Westerns - The Devil's Paintbox

I love Westerns and I love historical fiction, so any book set in the West of the 19th-century automatically goes to the top of my "to read" list. The Devil's Paintbox by Victoria McKernan is one of the best YA Westerns I've ever read. It follows Aiden, a young Kansas orphan, who immediately after the Civil War winds up bound for Oregon on a wagon train along with his lively sister Maddie. On the way, he befriends a Native-American teen. The great thing about this book is that it doesn't flinch from the pain and hardship of the trek Westward. There are casualties along the way (one so sudden and surprising it stunned me). Aiden perseveres and winds up in a Pacific Northwest logging camp. He also commits himself to helping his Indian friends get a hold of the vaccine for smallpox (Indians call the disease the devil's paintbox). The writing is beautiful, especially when describing the landscape and the natural world. There's lots of action - river crossings, boxing bouts, etc. But this won't be every one's cup of tea because of its mature themes, its historical truthfulness, and its open ending. Completely different era, writing style, etc., but this reminded me of the Octavian Nothing books simply because of its bleak adultness. For the right reader though - high school history buffs? - this would fit the bill. Maybe older Will Hobbs' fans...