[Typographic symbols and accents removed for systems compatibility.]

"From the author of the Printz Medal--winning and National Book Award finalist Bone Gap comes a staggeringly ambitious, stunningly imagined, gorgeously written new novel about two young women--one living and one dead--trying to surivive in WWII-era Chicago. When Frankie's mother died and her father left her and her siblings at an orphanage in Chicago, she thought it was only supposed to be temporary--just long enough for him to get back on his feet be able to provide for them once again. That's why she is 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 to the orphanage, 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 is able to carve out will be enough. I will admit, I do not know the answer to this last question. But I will be watching, waiting to find out. That's what ghosts do."