Description: When Frankie’s mother died and her father left her and her siblings at an orphanage in Chicago, it was supposed to be only temporary—just long enough for him to get back on his feet and be able to provide for them once again. That’s why Frankie's not prepared for the day that he arrives for his weekend visit with a new woman on his arm and out-of-state train tickets in his pocket.
Now Frankie and her sister, Toni, are abandoned alongside so many other orphans—two young, unwanted women doing everything they can to survive.
   And as the embers of the Great Depression are kindled into the fires of World War II, and the shadows of injustice, poverty, and death walk the streets in broad daylight, it will be up to Frankie to find something worth holding on to in the ruins of this shattered America—every minute of every day spent wondering if the life she's able to carve out will be enough.

Review:  Laura Ruby's latest is an ambitious historical fantasy that tackles the cruelty and injustices in American history witnessed by the eyes of its female characters. The story is narrated by a ghost and it seems to mainly follow the story of Frankie, a girl who is placed in a Catholic Orphanage because her father could not afford to take care of her and her siblings after her mother allegedly tries to harm her family during the Great Depression. When her father remarries, Frankie realizes the real truth, she and her sister and brother are abandoned. Frankie suffers under the nuns' strict regime, but she also makes friends, grows up, and, eventually, falls into forbidden, passionate relationship that is tested by America's entry into World War II. As Frankie's story is well underway our ghostly narrator imbues her own ongoings as she floats, haunts around Chicago, and unveils her own story.
 The book's narrative structure will be the deciding point on whether or not you will enjoy this book. While I liked how the story was told through the ghost's omnipresent voice, it did lack consistency. If the ghost seems to only haunt Chicago, then why does it have world weary knowledge outside of the city such as the atomic bomb and the Nazi death camps. The narrative structure also distracted me from Frankie's story just when I got invested in it and wanted to know more. Though I was also curious with the ghost's identity and its past, I did not think it was well developed as Frankie's story. There is a lot important themes packed into this book such as misogyny, racism, and socio-economic inequities many of them remain surface level. I wanted the book to dig a little deeper than it did. Despite these issues, I did enjoy reading about the history of Chicago that was not about crime and the mob. Ruby is a skillful writer and she clearly shows us that the issues we are dealing with today about social injustices are not new, but have been part of American history for a really long time.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Words of Caution: There are mentions of sexual content including pregnancy, attempt of sexual assault, violence and some disturbing images in the book. Recommended for Grades 10 and up.

If you like this book try: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (for omnipresent narrator structure), Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein