She went looking for Laura. She found herself.

Lonely librarian Nelly sets out to walk in Laura Ingalls Wilder's footsteps-only to find that the prairie isn't as romantic as she imagined. As she confronts the darker legacies of the Little House series-racism, revisionist nostalgia, and the shadowy influence of Rose Wilder Lane-Nelly must reckon with her own buried truths.

Along the way, there's a clever, slow-burn romance with a modern-day Almanzo, a rivalry with a would-be Laura, and a blizzard that will test everything Nelly thought she knew about courage and care. By the time she boards the train home, Nelly has rescued more than just a child in danger-she's reclaimed her own story.

Whoa, Nelly! A Love Story (with Footnotes) is a sharp, soulful heroine's journey for the literary misfits, the daughters of difficult mothers, and anyone who ever found solace in a well-worn paperback.