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When thinking of Ellis Island, some envision freedom and new beginnings. For Alma and Francesca, it represents corruption, unwanted advances, and manipulation. Taking a job at Ellis Island, Alma gets an inside view of how immigrants are treated when they arrive in the States. On Alma’s first day, she meets Francesca, who came from Italy to escape her abusive father. Francesca desperately wants to stay in New York but needs Alma’s help to make that happen. Inspectors, food vendors, and matrons take liberties with the immigrants they work with every day. Reports of corruption start to surround Ellis Island, and the government calls for change. Bonded by friendship and secrets, Alma and Francesca fight back against an unethical system. Webb (Three Words for Goodbye with Hazel Gaynor, 2021) tells the story of female friendship and strength with great historical detail. She stresses the need for barriers between the classes to be broken. With compelling detail, she weaves in suspense with secrets and the risk of danger due to riots, deportation, and an upset society. This is a great historical read.

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Webb's (Three Words for Goodbye) novel, which takes place on Ellis Island in 1902, tells the stories of Francesca and Alma. Alma's German family has not been in the country for long, but Alma is fluent in English as well as German and has easily picked up bits of Russian and Italian. Sent to work by her stepfather, Alma is initially afraid to serve as a translator at the immigration center but she soon adjusts, despite dealing with corruption and the sad stories she witnesses. Francesca's sister arrives in New York already ill and dies at Ellis Island. Terrified that she will be returned to Italy, Francesca befriends Alma to convince her to help find a way for Francesca to stay in the country. The two young women help each other through difficult times and try to ward off abuse. Both women are treated unfairly, primarily by men but also by other women. Narrator Kathryn Markey does a remarkable job voicing the variety of accents and languages spoken by those who come through Ellis Island. VERDICT Webb's historical novel sheds light on an interesting period in American history.—Cheryl Youse