In Curious Toys, Elizabeth Hand tells the story of Vivian, a 14-year-old girl disguised as a boy named Pin who lives at the Riverview Amusement Park in Chicago. In the summer of 1915, Riverview is one of the city's most popular places to be, and Pin spends her days exploring the park and enjoying the freedom granted to a young boy in a busy place. That freedom is tainted, though, when Pin sees a man enter a ride called Hell Gate with a young girl and leave without her. Upon investigating, she discovers the girl's body, setting off a chain of events that threatens to reveal Pin's secret, and also puts her in the killer's crosshairs.

Although the crime is fictional, Riverview Park was a real amusement park in Chicago, and Hand has clearly done her research in creating a version of the setting that blends fiction with reality. The rides and shows of Pin's Riverview actually existed ...