Edge of Lost by Kristina McMorris

After reading the prologue and then continuing to the novel itself, I was not sure how the reader was going to get from Point A to Point B. The prologue, set in 1937, describes an apparent escape from Alcatraz, where a young girl has gone missing. As the  pages unfolded, it did become clear and proved to be a very good read. The Edge of Lost is an account of the life of Shanley Keagen, a young boy who is introduced as a young boy living with his uncle in Ireland. His uncle is quite taken with the drink and is eventually kicked off the dole. Shan tries to help make ends meet by performing comedy in some of the pubs. He has in his possession a photo of his mother and a man whom he thinks is his father, am American sailor. His desire is to go to the United States to find him. 

With no other recourse, Uncle Will decides that the two will leave for America to find Shan's father. However, on the voyage, Will dies and Shan is orphaned.  With a serendipitous piece of fortune, he is adopted by an Italian family, the Capellos, and begins his new life in Brooklyn as Tommy Capello. His brother Nick and sister Lina receive him into the family with just less than open arms. Shan/Tommy does will in school and begins to help out his father in the plumbing business while still pursuing the dream of meeting his father. Nick becomes mixed up in some of the criminal activities surrounding prohibition, although he was not really a criminal. Because of this Tommy Capello is sentenced to Leavenworth Prison. From there his is moved to Alcatraz, where he is a model prisoner and is assigned to work in the greenhouses and gardens. 

The intersection of the two story lines is what keeps the reader anxiously turning pages. McMorris skillfully blends the accounts of Italian and Irish immigrants with the hardships of life during the prohibition and depression in America. She has provided an intriguing glimpse into life in that period as well as what it must have been like to live on The Rock as both civilian and prisoner. The twist in the ending pages was one that was not telegraphed in the earlier part of the novel and was a surprise for sure. Good and interesting read.