When orphans Aiden and Maddy Lynch first meet trailrider Jefferson J. Jackson in the spring of 1865, theyre struggling to survive on their familys drought-ravaged Kansas farm. So when Jackson offers an escapea 2000-mile journey across the roughest country in the worldAiden knows its their only choice.They say there are a hundred ways to die on the Oregon Trail, and the long wagon journey is broken only by catastrophe: wolf attacks, rattlesnakes, deadly river crossings, Indians, and the looming threat of smallpox, the devils paint. Through it all, Aiden and Maddy and a hundred fellow travelers move forward with a growing hope, and the promise of a new life in the Washington Territory. But one question haunts them: who will survive the journey?In an adventure-filled and historically accurate new novel, Victoria McKernan captures both the peril and the stunning beauty of the frontier West. Shackletons Stowaway (Truly thrilling according to The Washington Post) was Victoria McKernans first novel for young adults. She lives in Washington, D.C..