16-year-old Mary Shelly Black’s life is falling apart. The year is 1918 and between WWI and the Spanish flu, death breathes down everyone’s neck. Furthermore, her father has been arrested under the Sedition Act and she is forced to move to a new city to live with her overprotective aunt. The one silver lining to this is that she will once again be close to her childhood best friend, Stephen. It is only once she arrives in town that she finds out he has enlisted and will be leaving within the week. A telegram arrives shortly thereafter announcing that he has died a hero’s death on the battlefield. When Stephen appears to her and she herself has a near death experience, she is forced to re-think her entire worldview. She now must help him understand what has happened - and solve her own mysteries - in order for him to rest.
Winters brings this book to life through archival photos and descriptions so evocative, you can practically smell it (I will never look at an onion the same way again). I recommend this for anyone who likes strong female protagonists, historical fiction, or books about resiliency in the face of disaster.
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