Fifteen-year-old Aiden Lynch and his 13-year-old sister, Maddy, are down at the creek, looking for mud to eat. If Aiden can find a grasshopper for dinner, they will consider it a feast. The only relief from their dirt and insect diet is the "corn jelly meat" they make from their meager stores of cornmeal, but now they each have only a bite left. Aiden reflects, wistfully, that it takes longer to starve to death than he would have expected.

The two are all alone in their family's house on the burned out, barren Kansas prairie since the last of their family died. The neighbors have packed up and moved on, they have no relatives, and the town that once was four miles away has been deserted. Aiden doesn't know what to do. He's not old enough to join the army; besides, he can't leave Maddy all on her own.

Suddenly, Aiden spots a grasshopper. He prepares to catch it when a voice startles him: "Damn, boy. What the hell are you doing?" The man is Jefferson J. Jackson. He's looking for men to work in the lumber camps in Seattle, Washington, traveling there with his wagon train via the Oregon Trail. Despite Aiden's initial suspicion of Jackson's intentions, chatty Maddy invites him into their home. Jackson is a gruff, hard man, but he has a gentle heart. When he hears of the Lynches' situation, he allows Aiden to persuade him to take the siblings along to Seattle, although he warns them of the hardships they're sure to encounter along the 2,000-mile walk ahead of them. When they reach Seattle, Aiden will work in the lumber camps in order to pay Jackson $200 --- the price of traveling with Jackson's wagon train.

When they arrive at the wagon train camp, a party is in full swing. There's plenty of food; the sight of actual jam and butter move Maddy to tears. Although they try to hold back, they feast until they're sick. They also meet some of their fellow travelers: the beautiful French wife of the preacher, a snobby girl in a lovely dress, a horrendous bully and the rather mysterious doctor named Carlos Javier Perez.

In one week of traveling, gregarious Maddy knows all about everyone on the wagon train. The only exception is Carlos, who keeps to himself except for his brain-injured companion, Joby. Maddy notices that Carlos frequently drinks from a small brown bottle and is intrigued when Joby mentions that Carlos fills the bottle from a "jug of poison." Soon, though, she is put in a situation where she learns a bit more about Carlos and his secrets. Simultaneously, she has decided she wants to be a doctor when she grows up. But their long and difficult journey has barely begun.

THE DEVIL’S PAINTBOX is a realistic, gritty portrayal of young pioneers on a difficult journey. It puts faces, personalities and feelings to the settlers we read about in history books, drawing them into real life. Aiden and Maddy are both sympathetic characters who readers will care about, and the plot is fascinating and well-paced. This is an excellent read and very highly recommended.