One Book Siouxland

Vanished in Vermillion unravels a 50-year-old cold case in Vermillion, South Dakota. The story chronicles the 1971 disappearances of Pam Jackson and Sherri Miller, two 17-year-olds from Vermillion. Author Lou Raguse extensively covered the case for the KELOLAND News from 2005 to 2008. The result of hundreds of interviews, Raguse’s book flips the script on typical investigation stories, revealing the intricate details of the mystery that has haunted South Dakota for half a century.

Don't Look Back recounts Achut Deng’s story of escaping civil war in South Sudan, living in a Kenyan refugee camp, and coming to America. Deng faced loss, pain, and challenges during her journey. But, taught by the strong women in her life not to look back, Achut kept moving forward. Don't Look Back is a powerful story of hope, strength, and faith in the future.

The 2023 One Book Siouxland selection was Accidental Rancher by Eliza Blue. In Accidental Rancher, Blue shares a collection of short stories about her life on the high plains, bringing a new voice and a musician's grace to the culture of rural America.

The 2022 One Book Siouxland selection was David Heska Wanbli Weiden's award winning Winter Counts, a thriller set in and around South Dakota’s Rosebud Indian Reservation. It features complex characters, believable conflicts, and an urgent message about Native culture, as well as the inequities in education opportunities and criminal justice.

To commemorate the 20th anniversary of 9/11, the 2021 One Book Siouxland took place in September. Two books were selected: Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer and The Only Plane in the Sky by Garrett M. Graff.

The 2020 One Book Siouxland selection was Kristin Hannah's bestselling The Great Alone, a gripping portrayal of a family seeking a fresh beginning in Alaska in the 1970s.

In 2019, participants read Caroline Fraser's Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder. Prairie Fires won the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Biography, the National Book Critics Circle Award for Biography, as well as being named to New York Times' "10 Best Books of the Year."

In 2018, One Book Siouxland participants read Fredrik Backman's best-selling book, A Man Called Ove. Library staff, in partnership with local library users, selected this story because of its theme--"people can change, even if they are set in their ways"--as well as the strong Swedish and Scandinavian heritage that is part of this region and the book.