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taylorrev's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.0
erincataldi's review against another edition
4.0
Two fascinating story-lines weaving in and out. One living, the other watching; fading in and out of the background. Ghosts don't have much power or control, but they do have excellent powers of observation and Pearl is endlessly fascinated watching young Frankie grow up in a Chicago orphanage. Frankie isn't alone in there; she can't sense the ghost watching her, but she has her younger sister and older brother to keep her company. Her father visits twice a month but those visits are getting harder and harder as he starts seeing a new woman. Times are tough in the orphanage so Frankie has to learn how to weather through it. The nuns are strict, the food is scarce, and the rules are multiplying; but as the years progress Frankie realizes that an orphanage isn't just a place to escape from; there is a safety net in its walls and the friends she's made. Beautifully set at the advent of World War II, Frankie and Pearl's tale are heartfelt and inspiring. Unique and captivating; they don't make young adult fiction like this anymore!
madhamster's review against another edition
3.0
Mixed feelings about this one.
So many stories woven together, sometimes uncomfortably.
Be patient, keep reading and they will make sense.
There's history, family secrets, sorrow, and determination.
So many stories woven together, sometimes uncomfortably.
Be patient, keep reading and they will make sense.
There's history, family secrets, sorrow, and determination.
meaganmart's review
4.0
Laura Ruby pulled me in with a ghost narrator. She kept me with her beautiful, painful examination of what it means to be a woman. The secrets women keep, the truths we hide (even, sometimes from ourselves), the pain that we bear, Ruby captured it all. We have our protagonist, Frankie, trying to navigate through a world that terrifies her after a childhood spent in a Catholic orphange. Sweet Frankie who craves love, who yearns for affection in a life where she is constantly told she is unwanted. We watch her mature into a woman who keeps her own counsel, one who navigates the fear and channels it into a new life for herself. We see her story unfold through the eyes of our ghostly narrator, Pearl, who has hidden her truth so far away from herself that she can't even remember how she died. Frankie gives Pearl the strength to delve into her past, and when it matters, Pearl reaches back into the world of the living to give Frankie a push to the future she deserves. Wonderfully written this is a truly unforgettable novel.
rachelbookdragon's review against another edition
4.0
I don’t know what to make of this story, except that the prose was fantastic and I couldn’t put it down. It is a semi-biographical story of the author’s mother-in-law and her experience growing up in an orphanage in the Depression era and World War 2, while a ghost girl named Pearl follows her and discovers her own story in the process.
Frankie’s strength, her ability to love, and her perseverance through a father who neglects her and a mother who is dead is the heart of the story. Her relationships with Toni, Vito, and Sam are heartwarming. She shows such incredible resilience in the face of truth and lies, and gets herself out of a bad situation.
Then there’s Pearl, the ghostly mystery of the story, the mystery she is even to herself. Her discovery of the end of her life and her death, and her journey to understanding and self-forgiveness is a whole other story, intertwined with Frankie’s. She also lived and loved, even in death, and continued to find strength in a world where she was to be bought and sold to a ruthless man.
Margarite’s story almost brought me to tears as it concluded. Her mother forgiving her after all this time... Her tragic story, and her resolution was inspiring.
Beyond the characters and plot, I loved the fairy tales told throughout the book. The little vignettes were such interesting sprinklings of story.
Overall, this is a story of women’s empowerment and finding the love in a world of war and difficult families. In a world where people weren’t allowed to love others who were different from them. The writing is gorgeous and I understand why it was nominated for the National Book Award.
Favorite quotes: “...people... convinced that each war was different, that it wasn’t one long war with the briefest of pauses between battles.” P. 75
“All the other truths of a body that seem so mundane when that body is yours, and so fascinating when that body belongs to someone else.” P. 98
“One must find reasons to laugh anyway, especially when nothing is funny. Sometimes joy is the only defense you have, and your only weapon.” P. 126
“Girls are... Always crossing thresholds thinking they’re getting away free. Nothing is free.” P. 192
“You’re allowed to be glad for a moment... We only get scrapes in this lousy life. Take what you can get.” P. 274
“Be something every minute of every day... and when you sleep, dream all the time so that not one little piece of living is lost.” P. 352
Frankie’s strength, her ability to love, and her perseverance through a father who neglects her and a mother who is dead is the heart of the story. Her relationships with Toni, Vito, and Sam are heartwarming. She shows such incredible resilience in the face of truth and lies, and gets herself out of a bad situation.
Then there’s Pearl, the ghostly mystery of the story, the mystery she is even to herself. Her discovery of the end of her life and her death, and her journey to understanding and self-forgiveness is a whole other story, intertwined with Frankie’s. She also lived and loved, even in death, and continued to find strength in a world where she was to be bought and sold to a ruthless man.
Margarite’s story almost brought me to tears as it concluded. Her mother forgiving her after all this time... Her tragic story, and her resolution was inspiring.
Beyond the characters and plot, I loved the fairy tales told throughout the book. The little vignettes were such interesting sprinklings of story.
Overall, this is a story of women’s empowerment and finding the love in a world of war and difficult families. In a world where people weren’t allowed to love others who were different from them. The writing is gorgeous and I understand why it was nominated for the National Book Award.
Favorite quotes: “...people... convinced that each war was different, that it wasn’t one long war with the briefest of pauses between battles.” P. 75
“All the other truths of a body that seem so mundane when that body is yours, and so fascinating when that body belongs to someone else.” P. 98
“One must find reasons to laugh anyway, especially when nothing is funny. Sometimes joy is the only defense you have, and your only weapon.” P. 126
“Girls are... Always crossing thresholds thinking they’re getting away free. Nothing is free.” P. 192
“You’re allowed to be glad for a moment... We only get scrapes in this lousy life. Take what you can get.” P. 274
“Be something every minute of every day... and when you sleep, dream all the time so that not one little piece of living is lost.” P. 352
bsmorris's review
5.0
Beautifully written with such lovely imagery and a spiraling story arc that left me in tears. I love how all the plots finally come together and I love the introductory chapter that gives me hope at the darkest parts of the novel. Frankie and Pearl are characters I’ll remember for a long time.
katscribefever's review
5.0
This is a story about young women who dare to hope in the face of life's smothering difficulties. This is a story about injustice, betrayal, pain, and loss, but this is also a story about friendship, love, laughter, and loyalty. Most of all, this is a story about persevering even while knowing it would be easier to simply give up.
paragraphsandpages's review against another edition
3.0
While this wasn't a bad book, I only started enjoying it at 70% on, so I unfortunately can't rate it any higher. I'm picky about my historical fiction but the issue is that I haven't read enough to know what I like and don't like exactly, but this book just didn't work for me in the beginning, and the revelations started coming a little too fast and a little too late.
Overall I enjoyed the storytelling and writing of this book, and the concept of having a ghost narrate the life of the living is an interesting one. Even when I wasn't necessarily enjoying the book it wasn't hard to stay engaged and following the story, as the writing was easy to follow yet compelling! I most likely will look into other books by this author because of that, even if this specific one wasn't fully for me.
I think the main issue overall for me was how the parallel storylines only meshed together in terms of content/themes, rather than in how the stories were told to the reader. It honestly felt like the two stories were battling for dominance for most of the book, and it overall felt very back and forth rather than two complementary stories running parallel to each other. It was all a bit too much, especially when the twists for both stories were being revealed at the exact same time. I didn't necessarily have trouble keeping the two apart, but I found myself only fully engaged with one at a time, losing interest quickly in the other. Generally, this story was Frankie's, and it made the more ghostly tales of Pearl drag on for me, and only really started affecting me when we hit 70%. All in all, I think the story could have made similar thematical statements by focusing on only one of the girls, and it would've probably been stronger for it.
I didn't hate this, it just didn't grab me early on and ended up suffering for it. I did like it in the end though, but I feel my rating has to be fair to the book as a whole, and I did feel tempted to DNF it around 40%.
Overall I enjoyed the storytelling and writing of this book, and the concept of having a ghost narrate the life of the living is an interesting one. Even when I wasn't necessarily enjoying the book it wasn't hard to stay engaged and following the story, as the writing was easy to follow yet compelling! I most likely will look into other books by this author because of that, even if this specific one wasn't fully for me.
I think the main issue overall for me was how the parallel storylines only meshed together in terms of content/themes, rather than in how the stories were told to the reader. It honestly felt like the two stories were battling for dominance for most of the book, and it overall felt very back and forth rather than two complementary stories running parallel to each other. It was all a bit too much, especially when the twists for both stories were being revealed at the exact same time. I didn't necessarily have trouble keeping the two apart, but I found myself only fully engaged with one at a time, losing interest quickly in the other. Generally, this story was Frankie's, and it made the more ghostly tales of Pearl drag on for me, and only really started affecting me when we hit 70%. All in all, I think the story could have made similar thematical statements by focusing on only one of the girls, and it would've probably been stronger for it.
I didn't hate this, it just didn't grab me early on and ended up suffering for it. I did like it in the end though, but I feel my rating has to be fair to the book as a whole, and I did feel tempted to DNF it around 40%.