20 Feb / Thirteen Doorways, Wolves Behind Them All by Laura Ruby [in Booklist]
Laura Ruby’s (Bone Gap, 2015) narrator – her name eventually revealed as Pearl – is dead. Pearl’s primary object of attention is not: Frankie, who’s 14 in 1941, is a “half orphan” relegated to a Chicago orphanage with her siblings by their living Italian immigrant father, who (relatively) lavishes his three children with gifts during visits but claims he’s financially unable to bring them home. When he remarries, he further deserts his family and is Colorado-bound with his shrewish new wife and her children. Disappointment, even abuse, looms for Frankie, alleviated by rare moments of mischievous fun, surprising bonds, and maybe a chance at first love. While Pearl observes, she intertwines her own corporeal life of victimization and abandonment.
As Frankie and Pearl begin to recognize and claim their agency, veteran Laura Flanagan’s own engagement seems to deepen with strength and commitment. “Three or ten or thirteen doorways, there are wolves behind them all,” one of Pearl’s ghost friends intones, but resilience and strength – with Flanagan’s voice manifesting burgeoning gravitas – will propel both teens to open the doorways and confront the necessary challenges to move forward toward freedom.
Review: “Media,” Booklist, February 1, 2020
Readers: Young Adult
Published: 2019