A novel in verse set in a small Canadian town early in World War II centers on the Loney siblings: Nora, Ran, Jim, and Addie. The Loney children, left after their father’s death with a stepmother who hates them, find small relief when she abandons them: Their struggle to find food and pay the rent is a bitter one. They are watched over—and their lives sometimes influenced by—the ghosts of their parents, a father trying to redeem himself, a mother who never stopped loving her children. Author Pamela Porter examine facets of human nature—at its best and worst—through the lives and actions of many in the town; told through multiple voices, the story is reminiscent of Thornton Wilder’s Our Town in the way it peeks into the lives of a variety of individuals within a community. Porter reveals very human dramas with her fine writing; thoughtful teen readers will find struggles, sorrows, and deception, along with caring and compassion that stand out in relief. (Age 14 and older)