The Girls with No Names by Serena Burdick

The story opens on the life of Luella and Effie Tildon, privileged children, raised by a strict mother and a father interested in keeping up appearances.  Luella, the older sister, has a bit of a rebellious streak but dotes on Effie.  Effie was born with a heart condition that leaves her prone to “blue fits” and leaves her parents amazed each year that she does not die.  The girls are inseparable and make their own adventures.. 

When Luella goes missing, Effie assumes that her parents have sent her away to the reform school (work house) up the road, known as the House of Mercy.  Desperate to be with her sister after her parents refuse to bring her home, Effie dreams up a plan and enters the House of Mercy under a different name only to find that her sister is not there.  

Trapped by her own story, Effie finds herself stuck in the House of Mercy and falls victim to the cruelty of the nuns and the girls that find themselves there.  Effie's gets entangled with another girl, Mable, who is also not using her own name but for far different reasons.   While trying to save Effie, Mable's find herself face to face with her past.

This story touches on new York in the 1910's, the wealthy holding on to their traditions and the poor just trying to hold on, the women who would dare to spearhead the suffrage movement, and the women and girls who found themselves with no say in their own lives.

I enjoyed the authors' use of the names to highlight her title  and the lack of identity woman had outside of their male relations. I wish there had been more history than just the touches of the suffrage  movement and the workhouses for wayward girls. 

Effie enjoys writing and the author would sometimes throw some of her fanciful stories into the narrative that were often distracting and didn't add much to the story. 

It was a solid read, good for book clubs .  3.5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.