Booklist:

“Dickensian street action comes to New York’s Lower East Side in this gripping story, set in 1893, of newsboy Maks, 13, who feels “hungry twenty-five hours a day.” After rescuing a filthy, homeless girl, Willa, Maks takes her to the crowded tenement he shares with his struggling Danish immigrant family. Pursued by Bruno, the leader of the Plug Ugly street gang, Maks is desperate to save his sister, Emma, who was imprisoned after being falsely accused of stealing a watch from the Waldorf Hotel, where she worked as a cleaner. Just as compelling as the fast-moving plot’s twists and turns is the story’s social realism, brought home by the contrasts between the overcrowded, unsanitary slums (“No water, gas, electricity”) and the luxurious Waldorf. Then there are the unspeakable conditions in prison, where, even as a prisoner, Emma must pay for food. Avi writes in an immediate, third-person, present-tense voice, mostly from Maks’ colloquial viewpoint (“He’s full of heartache, but no one is seeing it”), with occasional switches to Willa and to the desperate young gangster leader. Threading together the drama are tense mysteries: Is Willa really an orphan? Who stole the watch? A riveting historical novel.”