1918 was a time of stress and sorrow for people all over the world - WWI was raging, and the Spanish Flu was rampant. In Philadephia, 13 year old Pia and her family experience discrimintion and bullying due to their German heritage, on top of dealing with these daily pressures- the Spanish Flu sweeps through the city, killing thousands. Pia’s mother becomes one of the victims of the flu. Left to care for her infant twin brothers, Pia must make some tough decisions. When she discovers her brothers missing, she stops at nothing to find them.
Bernice Groves is a bitter, grief stricken woman. Her husband died in the war, and her son died from the flu. Bernice blames immigrants for all of her heartache. Peeping from her window, she sees Pia leave her home, and knows that the twin babies have been left alone. Bernice takes the babies and raises them as her own, doing everything in her power to make sure the truth of their history is never discovered. Bernice doesn't stop with the twins. She continues her misguided attempt to "Americanize" the many orphans left behind after the war and the flu epidemic.
Told from the dual perspectives of Pia and Bernice, this story will break your heart into a million pieces.
I struggled emotionally with this book and had a difficult time deciding on a rating. I found the information about the flu and the tragedies about the lives of orphans to be accurate (based on research I did on this topic in college). I appreciate the author's research on the historical aspect of this book. Historical Fiction is my go-to genre, so I've read many books with upsetting content, but the powerful writing in this book made it feel so much more distressing than many others I've read about orphans and child trafficking.
Bernice Groves is a bitter, grief stricken woman. Her husband died in the war, and her son died from the flu. Bernice blames immigrants for all of her heartache. Peeping from her window, she sees Pia leave her home, and knows that the twin babies have been left alone. Bernice takes the babies and raises them as her own, doing everything in her power to make sure the truth of their history is never discovered. Bernice doesn't stop with the twins. She continues her misguided attempt to "Americanize" the many orphans left behind after the war and the flu epidemic.
Told from the dual perspectives of Pia and Bernice, this story will break your heart into a million pieces.
I struggled emotionally with this book and had a difficult time deciding on a rating. I found the information about the flu and the tragedies about the lives of orphans to be accurate (based on research I did on this topic in college). I appreciate the author's research on the historical aspect of this book. Historical Fiction is my go-to genre, so I've read many books with upsetting content, but the powerful writing in this book made it feel so much more distressing than many others I've read about orphans and child trafficking.