This “heartbreakingly engrossing” novel explores the true events surrounding the Our Lady of the Angels school fire in 1958 Chicago (Foreword Reviews).

Summary

Three weeks before Christmas, on December 1, 1958, one of the most horrific fires in American history broke out at Our Lady of the Angels elementary school in Chicago, claiming the lives of ninety-two children and three nuns. Fire Angels is a fictional account of that fire.

Themes

It’s a story of arson; of bravery by parents, nuns, firefighters, and medical professionals; of a falsely accused janitor; of a cover-up within the Catholic Church; of a judge who, in having to determine the juvenile arsonist’s fate, is torn between loyalty to his church and justice; of a tight-knit community changed forever; and of two survivors who fall in love. Fire itself is also a central character in this story, a cunning observer that comes to life whenever a flame is lit.