pages, Hardcover
Published January 21, 2025
36 people are currently reading
3111 people want to read
About the author
H.M. Bouwman
8 books58 followersH.M. Bouwman is the author of middle grade fantasy and historical fantasy, including Gossamer Summer, as well as the Owen and Eleanor chapter book series. She lives in St. Paul, MN with her family, where she teaches literature and creative writing at the University of St. Thomas. She is probably reading a book right now.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 101 reviews
February 19, 2025
✰ 3 stars ✰
In 1941, rural Iowa was home to Scattergood, a former (and present) Quaker boarding school, that served as a hostel for European war refugees - mainly Jews - who had fled their homeland to escape the horrors of Hitler. Their arrival serves as a cataclysmic change to thirteen-year-old Peggy's quiet mundane life through various means that will forever impact her life and the person she will become.
“I wanted to hear his life story. I wanted to escape my own. I wanted comfort; I wanted a logical answer to all my questions; I wanted to talk about how science wasn’t giving me the answers I needed. I wanted hope.”
H.M. Bouwman's latest historical middle grade is a very character-driven novel set over the course of six months in which Peggy finds herself on the threshold of her life with unchartered territories and changes - 'all the pieces seemed suddenly important.' It is in the form of her unwillingness to accept that she is about to lose her best friend and cousin, Delia, to leukemia. It is her heart grappling with these unexplainable feelings that stir up whenever she catches sight of the handsome Jewish refugee, Gunther, not able to catch on to the slight heart eyes that emit from her close friend, Joe. 🥺 It is the questionable doubt of her parents' views on what they expect of her - trust in her decisions, while also believing that she should be capable of making the right choices. It is her faith with God that evokes a bittersweet sentiment - one that stems from her passionate desperation to find a cure for Delia, while also facing challenging views from a Jewish professor who shares religious allegories that beg the question of whether the fight for a chance is worth it - or worse to accept it. 💔
“It would be nice to be understood, even when I think differently than people expect.”
These multiple facets lay the foundation for a narrative that at times spoke to me, but also angered and aggrieved me. It can also not be forgotten that Peggy is thirteen. Compared to her much more knowledgeable classmate, Ida Jean, she is quite naive and innocent and fresh when it comes to the affairs of the heart, and well, boys, for that matter - embarrassment is the sister of falling in love. They walk hand in hand.' 😊 More fascinated with math and numbers than poetry, it is hard not to empathize with her actions, while also being critical of her decisions. The romance that stirred between that of the mysterious handsome German refugee over that of the boy who's always been a part of their lives was earnest and honest. It was a believable crush that led to some rather awkward and unsavory circumstances, but one that would ultimately lead to Peggy's flaws being inherently laid out. 💟
“Everything added up, but it all added up wrong. Life was messy and dirty, pumpkin shards across a field. And not repairable.”
Her desperate determination to cure Delia was heartfelt and sincere; the guilt of not informing her even of her sickness was heartbreaking, poignantly captured in the way her parents fought to keep it quiet to help their daughter not lose hope. 😢❤️🩹❤️🩹 'I thought I could fix you.' It is that war within Peggy that ultimately leads to her final breakdown, one that is fueled by her meet-ups with the professor, a man who seems to have lost his faith. It is here where my conflict with Peggy and the narrative arises - the hurtful comments that she directs at God in her grief - palpable resentment, not by anger, but out of frustration of feeling helpless and powerless of prayers that failed to reach Him. I've been there; I've hurled my own diatribes to God - pleading, even bargaining for a chance. She behaves recklessly and erratically, selfishly and at times, shamefully, causing irrevocable harmful damage to her family that surprised me. 🤨 It was a raw and visceral shock that left me reeling - one that made me feel she was forgiven for too easily; or rather because so much more so was occuring, that it was easy to let bygones be bygones. 🙎🏻♀️
“But there was comfort. There was. And that is sometimes all that people can offer each other.”
It is that acceptance that quiets the scorn she had against the Professor for curdling her thoughts that made her better understand the anger that made him dispirited and quietly resentful in his grief; for in an attempt to mask the pain, offered comfort in other means. That correlation left a visceral impression on me; that even in despair and heartbreak, the best we can do is find comfort by sharing our own pain with others - or finding someone to share it with. 🫂 t is how we bury our own unflinching desires to simply soothe the heartache of another, give up our dreams for another that Peggy learns the hard way. It is a difficult and trying time - for her and her family, for those around her. The knowledge that she gains from this challenging experience may make her into - not a better person, but a more intuitive, if not empathetic one. And for that maybe there was some good for her to encounter these changes, after all. 🙏🏻
“Life,” she repeated, “can’t be quantified.”
In 1941, rural Iowa was home to Scattergood, a former (and present) Quaker boarding school, that served as a hostel for European war refugees - mainly Jews - who had fled their homeland to escape the horrors of Hitler. Their arrival serves as a cataclysmic change to thirteen-year-old Peggy's quiet mundane life through various means that will forever impact her life and the person she will become.
“I wanted to hear his life story. I wanted to escape my own. I wanted comfort; I wanted a logical answer to all my questions; I wanted to talk about how science wasn’t giving me the answers I needed. I wanted hope.”
H.M. Bouwman's latest historical middle grade is a very character-driven novel set over the course of six months in which Peggy finds herself on the threshold of her life with unchartered territories and changes - 'all the pieces seemed suddenly important.' It is in the form of her unwillingness to accept that she is about to lose her best friend and cousin, Delia, to leukemia. It is her heart grappling with these unexplainable feelings that stir up whenever she catches sight of the handsome Jewish refugee, Gunther, not able to catch on to the slight heart eyes that emit from her close friend, Joe. 🥺 It is the questionable doubt of her parents' views on what they expect of her - trust in her decisions, while also believing that she should be capable of making the right choices. It is her faith with God that evokes a bittersweet sentiment - one that stems from her passionate desperation to find a cure for Delia, while also facing challenging views from a Jewish professor who shares religious allegories that beg the question of whether the fight for a chance is worth it - or worse to accept it. 💔
“It would be nice to be understood, even when I think differently than people expect.”
These multiple facets lay the foundation for a narrative that at times spoke to me, but also angered and aggrieved me. It can also not be forgotten that Peggy is thirteen. Compared to her much more knowledgeable classmate, Ida Jean, she is quite naive and innocent and fresh when it comes to the affairs of the heart, and well, boys, for that matter - embarrassment is the sister of falling in love. They walk hand in hand.' 😊 More fascinated with math and numbers than poetry, it is hard not to empathize with her actions, while also being critical of her decisions. The romance that stirred between that of the mysterious handsome German refugee over that of the boy who's always been a part of their lives was earnest and honest. It was a believable crush that led to some rather awkward and unsavory circumstances, but one that would ultimately lead to Peggy's flaws being inherently laid out. 💟
“Everything added up, but it all added up wrong. Life was messy and dirty, pumpkin shards across a field. And not repairable.”
Her desperate determination to cure Delia was heartfelt and sincere; the guilt of not informing her even of her sickness was heartbreaking, poignantly captured in the way her parents fought to keep it quiet to help their daughter not lose hope. 😢❤️🩹❤️🩹 'I thought I could fix you.' It is that war within Peggy that ultimately leads to her final breakdown, one that is fueled by her meet-ups with the professor, a man who seems to have lost his faith. It is here where my conflict with Peggy and the narrative arises - the hurtful comments that she directs at God in her grief - palpable resentment, not by anger, but out of frustration of feeling helpless and powerless of prayers that failed to reach Him. I've been there; I've hurled my own diatribes to God - pleading, even bargaining for a chance. She behaves recklessly and erratically, selfishly and at times, shamefully, causing irrevocable harmful damage to her family that surprised me. 🤨 It was a raw and visceral shock that left me reeling - one that made me feel she was forgiven for too easily; or rather because so much more so was occuring, that it was easy to let bygones be bygones. 🙎🏻♀️
“But there was comfort. There was. And that is sometimes all that people can offer each other.”
It is that acceptance that quiets the scorn she had against the Professor for curdling her thoughts that made her better understand the anger that made him dispirited and quietly resentful in his grief; for in an attempt to mask the pain, offered comfort in other means. That correlation left a visceral impression on me; that even in despair and heartbreak, the best we can do is find comfort by sharing our own pain with others - or finding someone to share it with. 🫂 t is how we bury our own unflinching desires to simply soothe the heartache of another, give up our dreams for another that Peggy learns the hard way. It is a difficult and trying time - for her and her family, for those around her. The knowledge that she gains from this challenging experience may make her into - not a better person, but a more intuitive, if not empathetic one. And for that maybe there was some good for her to encounter these changes, after all. 🙏🏻
May 11, 2025
The best historical fiction, I think, makes you want to read more about certain aspects of the book. I’ll certainly be reading more about Scattergood, a Quaker boarding school in West Branch, Iowa, that served as a hostel for European refugees, Jewish people in particular, from 1939 to 1943. Lovely coming of age novel that had me in tears several times.
February 1, 2025
Only one month into 2025, and this might be the best middle grade book I will read all year.
A coming-of-age set in 1941 Iowa, 13 year old Peggy faces the leukemia diagnosis of her cousin Delia while getting to know two Jewish refugees housed by local Quakers. Peggy is precocious and brilliant, but both endearingly and frustratingly naive. She’s also self-centered with a very adolescent brain. Other characters, especially adults, are more complex than we often see in books for middle grade readers.
The novel gracefully juxtaposes a single, local tragedy against the scale of tragedy in Europe, and even Japan. Peggy’s cousin is both Anne Frank and Sadako. What events can be repaired and what are permanent? The novel is packed with discussion-able questions.
I cautiously recommend this for middle school (like age 12+). It will appeal to readers (probably girls) who want something that feels a little older. Two characters get drunk because of their emotions. There is a lot of talk of falling in love, and Peggy becomes somewhat obsessed with an older boy.
A kissing scene takes it farther than any other middle grade (this means 8-12 year olds) book I’ve ever read, and there are consequences. Ideally, readers would have an adult to help them anticipate perspectives other than Peggy’s. Eventually Peggy discovers a family secret that was shameful for the time.
Apparently there is no audiobook (yet?)—if you are not a print person, this one is worth the exception. I read a Libby ebook and ended up buying a copy. I didn’t LOVE it, I more admire it (though I couldn’t put it down), but that might be because I was so irritated with Peggy.
A coming-of-age set in 1941 Iowa, 13 year old Peggy faces the leukemia diagnosis of her cousin Delia while getting to know two Jewish refugees housed by local Quakers. Peggy is precocious and brilliant, but both endearingly and frustratingly naive. She’s also self-centered with a very adolescent brain. Other characters, especially adults, are more complex than we often see in books for middle grade readers.
The novel gracefully juxtaposes a single, local tragedy against the scale of tragedy in Europe, and even Japan. Peggy’s cousin is both Anne Frank and Sadako. What events can be repaired and what are permanent? The novel is packed with discussion-able questions.
I cautiously recommend this for middle school (like age 12+). It will appeal to readers (probably girls) who want something that feels a little older. Two characters get drunk because of their emotions. There is a lot of talk of falling in love, and Peggy becomes somewhat obsessed with an older boy.
A kissing scene takes it farther than any other middle grade (this means 8-12 year olds) book I’ve ever read, and there are consequences. Ideally, readers would have an adult to help them anticipate perspectives other than Peggy’s. Eventually Peggy discovers a family secret that was shameful for the time.
Apparently there is no audiobook (yet?)—if you are not a print person, this one is worth the exception. I read a Libby ebook and ended up buying a copy. I didn’t LOVE it, I more admire it (though I couldn’t put it down), but that might be because I was so irritated with Peggy.
May 5, 2024
The best poems manage somehow to contain all the fullness and imperfection of the world. Heather Bouwman’s Scattergood is like that, too. Within the first few pages, I sank deeply and completely into this novel about loss--and the struggle to save the people we love--and what a girl with a mathematician’s heart can do with all those messy equations life throws at us—and annoyed chickens—and I didn’t look up again until the last page, and then what I said aloud was, "perfect." (Also I cried.) Scattergood actually is kind of perfect, like a poem. And at the same time it is about how nothing can ever be perfect. Loss is real. We can’t really fix things. But there are little bits of hope and beauty scattered around us. Really there are.
Peggy lives on a farm (and farm life is described with tender faithfulness to both the milk and the muck); she is brilliant at some things (math, logic, research) and rather impervious to others, like the poems and fanciful stories her cousin Delia prefers. Now Delia is sick with leukemia, the world is trembling on the edge of World War Two, and refugees from Europe who have lost everything have arrived at the nearby Scattergood hostel, run by Quakers. For a long time Peggy is convinced that science will surely be able to save Delia somehow, and she doggedly pursues every possible lead, confronting an eminent scientist (who tells her the galling truth that “research is for the future”). When science fails her, she tries prayer for a while, and then resorts to sending daily messages to Delia, “each note [giving] her a new reason to come home.” None of this works, but neither is it all as much a failure as Peggy thinks. In fact, she is eventually able to give Delia, who loves words so much, something imperfect and yet wonderful: a story of her own (Peggy, ashamed, thinks of it as a “lie”) that shows that Peggy has indeed been listening to Delia with her heart all this time. After all, reflecting something a friend has taught you is a kind of witnessing: perhaps I cannot save you, but I have truly seen who you are, and I will always carry something of you in me.
That is the other story that runs in many strands through the central narrative here: the different forms love and friendship can take. There are first crushes, misunderstandings, hurts, and harms in this novel, but also many glimpses of the ways people can love each other, adapt to change, learn to see each other more truly. While learning chess from one of the older residents of Scattergood, the Professor who has lost his family in Europe, Peggy is also perplexed by the stories he tells, from which she can’t disentangle any simple truth. She can’t undo his bitter losses, any more than he can undo the losses looming over her, and yet they do give each other a tiny speck’s worth of healing. And then there’s the irritating Ida Jean, who turns out to have a gift for listening tucked into her otherwise annoying traits. And the young cousin Sam, whose future career as a pilot will not happen (Peggy’s fault), but who gets (also thanks to Peggy) a chance to fly a little all the same. Peggy’s parents are full human beings, too, with their own stories and their own needs for healing. And then there are all the wonderful details of the farm, the cows, the chickens, the trees, the fateful pumpkin patch, the birds! There is bluntness and humor and poetry in those descriptions. A passage about the voice Peggy’s father uses for newborn calves and old, worn-out cows alike took my breath away. Peggy’s mathematically-bent description of the structure of a sonnet manages to be comical, brilliant, and moving, all at once.
I have the sense that Bouwman didn’t cut a single corner in the writing of this book. Everything matters, even the littlest things, and yet nothing is belabored. The result is something true and beautiful about our broken but hopeful world, and I loved this story with all my heart.
Peggy lives on a farm (and farm life is described with tender faithfulness to both the milk and the muck); she is brilliant at some things (math, logic, research) and rather impervious to others, like the poems and fanciful stories her cousin Delia prefers. Now Delia is sick with leukemia, the world is trembling on the edge of World War Two, and refugees from Europe who have lost everything have arrived at the nearby Scattergood hostel, run by Quakers. For a long time Peggy is convinced that science will surely be able to save Delia somehow, and she doggedly pursues every possible lead, confronting an eminent scientist (who tells her the galling truth that “research is for the future”). When science fails her, she tries prayer for a while, and then resorts to sending daily messages to Delia, “each note [giving] her a new reason to come home.” None of this works, but neither is it all as much a failure as Peggy thinks. In fact, she is eventually able to give Delia, who loves words so much, something imperfect and yet wonderful: a story of her own (Peggy, ashamed, thinks of it as a “lie”) that shows that Peggy has indeed been listening to Delia with her heart all this time. After all, reflecting something a friend has taught you is a kind of witnessing: perhaps I cannot save you, but I have truly seen who you are, and I will always carry something of you in me.
That is the other story that runs in many strands through the central narrative here: the different forms love and friendship can take. There are first crushes, misunderstandings, hurts, and harms in this novel, but also many glimpses of the ways people can love each other, adapt to change, learn to see each other more truly. While learning chess from one of the older residents of Scattergood, the Professor who has lost his family in Europe, Peggy is also perplexed by the stories he tells, from which she can’t disentangle any simple truth. She can’t undo his bitter losses, any more than he can undo the losses looming over her, and yet they do give each other a tiny speck’s worth of healing. And then there’s the irritating Ida Jean, who turns out to have a gift for listening tucked into her otherwise annoying traits. And the young cousin Sam, whose future career as a pilot will not happen (Peggy’s fault), but who gets (also thanks to Peggy) a chance to fly a little all the same. Peggy’s parents are full human beings, too, with their own stories and their own needs for healing. And then there are all the wonderful details of the farm, the cows, the chickens, the trees, the fateful pumpkin patch, the birds! There is bluntness and humor and poetry in those descriptions. A passage about the voice Peggy’s father uses for newborn calves and old, worn-out cows alike took my breath away. Peggy’s mathematically-bent description of the structure of a sonnet manages to be comical, brilliant, and moving, all at once.
I have the sense that Bouwman didn’t cut a single corner in the writing of this book. Everything matters, even the littlest things, and yet nothing is belabored. The result is something true and beautiful about our broken but hopeful world, and I loved this story with all my heart.
May 25, 2025
it is spring of 1941 and a small town and 13-year old Peggy, seems a million miles away from the faraway war. Their sorrow is closer to home, brought by an unfamiliar word, Leukemia. Sorrow is also carried to them by the refugees who have come to stay at the Quaker boarding house, after escaping ahead of the far-off horrors.
This book was surprising in its complexly build characters and their unexpected actions. It is very quiet and possibly too subtle for the intended audience. The romance, where everyone likes someone that likes someone else may be an inroad for some readers. Although without following conventional tropes to conclusion it may elude satisfaction. I however found it thoughtful.
This book was surprising in its complexly build characters and their unexpected actions. It is very quiet and possibly too subtle for the intended audience. The romance, where everyone likes someone that likes someone else may be an inroad for some readers. Although without following conventional tropes to conclusion it may elude satisfaction. I however found it thoughtful.
April 5, 2025
I thought this was a really well done book, but don't understand why the author or editors didn't decide to make the narrator just one year older and make this truly YA. It goes a little beyond typical middle grade fare content-wise (there's a scene that I can only describe as "spicy" for middle grade--true making out happens!), but the narrator is only 12 (almost 13). Make her 13, almost 14, and it makes it a perfect middle school book, which there aren't enough of in YA. (I recognize that quibbling over a year probably sounds pedantic, but it makes a huge difference in audience as most kids/teens want to read about characters who are a little older than them, so a 13/14 year old narrator is an easier sell to 6th-8th graders than a 12/13 year old.)
The story itself is really engrossing, I loved the characters, and I cried. I will absolutely recommend it to those that are in the mood for a heavy historical fiction read and readers who want more WWII stories.
The story itself is really engrossing, I loved the characters, and I cried. I will absolutely recommend it to those that are in the mood for a heavy historical fiction read and readers who want more WWII stories.
April 16, 2025
I think this may have been YA but it dealt with very adult topics. 6 months before the united states joins WWII in Iowa. Scattergood was a real refugee home in West Branch Iowa. the protagonist Peggy at the age of 13; not quite adult , not quite child. she is dealing with first love, friendship, sickness and death and war. the story is well written and all topics are handled very for that time and place. highly recommend 👌
July 20, 2024
Peggy is a 14-year-old Iowa farm girl who is logical and mathematically minded. Life has thrown a lot at her during the summer leading up to World War II: finding out her best friend's cancer diagnosis, learning about the Holocaust from Jewish refugees who are staying in town, losing and oping to regain the trust of her parents, and experiencing her first love/crush. Life would be so much simpler if its problems could be solved as easily as the ones in her math book.
A most engaging novel that explores the issues adolescent girls encounter today -- or 80 years ago.
A most engaging novel that explores the issues adolescent girls encounter today -- or 80 years ago.
February 9, 2025
An interesting look at 12/13-year-old Peggy, a girl living in a Midwestern farm in 1941. Quakers open a hostel for Jewish refugees from Europe. Peggy’s cousin/best friend is very ill. Boys are confusing. Even her parents seem to have an underlying stressor.
The novel is filled with lots of historical facts and paints a detailed picture of life at this time in this place. Peggy’s first-person narration is done well, and all of the other characters are well-rounded.
I enjoyed the book and I think many tweens would find a lot to relate to here.
The novel is filled with lots of historical facts and paints a detailed picture of life at this time in this place. Peggy’s first-person narration is done well, and all of the other characters are well-rounded.
I enjoyed the book and I think many tweens would find a lot to relate to here.
March 10, 2025
Really good YA novel set in 1941 as the central character is turning 13 on a farm near West Branch, Iowa, and learns that her best friend is very sick. The story revolves around her trying to save her friend while navigating a first crush, learning about refugees who have come to her town, and the relationships in her life that have a deeper story to tell. Good writing, engaging characters. I read it in a day, so engrossing, too. A few thin spots in plot line, but nothing that drives you crazy. I recommend!
October 22, 2025
Sadie book club bookmark.
Overall I liked this book. It took me a while to get used to the writing style though, so it was slower reading than I would have expected for myself reading a middle grade novel. It was really fun to read something that takes place where I live! And it was cool to hear the author talk about it too. My main issue is that I never felt convinced of the fact that Delia and Peggy were best friends. Cousins, yes. But not best friends, which feels pretty important to the book.
Overall I liked this book. It took me a while to get used to the writing style though, so it was slower reading than I would have expected for myself reading a middle grade novel. It was really fun to read something that takes place where I live! And it was cool to hear the author talk about it too. My main issue is that I never felt convinced of the fact that Delia and Peggy were best friends. Cousins, yes. But not best friends, which feels pretty important to the book.
April 14, 2025
Read about this in the New York Time Book Review so I wanted to preview it before recommending to my 11-year old granddaughter. Beautiful story that I think will help her as she navigates life during these next few difficult teen years.
August 28, 2025
I liked this book! It’s literally close to home because I live at Scattergood currently. I found Peggy a little frustrating when she was squandering her time with Delia, but I think she realized this eventually. Nice message at the end!
October 30, 2025
I absolutely loved this book and highly recommend it! Superb writing, wonderful story and characters. After finishing it, I immediately wanted to read it again! Although it is touted as a middle-grade novel, it deals with many adult situations and emotions. Definitely 5 stars!
November 2, 2025
Amazing book! Such depth and especially for its intended audience! I would highly recommend for adult readers, too.
January 27, 2025
A beautiful story...I cried.
January 22, 2025
Even though middle grade is the intended audience for this book, I found it to be very moving. This young lady was going through a lot at this time in her life, some of which were consequences of decisions she made, but much of it was not. I sympathized with her.
December 26, 2024
Scattergood with Heather Bouwman will be remembered. This heart-piercing historical fiction novel brings young readers to rural Iowa in 1941 where twelve-year-old Peggy’s quiet life is turned upside down by refugee arrivals, first love and a heart-breaking diagnosis. In my opinion, this book is beautifully character-driven. Readers go deep into the minds and hearts of not just the main protagonists, but of each person mentioned, which is quite the feat. The book is filled with deep historical context during a period of time and in a particular context that I have not yet seen in a middle grade novel. Hard things happen in this book: world wars, personal wars, first crushes, a crushing diagnosis and more. There are moments of breaking and bending, but of beautiful healing, too. There’s just so much to sink into inside of these pages.
April 2, 2025
I found this to be well-paced and a quick read. However, something about it just didn't come together for me and I was left feeling dissatisfied.
The main plot line, which informs the book's structure, is that rational-minded Peggy is racing against time to find a cure for her cousin Delia's leukemia. Yet it seems that she doesn't exhaust all her options -- that is to say, for being characterized as so driven to find solutions, she gives up on this quest too easily. We also don't see enough scenes of her interacting with Delia for my liking.
There are a lot of other things going on in the book that keep the pace moving and a reader engaged; however, I wasn't convinced that every thread connected or tied together cohesively and some of what happened seemed jammed in. This left me feeling somewhat dissatisfied by the ending when I instead wanted to find it more poignant.
This book felt like it was aiming to be Wolf Hollow, but truly, nothing else could be. I did enjoy it, but it wasn't as wholly satisfying as I'd hoped for.
The main plot line, which informs the book's structure, is that rational-minded Peggy is racing against time to find a cure for her cousin Delia's leukemia. Yet it seems that she doesn't exhaust all her options -- that is to say, for being characterized as so driven to find solutions, she gives up on this quest too easily. We also don't see enough scenes of her interacting with Delia for my liking.
There are a lot of other things going on in the book that keep the pace moving and a reader engaged; however, I wasn't convinced that every thread connected or tied together cohesively and some of what happened seemed jammed in. This left me feeling somewhat dissatisfied by the ending when I instead wanted to find it more poignant.
This book felt like it was aiming to be Wolf Hollow, but truly, nothing else could be. I did enjoy it, but it wasn't as wholly satisfying as I'd hoped for.
November 28, 2024
I was given this e-arc to review. Set at the beginning of WWII this story takes place on a rural farm in Iowa where everyone helps without complaint (probably a great thing for young readers to experience). The main character, Peggy, is closing in on the start of her first year in high school facing the potential loss of her best friend/cousin due to leukemia; trying to navigate her way through her first crush of an older Jewish boy; making friends with a Quaker volunteer at a hostel for displaced Jewish refugees; and learning from an adult refugee that not everything is about her. Not only is the setting so rich you can almost smell the straw and fresh milk right from a cow's udder, but watching Peggy stumble through different phases of personal growth is remarkable. The author did an excellent job on this arc, letting Peggy make some huge, costly mistakes yet also showing her growing awareness of the world outside of her narrow view and her blooming sensitivity to others’ plights. The story is nicely layered with sub-plots that add to the depth. Beautifully written from both a big picture perspective, but all the way down to the lyrical line level. I loved this book to the point where I couldn't wait to get back to it, but also when I finished it I spent the rest of the day in mourning, wishing I could go back to it. Highly recommend for upper elementary through middle school, and as an introduction to young adult readers.
September 25, 2024
Peggy is at a pivotal coming of age. She is living blissfully unaware and happy in her rural farm life. Lots of things come together, however, to force her to look at the bigger picture of many situations. Someone she loves gets an unfavorable diagnosis-she knows, the loved one doesn't. Some Jewish survivors move in to a neighboring home-she is intrigued by their stories, but doesn't understand their reality. A love rectangle is developing-she sees part, but not the whole.
I was initially drawn into the story by the idyllic historical setting. The simple farm life with a few close neighbors enjoying their work and their visits harkened me back to my days of reading The Little House on the Prairie and other similar books. Although from the start it is clear that Dee is sick, Peggy still moves along through this setting calmly and introspectively.
As the story progressed the relationships became more complicated. The feelings deepened, and Peggy started to explore situations that were not black and white as adolescence must always do eventually.
I was left with a lot to think about. I shed tears. I struggled to relate to each character's point of view. Ultimately, it's just what a book should do-challenge us to consider. I recommend to upper middle grade readers.
Thank you Edelweiss for the eARC.
I was initially drawn into the story by the idyllic historical setting. The simple farm life with a few close neighbors enjoying their work and their visits harkened me back to my days of reading The Little House on the Prairie and other similar books. Although from the start it is clear that Dee is sick, Peggy still moves along through this setting calmly and introspectively.
As the story progressed the relationships became more complicated. The feelings deepened, and Peggy started to explore situations that were not black and white as adolescence must always do eventually.
I was left with a lot to think about. I shed tears. I struggled to relate to each character's point of view. Ultimately, it's just what a book should do-challenge us to consider. I recommend to upper middle grade readers.
Thank you Edelweiss for the eARC.
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December 7, 2024This is a beautifully written, heart-wrenching story about Peggy, a 12-year-old Iowa farm girl, who comes of age during WWII.
Between chores and math problems, she develops an unrequited crush on a handsome refugee living at the Scattergood hostel near her family’s farm. She also learns to play chess with another refugee, a professor, whose family is missing overseas.
But Peggy’s blunt questions to the grieving professor, and her childish declarations of love to the handsome teenager, show us a girl who isn’t prepared to deal with problems yet. She clumsily muddles through them.
When Peggy learns that her cousin is dying and the family wants to keep the diagnosis from the ill girl, Peggy has no one to talk to about it. She struggles unsuccessfully to find a way to save her cousin, and she does it alone.
More problems layer themselves one atop the other—from her parents' troubled marriage to a neighbor’s tragic injury. It’s up to Peggy to learn to deal with her behavior and reactions in a way that allows her to carry on--and bring solace to others.
This is a book that I highly recommend.
Between chores and math problems, she develops an unrequited crush on a handsome refugee living at the Scattergood hostel near her family’s farm. She also learns to play chess with another refugee, a professor, whose family is missing overseas.
But Peggy’s blunt questions to the grieving professor, and her childish declarations of love to the handsome teenager, show us a girl who isn’t prepared to deal with problems yet. She clumsily muddles through them.
When Peggy learns that her cousin is dying and the family wants to keep the diagnosis from the ill girl, Peggy has no one to talk to about it. She struggles unsuccessfully to find a way to save her cousin, and she does it alone.
More problems layer themselves one atop the other—from her parents' troubled marriage to a neighbor’s tragic injury. It’s up to Peggy to learn to deal with her behavior and reactions in a way that allows her to carry on--and bring solace to others.
This is a book that I highly recommend.
July 29, 2025
(JF) 01.19.2025: per Sunday NY Times Book Review recommendation; normally I shy away from JF but this one is set in 1941 in rural Iowa describing farm life. All of these are things of interest to me so I will take the chance...; 07.25.2025: a deeply moving novel centering around early teenaged Peggy & her attempts at understanding family, life events & self. This historical fiction is what reading is all about. I hope this author wins gobs of awards for this creation; 2025 JF Historical Fiction via Madison Public Library, Berea, 308 pages
April 20, 2025
SCATTERGOOD is absolutely marvelous - set in rural Iowa during WWII, in and around the real Scattergood hostel for refugees. Peggy is such a magnificent and REAL character, and this story was just perfect - warm, sad, funny, poignant, excellent setting, informative, full of compelling characters. Historical fiction at its very best.
September 9, 2025
Ohio Digital Library Copy
Peggy is having a difficult time in 1941 in West Branch, Iowa. She's not quite thirteen, so her older cousin Ida Jean treats her like a baby, even though Peggy is a year ahead in school because she is talented, especially in math. Another cousin, Delia, is about the same age. She is very poorly because she has leukemia. Peggy has to research what this is because the adults aren't very forthcoming; they have told Peggy that she is anemic, and will get better, although the doctors think she has only six months to live. Peggy is determined to find a cure, going to the public library and reading articles that she painstakingly copies out and gives to her aunt. She's also enthralled by a Jewish refugee, Gunther, who is a few years older than she is. Gunther lives at Scattergood, a Quaker community that is housing a number of refugees, including a professor who has lost most of his family and takes comfort in teaching Peggy chess. A local boy, Joe, is equally enamoured of Peggy. Against the backdrop of the historical times, teenage mistakes are made, family secrets are revealed, and Peggy has to find her way forward.
Strengths: This had a very classic feel to it, like Hunt's Up a Road Slowly, Enright's Thimble Summer, or McCuller's The Heart is a Lonely Hunter. The summer heat and the quiet of the Iowa countryside were so well described that I felt like I was with Peggy on her miles long walks to get to the library or Scattergood. The way Delia's cancer was handled was very true to the time period. I appreciated that this was an upper middle grade/young adult book, with some romantic longing and chafing at family restrictions. I would have loved this book when I was in middle school.
Weaknesses: This was a bit long and introspective, and WWII books set on the home front are not as popular with my students as I would like them to be.
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who enjoyed historical novels like Bundy's Pixie Pushes On or Buzzeo's Light Comes to Shadow Mountain, or for teachers and librarians who really want to recommend Greene's The Summer of My German Soldier to students but can't locate a copy of this beloved 1974 title. The midcentury Grant Wood-esque paperback cover is intriguing.
Peggy is having a difficult time in 1941 in West Branch, Iowa. She's not quite thirteen, so her older cousin Ida Jean treats her like a baby, even though Peggy is a year ahead in school because she is talented, especially in math. Another cousin, Delia, is about the same age. She is very poorly because she has leukemia. Peggy has to research what this is because the adults aren't very forthcoming; they have told Peggy that she is anemic, and will get better, although the doctors think she has only six months to live. Peggy is determined to find a cure, going to the public library and reading articles that she painstakingly copies out and gives to her aunt. She's also enthralled by a Jewish refugee, Gunther, who is a few years older than she is. Gunther lives at Scattergood, a Quaker community that is housing a number of refugees, including a professor who has lost most of his family and takes comfort in teaching Peggy chess. A local boy, Joe, is equally enamoured of Peggy. Against the backdrop of the historical times, teenage mistakes are made, family secrets are revealed, and Peggy has to find her way forward.
Strengths: This had a very classic feel to it, like Hunt's Up a Road Slowly, Enright's Thimble Summer, or McCuller's The Heart is a Lonely Hunter. The summer heat and the quiet of the Iowa countryside were so well described that I felt like I was with Peggy on her miles long walks to get to the library or Scattergood. The way Delia's cancer was handled was very true to the time period. I appreciated that this was an upper middle grade/young adult book, with some romantic longing and chafing at family restrictions. I would have loved this book when I was in middle school.
Weaknesses: This was a bit long and introspective, and WWII books set on the home front are not as popular with my students as I would like them to be.
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who enjoyed historical novels like Bundy's Pixie Pushes On or Buzzeo's Light Comes to Shadow Mountain, or for teachers and librarians who really want to recommend Greene's The Summer of My German Soldier to students but can't locate a copy of this beloved 1974 title. The midcentury Grant Wood-esque paperback cover is intriguing.
December 18, 2025
Scattergood by H. M. Bouwman is a beautifully written and poignant historical novel that captures the complexity of growing up in rural Iowa during 1941. Through the eyes of twelve-year-old Peggy, readers are immersed in a world transformed by first love, unexpected responsibility, and the arrival of Jewish refugees fleeing Europe. Bouwman expertly weaves historical events with personal challenges, giving the story both emotional depth and a sense of immediacy.
Peggy is a compelling protagonist, practical, thoughtful, and determined to navigate the upheavals around her, including her cousin Delia’s leukemia diagnosis and the struggles of those seeking refuge nearby. The narrative portrays her journey with honesty, showing how innocence and idealism clash with the harsh realities of life, creating a relatable and moving coming-of-age story.
Bouwman’s prose is vivid and evocative, painting a rich portrait of rural life and the emotional landscape of a young girl trying to make sense of a complicated world. Historical details are seamlessly integrated, offering readers insight into a lesser-known perspective of World War II, far from the front lines yet deeply affected by its repercussions.
Scattergood is perfect for readers who appreciate historical fiction, heartfelt character studies, and coming-of-age stories that tackle love, loss, and resilience. This Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection is both enlightening and emotionally resonant, leaving readers reflecting on the fragility and strength of youth, the impact of history on ordinary lives, and the enduring hope found in courage and compassion.
Peggy is a compelling protagonist, practical, thoughtful, and determined to navigate the upheavals around her, including her cousin Delia’s leukemia diagnosis and the struggles of those seeking refuge nearby. The narrative portrays her journey with honesty, showing how innocence and idealism clash with the harsh realities of life, creating a relatable and moving coming-of-age story.
Bouwman’s prose is vivid and evocative, painting a rich portrait of rural life and the emotional landscape of a young girl trying to make sense of a complicated world. Historical details are seamlessly integrated, offering readers insight into a lesser-known perspective of World War II, far from the front lines yet deeply affected by its repercussions.
Scattergood is perfect for readers who appreciate historical fiction, heartfelt character studies, and coming-of-age stories that tackle love, loss, and resilience. This Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection is both enlightening and emotionally resonant, leaving readers reflecting on the fragility and strength of youth, the impact of history on ordinary lives, and the enduring hope found in courage and compassion.
January 22, 2025
Bouwman authentically captures rural life, highlighting both its beauty and its challenges. Peggy’s characterization is particularly well-executed: a rational young girl with a passion for mathematics, who struggles to understand Delia’s emotional and poetic world. This dynamic between the two cousins profoundly reflects on the different ways people face life’s challenges.
The secondary characters are also memorable and enrich the plot, providing diverse perspectives on the effects of war and the experiences of refugees.
One of the most touching aspects of the novel is the portrayal of Peggy’s attempt to find a cure for Delia’s illness. Her determination to seek scientific answers and, later, turn to prayer, highlights her inner conflict between logic and faith, control and acceptance. This character development underscores the complexity of human emotions when confronted with the inevitable.
"Scattergood" offers a unique perspective on World War II, far from European battlefields, instead focusing on its impact on rural American communities and the interactions between local residents and refugees. Bouwman’s evocative and engaging writing transports the reader to the era and setting, making the emotions and experiences of the characters vividly tangible.
It is a moving and thoughtful novel that explores universal themes through the lens of a young girl during a tumultuous period in history. The sensitive storytelling and well-developed characters make this book a highly recommended read for both young and adult audiences.
Thank you to Edelweiss for the ARC.
The secondary characters are also memorable and enrich the plot, providing diverse perspectives on the effects of war and the experiences of refugees.
One of the most touching aspects of the novel is the portrayal of Peggy’s attempt to find a cure for Delia’s illness. Her determination to seek scientific answers and, later, turn to prayer, highlights her inner conflict between logic and faith, control and acceptance. This character development underscores the complexity of human emotions when confronted with the inevitable.
"Scattergood" offers a unique perspective on World War II, far from European battlefields, instead focusing on its impact on rural American communities and the interactions between local residents and refugees. Bouwman’s evocative and engaging writing transports the reader to the era and setting, making the emotions and experiences of the characters vividly tangible.
It is a moving and thoughtful novel that explores universal themes through the lens of a young girl during a tumultuous period in history. The sensitive storytelling and well-developed characters make this book a highly recommended read for both young and adult audiences.
Thank you to Edelweiss for the ARC.
May 9, 2025
Oh, this historical fiction, set in rural Iowa during the summer and fall of 1941, is so good, so emotionally rich, and well written. Not only does it cover a little-known part of WWII history--the existence of a Quaker hostel for Jewish refugees--but it also tackles hard, almost unanswerable questions with respect, honoring their complexity. The plot focuses on Peggy Mott, 12 and 13 during the six months of the story, a math whiz who is convinced that all problems can be solved. But as she eventually learns, that may be true when it comes to numbers and math problems, but not when it comes to life, death, love, and even some choices that seem forced on us. When Peggy learns that her literary, poetry-loving cousin, Delia, has leukemia, she tries to force her rational approach to life on finding a cure. Her frustrating journey also reveals much about herself to Peggy, who experiences emotions she never imagined she would, including a crush, and makes plenty of mistakes along the way. Humor is deftly blended into the narrative, with one passage in which Peggy tries to explain a poem to Delia through a mathematics lens being particularly absurd but also offering clues to her own worldview. The characters in this book are just as complicated as life itself. And while the setting may seem, on the surface, to be dated, the emotions and questions are particularly relevant in today's political climate when it often seems that there is little that is within our control.
February 24, 2025
First sentence: A barn is almost the best place in the world to think, if you live on a farm and have nowhere else to go.
Premise/plot: Scattergood is historical fiction set in 1941 in Iowa. Peggy, our heroine, is coming of age at a rough time. Her cousin/best friend, Delia, has been diagnosed with leukemia and given less than six months to live. The ever-logical-and-scientific Peggy is determined to cure her friend of her disease and prove the doctors wrong. Meanwhile, Peggy is absolutely SMITTEN with a Jewish refugee, Gunther, and has started hanging around with the refugees at Scattergood--something to do with Quakers taking in refugees. Likewise, Joe, a long-time family friend is absolutely smitten with Peggy. Gunther, in due course, is smitten with another girl. In all three cases of smitten-ness, it is one-sided. The ages of all vary, but Peggy is definitely the youngest just a few months shy of thirteen when the novel opens. (The guys, I believe are around sixteen.) As the months go by, Peggy dwells on anything and everything that makes life unfair and unbearable.
My thoughts: I wanted to enjoy this one. It is set at a time period I usually almost always enjoy reading. It is a coming of age story, historical fiction--both good indicators. I just found nearly all the characters a little off-putting. Though perhaps they were meant to be?
Premise/plot: Scattergood is historical fiction set in 1941 in Iowa. Peggy, our heroine, is coming of age at a rough time. Her cousin/best friend, Delia, has been diagnosed with leukemia and given less than six months to live. The ever-logical-and-scientific Peggy is determined to cure her friend of her disease and prove the doctors wrong. Meanwhile, Peggy is absolutely SMITTEN with a Jewish refugee, Gunther, and has started hanging around with the refugees at Scattergood--something to do with Quakers taking in refugees. Likewise, Joe, a long-time family friend is absolutely smitten with Peggy. Gunther, in due course, is smitten with another girl. In all three cases of smitten-ness, it is one-sided. The ages of all vary, but Peggy is definitely the youngest just a few months shy of thirteen when the novel opens. (The guys, I believe are around sixteen.) As the months go by, Peggy dwells on anything and everything that makes life unfair and unbearable.
My thoughts: I wanted to enjoy this one. It is set at a time period I usually almost always enjoy reading. It is a coming of age story, historical fiction--both good indicators. I just found nearly all the characters a little off-putting. Though perhaps they were meant to be?
June 2, 2025
Set in the days leading up to World War II in rural Iowa, this novel follows twelve-year-old Peggy, who finds herself surrounded by layers of change and grief. Her beloved cousin is dying of leukemia, refugees are arriving at a nearby Quaker farm called Scattergood, and the wider world is slipping into chaos. Peggy is on the cusp of growing up — but in the eyes of the adults around her, she's still just a child.
The novel opens with strong writing, rich in imagery and atmosphere. I appreciated the historical detail and the setting, which I know will appeal to students interested in the WWII era, especially from the home front perspective. The themes of loss, change, and coming of age are poignant and grounded.
As the story progressed, however, I found myself feeling a bit overwhelmed by the number of dramatic plot points introduced. While these moments added tension and movement, they occasionally crowded the quieter emotional beats that made the story feel authentic early on. I also found the emotional weight of the book deeper than expected for a middle grade audience — not inappropriate, but perhaps more suited to thoughtful older readers or those already drawn to historical fiction with heavier themes.
Overall, while this didn’t fully resonate with me, I think the book has merit, especially for readers looking to explore the impact of war away from the battlefield. It offers a unique lens on a well-tread period and may speak to those interested in quieter, character-driven historical narratives.
The novel opens with strong writing, rich in imagery and atmosphere. I appreciated the historical detail and the setting, which I know will appeal to students interested in the WWII era, especially from the home front perspective. The themes of loss, change, and coming of age are poignant and grounded.
As the story progressed, however, I found myself feeling a bit overwhelmed by the number of dramatic plot points introduced. While these moments added tension and movement, they occasionally crowded the quieter emotional beats that made the story feel authentic early on. I also found the emotional weight of the book deeper than expected for a middle grade audience — not inappropriate, but perhaps more suited to thoughtful older readers or those already drawn to historical fiction with heavier themes.
Overall, while this didn’t fully resonate with me, I think the book has merit, especially for readers looking to explore the impact of war away from the battlefield. It offers a unique lens on a well-tread period and may speak to those interested in quieter, character-driven historical narratives.
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