Buy the Book Book Summary

“This intricately plotted, deeply researched debut ranks among the best of the ‘Orphan Train’–themed novels and polishes the Western novel to a new radiance.”

— Library Journal

“I love this book, and I guarantee you won’t find a finer debut work anywhere.”
—William Kent Krueger

New York Times bestselling author of This Tender Land

“Perfect for book clubs looking to discuss the true meaning of family.”
— Kathleen Grissom

New York Times bestselling author of The Kitchen House

Shortlisted for Reading the West Award Debut Fiction 2022   

2022 WILLA Literary Award Finalist in Historical Fiction

“It’s so hard to believe that this is a debut novel!”
–John Busbee

The Culture Buzz, weekly on www.KFMG.org

“A sweeping, atmospheric story set in Bull Mountain, Montana, You Belong Here Now is told through a wide-view lens with panoramic perfection”

New York Journal of Books

“This story has everything, including suspense, tenderness, and a family with a heart so big it can move mountains”
Jathan and Heather Books

“From the moment the reader steps on the train with these orphaned children, You Belong Here Now shows how beauty can emerge from even the darkest places.”
— Erika Robuck

bestselling author of Hemingway’s Girl

“Rostad’s bighearted debut is full of surprises, and warm with wisdom about what it means to be family.”
— Meg Waite Clayton

New York Times bestselling author of The Last Train to London

“Rostad comes roaring out of the gate with her beautiful debut novel You Belong Here Now where everyone is a broken spirit but are ultimately restored under the Big Sky”
— Leslie Carroll

author of American Princess: The Love Story of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry

Buy the Book

-USA Today Bestseller with over 1000 5 star ratings!! An immersive debut, stunning! If you watch Heartland or Yellowstone TV, then you will LOVE You Belong Here Now. Reminiscent of This Tender Land and Before We Were Yours. For readers of Where the Crawdads Sing and The Saints of Swallow Hill. – Three mysterious orphans show up on a cattle ranch in 1925 Montana, and after the family takes them in, the oldest is jailed for freeing a band of wild horses rounded up for slaughter, exposing his dark secret from Hell’s Kitchen New York.

Shortlisted for Reading the West Award 2022

Finalist for The Willa Award 2022

Praise for You Belong Here Now

"This intricately plotted, deeply researched debut ranks among the best of the 'Orphan Train'–themed novels and polishes the Western novel to a new radiance. Picture Charles Dickens on an Appaloosa for a fusion of two classic genres"
Library Journal Starred Review

"Set against the harsh backdrop of western Montana, You Belong Here Now is a novel as straightforward and powerful as the characters who populate it. I love this book, and I guarantee you won’t find a finer debut work anywhere.”
William Kent Krueger, New York Times bestselling author of This Tender Land

"You Belong Here Now distills the essence of the American spirit in this uplifting story. Perfect for book clubs looking to discuss the true meaning of family."
Kathleen Grissom, New York Times bestselling author of The Kitchen House

“Rostad’s bighearted debut is full of surprises, and warm with wisdom about what it means to be family.”
Meg Waite Clayton, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Train to London

“A sweeping, atmospheric story set in Montana. Dianna Rostad has penned a heart-warming, epic story built on the premise of a search for belonging that reads as an odyssey in all that it takes to find the heart of one’s family."
New York Journal of Books

“It’s so hard to believe that this is a debut novel! It’s an historic novel. Talk about hitting me on so many good points."
John Busbee, The Culture Buzz, weekly on www.KFMG.org

"Ultimately, this is a book about the healing power of acceptance, which is a lesson that is so desperately needed right now. Not since John Irving's Cider House Rules and John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath have I been so invested in a novel."
Jathan Fink, Award winning journalist

“From the moment the reader steps on the train with these orphaned children, You Belong Here Now shows how beauty can emerge from even the darkest places.”
Erika Robuck, bestselling author of Hemingway’s Girl

“Unflinching story of orphans, family, and horses.  Timeless, irresistible...for fans of Orphan Train" 
Weina Dai Randel, award-winning author of The Moon in the Palace

“Rostad comes roaring out of the gate with her beautiful debut novel: You Belong Here Now where everyone is a broken spirit in his or her own way but are ultimately restored under the Big Sky" 
Leslie Carroll, author of American Princess: The Love Story of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry