It is charged with emotional violence and a depth of loss, unapologetically the framework of a great redemption. Ruth becomes the narrator readers are able to believe implicitly as she navigates through the turbulent waters of childhood to become a woman who learns to provide the stability she had been craving throughout her early life for her own daughter. This passage from Ruth’s early adulthood summarizes the struggles Ruby develops throughout the book: “We wanted to be not like some girls. We wanted to be like all girls, all those who would come after us, and all of those who had come before. We wanted the questions asked by women generation after generation. We wanted to hold the labels in our hands, to turn them around, to take them apart.” This enjoyable read stays true to this objective throughout, bringing unforgettable characters to readers through circumstances that are believable, yet nestled in the cultural traditions and superstitions we sometimes need to guide us through difficult times.