WONDER AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD

In the vein of both Our Only May Amelia and Moon Over Manifest, THE GREAT RESPONSIBILITY OF HALLELUJAH WONDER presents in Lu an unforgettable heroine who inhabits a world so richly detailed to engage all the senses.

In 1855, much is uncertain in Kansas as the fight over free or slave state definition leaves bodies in its wake. But for twelve year old Hallelujah Wonder, who goes by Lu, the death she has sworn to avenge is her father’s – a scientist, voyageur, sailor, and artifact-collector with the US Navy who was lynched by a posse of Navy men.

Before his death, Charles Wonder left mystery and treasure behind hidden in a nearby cave, boxed up in wooden crates and bound by complicated knots. The whereabouts of the treasures, artifacts, and specimens from all around the world, as well as a repulsive and mesmerizing object known as the Medicine Head, is known only to Lu and her best friend, Eustace.

The two go on a true hero’s journey, by land and by sea, to return the Medicine Head to the people from whom it came, with the greedy Navy Captain who murdered Lu’s father desperate to stop them at all costs.

Nicole Helget grew up on a farm in southern Minnesota, a childhood and place she drew on in the writing of her memoir, The Summer of Ordinary Ways. She received her BA and an MFA in creative writing from Minnesota State University, Mankato. She now lives with her family in Mankato, Minnesota. NPR’s Scott Simon awarded The Turtle Catcher, her adult novel, the Tamarack Prize from Minnesota Monthly based on the novel’s first chapter.