Northern Borders

When six-year-old Austen Kittredge was sent up north to live on his grandparents' farm in 1948, little did he know that he would spend the next 12 years of his life there, or that his remarkable stay would never leave him, no matter how far he traveled.

The farm in Lost Nation Hollow would become a magical place for Austen, full of eccentric people -- like his stubborn but loving grandparents, whose marriage was known as the Forty Years War -- wild adventures, and festering family secrets. An enchanting, startling coming-of-age novel, Northern Borders evokes the sublime imagery county fairs, heirloom quilts, and timber forests, while it gently adheres to your heart.

Howard Frank Mosher lives in Vermont near the Canadian border with his wife and their son and daughter.