Twelve-year-old Ren, named after the initials R.E.N. which were in the collar of the clothes he was wearing when he was abandoned at St. Anthony's Catholic orphanage, has always wondered how he lost his right hand and who his parents were. Other boys get adopted, not Ren, for who, after all, wants a deformed boy in New England at a time sometime between the wars, Revolutionary and Civil. Then one day out of the blue Benjamin Nab shows up claiming to be Ren's brother. The monks let the lad go and all of a sudden Ren's life takes an adventurous turn, for "brother" Ben is a con man, thief, grave robber who will do anything to turn a buck, including exploiting a one handed boy.
I will watch for other books by this author and hope that their plot is more believable and appealing as her writing is wonderful.
Rating: 3.4 Good
