The book was mostly about Stick McLaughlin's journey through life. But, it also chronicled parts of the lives of Ellie, Stick's close, close friend, and Jersey, Zim, and Roxie, who were also friends of Stick at various points in her life.

The novel has three parts. One that starts in 1918 (Go Red Sox!) when Stick is a sixteen year old kid in Boston. She gets into all sorts of trouble (The good sort, and the very, very bad sort). She also has to go on the lam because of crooked cops. And we get introduced to Ellie, her best friend from when they were very little, as well as a short intro (very short) to Jersey, Roxie, and Zim.

The second part takes place in 1924. Stick's a maid for a mother and daughter in Gardner, MA (I won't spoil why, but I did think that these two parts really flowed very well together, even with the time jump).

Then the third part jumps ahead again to 1927. I thought that this jump was a bit more abrupt, but I was enough invested in the story by then that it didn't throw me off too too much, just a little. Stick is back in Boston, and a lot, a whole lot, has changed for her (although not her close friends).

Overall I liked the novel. At times the narrative was a bit plodding, but it was also wicked nicely plotted. (I had to do it, it was set in Boston so very well, and a review of it without the word wicked used in the way only us semi-crazy New Englanders use it had to be done).

The three parts and the three names she used in these parts gave Stick's journey such a great path to follow, an overarching feel to the novel. But then in each of the parts you had some of the same people running through them and making sure all three parts felt connected even as Stick changed and grew.

It was a good book, and a fun read that made me think a little.

I got this advanced galley through Netgalley on behalf of Bold Strokes Books. ( )