This historical fiction book focuses on the fire at Our Lady of Angels elementary school in Chicago on December 1, 1958. A fire broke out in a stairwell and a combination of elements and errors led to one of the worst fires in Chicago's history, claiming the lives of ninety-two children and three nuns.
The author did a lot of research on the fire, including research on the children and families affected by the fire. While this is a fictional account, it has many accurate details, and if you know anything about this event, it feels very realistic. One of the things I found was interesting was that the author has a boy who is attending the school actually be responsible for starting the fire. In reality, while there was a suspect, he was not convicted; however, there was a lot of speculation in the neighborhood that this boy was responsible.
One of the really interesting things about this book is that the author gives fire its own voice. You get the perspective of the event from fire's viewpoint, as it first meets the boy in a church when a candle is lit, through the horrifying fire at the school, and in the years after. The voice of fire is quite clear, For example, it states "When I'm contained, I'm quite harmless . . . until I get unleashed. Then I'm unpredictable as hell - and that's an understatement... I have no self-control, and even if I did, there is nothing I can do about it. That's my nature." p. 10
This extra element really added something unusual to the story, which I liked. I am very familiar with this event, but if you would like to read more:
Chicago Tribune gallery of photos
Article in Fire Engineering that explains the construction of the school, the regulations at the time, etc.
There are many more sites with information, although I feel one of the best resources to learn about this event is the book To Sleep with the Angels by David Cowan and John Kuenster.
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