Water Street by Patricia Reilly Giff

Reading Counting on Grace as O.N.E. book sparked an interest in the late 1800s to early 1900s.  In this novel, Water Street Bird Mallon lives in an apartment in Brooklyn that overlooks the towers that will eventually become the Brooklyn Bridge.  Her mother, Nory, is a healer who helps the neighborhood in times of medical need.  Thomas and his father move in upstairs to the dismay of Bird who would much rather have a girl move into the apartment.  Keeping his secrets and writing about Bird in his journal, Thomas forges a friendship with Bird. After a scary and life threatening event, Bird doesn't know what she wants from life.  This coming of age novel is a tender story of a strong family who works together in surviving their circumstances.  Patricia Reilly Giff creates one story in her series of novels about Nory Mallon's family.