In this riveting YA non-fiction set against the backdrop of the Great Depression, trace Lorena Hickok--or Hick's-- rise from devastating childhood to renowned journalist, and watch as she forms the most significant friendship and romantic relationship of her life with first lady, Eleanor Roosevelt. A SHELF AWARENESS BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR Lorena Hickok came from nothing. She was on her own from the age of 14, cooking and scrubbing for one family after another as she struggled to finish school. But the girl who secretly longed for affection discovered she had a talent with words. That talent allowed Hick to carve out a place for herself in the male-dominated newsrooms of the Midwest where she earned bylines on everything from football to opera to politics. By age 35 she’d become one of the Associated Press’s top reporters. At the moment her career was taking off, Hick was assigned to cover Eleanor Roosevelt during FDR’s presidential campaign. By the close of 1932, Hick was head over heels in love with the wife of the president-elect. And her life would never be the same. Acclaimed author Sarah Miller read the 3500 letters that exist between Lorena Hickock and Eleanor Roosevelt to reconstruct their friendship and love, and bring Hick's story to a new generation. ★ "This immersive, engaging, and deeply emotional portrait of an unconventional woman is a must-read for enthusiasts of women’s history , journalism, and LGBTQIA+ ­biographies." — School Library Journal , starred review ★ “The life of a pioneering, queer female journalist is the subject of this accessible and captivating biography for young adults.” — Shelf Awareness, starred review ★ “Miller’s meticulously researched and engrossing account … sensitively delves into the ways Hick’s traumatic childhood affected her career and personal life.” — The Horn Book, starred review "Miller’s prose is clear, thoroughly researched, and highly detailed.... A substantial biography of a noteworthy figure ." — Kirkus Reviews "In exploring their love story, readers will learn more about Hick’s importance in politics , journalism, and queer history." — Booklist " [A]n extremely thorough recounting that’s at its strongest when considering Hick as not just a female pioneer in the male-dominated news world but a passionate individual who chose to live, and love, on her own terms." — Publishers Weekly " Miller strikes an ideal balance between Hick as an individual and her relationship with Eleanor Roosevelt, and while Eleanor will certainly be a more recognizable name, Hick’s sometimes grueling, sometimes wonderful, always intriguing life is just as worthy of being known." — The Bulletin SARAH MILLER is the author of Hanged! , called a "tour de force" in a Booklist starred review; Violet and Daisy , called "meticulously detailed" in a starred review from The Horn Book ; The Miracle & Tragedy of the Dionne Quintuplets , which received four starred reviews; and The Borden Murders, a School Library Journal Best Book and an ALA-YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers. In addition to her work for young readers, she is the author of the USA Today bestselling Caroline: Little House, Revisited , which was named a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Selection, among other accolades. Chapter 1 No headlines proclaimed her birth on March 7, 1893. Alice Lorena Hickok was one of a thousand or so babies born in the United States that day and attracted no particular notice outside her own family. There was not one single reason to suspect that this baby girl—­born over a creamery in East Troy, Wisconsin, to a butter maker and his wife—­would one day reside at the White House. -- From the very first, Lorena proved herself a keen and quiet observer. Even as an infant, she watched and listened, slowly, carefully absorbing the sights and sounds that orbited her. As she thought of it years later, she was acclimating herself to the world, learning how things felt, moved, smelled, tasted, the way babies of every species must. But Lorena seemed to do it more deliberately—­so deliberately, in fact, that she managed to hold on to some of her earliest babyhood experiences tightly enough to keep them from fading away entirely. Light was her first memory, “warm and yellow.” Light, and then music. It had no form or melody. Just a vague and gentle humming, accompanied by the soft sway of the rocking chair where Anna Hickok often tucked her baby daughter into a nest of pillows while attending to the household chores. Perhaps Lorena’s mother hummed as she worked. Or perhaps the music came from the baby herself. “Ever since I can remember, through almost every waking hour,” she would muse as a grown woman, “music has run through me, somewhere in the back of my throat.” The sounds were like a current, as constant as the movement of blood through her veins. She took her time learning to talk—­so long that her mother’s family began to whisper their worries amon