One Came Home

One Came Home is a young adult historical novel by Amy Timberlake. Published in 2013, it was awarded the Newbery Medal that same year and also won an Edgar Award for Best Juvenile Mystery.

Thirteen-year-old Georgie Burkhardt lives in Wisconsin in 1871. As the novel begins, she is attending the funeral of her older sister, Agatha. Georgie does not believe that Agatha is really dead. Agatha ran away with a group of pigeoneers. Several days later, Sheriff McCabe found a badly decomposed body wearing one of Agatha’s gowns. Georgie believes it was impossible to say with any certainty that the corpse was her sister’s because of the damage to its face.

The two sisters did not part on good terms. Two different men in town – young Billy McCabe, the son of the sheriff, and much older Benjamin Olmstead, the owner of the largest hotel in town – were rivals for Agatha’s hand in marriage. Georgie caught Agatha kissing Billy and reported it to Olmstead, which infuriated Agatha. A few days after this, Agatha ran away from home.

Determined to get her sister back, Georgie makes a plan to set off after her alone. She goes to Billy’s family to borrow a horse. Billy at first refuses to give her one, telling Georgie to stay home where it’s safe. However, he eventually relents with the stipulation that he will accompany her. Georgie tries to dissuade him from coming, but Billy is adamant.

During this time of the year, the local pigeon population around town booms. Scouts and harvesters come from all around to catch the pigeons. Agatha ran away with a group of these scouts. Georgie and Billy ride through an area where the ground is littered with pigeon feathers. Seeing that a massive hunt has taken place here, she knows it had to have been conducted by outsiders since when local people hunt pigeons, they use all parts of the bird.

Though she finds Billy handsome and kind, Georgie is uneasy traveling with him. She remembers being surprised when Agatha allowed Benjamin to court her, though she suspects her sister was using Benjamin for his massive library. She knows Agatha was really in love with Billy. For his part, Billy claims that he is no longer in love with Agatha and merely kissed her to make Benjamin angry. However, Georgie thinks he is hiding something.

Georgie is attacked by a cougar on the road. She loses her gun but pelts the animal with supplies from her pack until it retreats. Billy arrives and helps her to clean up. They arrive at the town of Dog Hollow and begin asking about Agatha. Several people saw her pass through with a group of people who seemed suspicious. Agatha spots Billy coming out of the telegraph office and realizes he has been reporting her movements to his father. Billy admits that the only reason he came with Georgie was to get her to accept that her sister is dead.

Next, they travel to the spot where Agatha’s body was found. Georgie does not find any more clues than the ones presented in the sheriff’s report, but she decides to follow up on one more lead she got in town. She and Billy go to the home of the Garrow family, where they learn that Mrs. Garrow’s daughter Darlene, who bears a striking resemblance to Agatha, is also missing. As they are leaving, Georgie buys a hair ribbon from one of Mrs. Garrow’s other girls after noticing that it is made from one of Agatha’s dresses.

Georgie and Billy camp along the river for the night. Billy admits that he is still in love with Agatha and hopes that she is alive. Georgie takes a walk away from camp and discovers a cave with a counterfeiting operation set up inside it. She realizes that the Garrows are the head of a counterfeiting ring. She and Billy take one of the printing plates as evidence and flee.

Garrow and one of his henchmen capture Billy. Georgie rescues him but not before he is injured. They ride back to Dog Hollow and are met on the road by Benjamin, who takes them into town. Georgie is convinced that Darlene Garrow was killed in Agatha’s place, but she is still no closer to finding her sister and so she returns home.

Georgie becomes famous for her role in breaking up the counterfeit ring. Several months later, a letter arrives from Agatha. She admits that she ran away so she could go to school at the University of Wisconsin, where she is currently enrolled. She apologizes for running away but it was the only way she could go to school as she wanted. Georgie and her family are angry at first, but forgive Agatha because they are so happy she is alive.