This was okay. I appreciate the author tackling a lesser-known event and bringing deserved attention to it, but the writing style and short, choppy chapters did the material no favors. There was a lot of "tell, don't show" going on, and the vignette-style chapters made it feel like we were skimming over material that deserved much deeper attention. A couple of standout characters - Emilia, and especially the Shoe Poet - made this a full three stars. 
 2016 reading challenge: a book with a character you admire