Description

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The Kid is the quickest draw in the West. Little does anyone know he isn’t real. A fast-paced, cleverly woven, witty middle grade western adventure.

It's 1881 in Destiny, Colorado. Fourteen-year-old Henry Upton’s parents have died, and he’s trying to keep his three younger brothers together on the farm. Henry writes a story about The Kid, the fastest draw in the West, to keep people away from their parts. But his stories will soon put more than his family and the farm at risk.

Meanwhile, Herbert might lose his job as an editor at Gunslinger Magazine in Philadelphia if he can't find out why the author of The Kid stories recently stopped sending them. The soft city slicker is headed out west to find the author.

And Snake-Eye Sam has set his sights on The Kid, whom he thinks is real. Sam has evil in his heart and jealousy in his veins. Breaking out of prison to shoot down The Kid is about the only thing that can cure the itch running down Sam's spine.

Three storylines—plus Gunslinger Magazine‘s The Kid stories—intertwine and come together just as Snake Eye Sam and Herbert both arrive in Destiny. On Main Street at high noon, a master plan is put in place at the same time that Henry and the Destiny sheriff get what they need to keep the Upton brothers together.

Pull up for a tall frothy glass of sarsaparilla and enjoy this engaging and satisfying Western tale, full of quirky characters, snappy dialogue, and heart.

About the Author

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Jeff Schill is a debut author who wishes he could drink a glass of frothy sarsaparilla while working on more novels. He’s the vice president of training at the Crisis Prevention Institute. He lives in Wisconsin.

Praise For…

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Four young orphans go to great lengths to keep their family’s farm and stay under the radar in Destiny, Colorado, in 1881.
Fourteen-year-old Henry Upton’s father has died and is buried next to Mama. Now Henry and his three younger brothers are all alone. Determined to keep them all safe and together, he makes a deal with the local sheriff, who agrees to keep quiet until a caretaker can move in and serve as guardian, so the family won’t be split up. Knowing there may be some bad actors who would take advantage of four kids living alone on a prime piece of land, Henry decides to deter them by writing stories about The Kid, a juvenile lawman who can beat even the wickedest of criminals. The stories, which are set in Destiny, are published in Gunslinger Magazine, and The Kid’s reputation takes on legendary status. But the plan to keep villains at bay backfires when Snake-Eye Sam wants to claim his share of the fame by killing The Kid—and he escapes from the Arkansas State Penitentiary to do just that. Despite the brothers’ desperate situation and the high stakes, the humorous, folksy language supports the worldbuilding, which leans into archetypes of the American West. Henry’s The Kid stories are interspersed between chapters that jump around in time and location and can at times be hard to track. Most characters read white.
A swashbuckling adventure. 

—Kirkus Reviews