Set amid the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic, The Orphan Collector tells a heartbreaking story of young Pia, a German immigrant whose father left to prove his loyalty to the United States by enlisting to fight in the War. Despite surface-level concerns about the Spanish Flu, Pia’s mother takes her and her brothers to a Victory Parade. Seemingly overnight, pandemonium grips as the Spanish Flu wreaks havoc on the streets of Philadelphia. Pia’s mother falls ill, leaving 13-year-old Pia to care for her four-month-old twin brothers. While searching for food for the babies, Pia also gets sick.
This story goes much deeper than Pia’s plight to find her brothers and fathers. Author Ellen Marie Wiseman explores the implications of so many broken families, from the orphanages that have far more children then they can handle, to the mothers who don’t know how to go on after losing their children. Bernice Groves, Pia's neighbor, is one such mother. Her grief over losing her son, coupled with her hatred for the immigrants whom she holds responsible for spreading the virus, set her on one of the most sinister of missions I have ever read. Another prominent storyline involves the wealthy wife of a physician who desperately tries to keep her family safe and healthy.
The book is not my first pandemic-themed book to read while during COVID19, but it hit especially close to home. The public service announcements of the time and the steps the community took to protect themselves and stop the spread, were fascinating.
The Orphan Collector has themes that could be triggering (pandemic, mistreatment of children, and extreme bigotry), but the payoff is there. It is a tremendous, well-researched, story that gave me all the feels. Five stars.
Thank you to Bookish First and Kensington Publishing Corp. for an ARC of The Orphan Collector in exchange for a candid review.
This story goes much deeper than Pia’s plight to find her brothers and fathers. Author Ellen Marie Wiseman explores the implications of so many broken families, from the orphanages that have far more children then they can handle, to the mothers who don’t know how to go on after losing their children. Bernice Groves, Pia's neighbor, is one such mother. Her grief over losing her son, coupled with her hatred for the immigrants whom she holds responsible for spreading the virus, set her on one of the most sinister of missions I have ever read. Another prominent storyline involves the wealthy wife of a physician who desperately tries to keep her family safe and healthy.
The book is not my first pandemic-themed book to read while during COVID19, but it hit especially close to home. The public service announcements of the time and the steps the community took to protect themselves and stop the spread, were fascinating.
The Orphan Collector has themes that could be triggering (pandemic, mistreatment of children, and extreme bigotry), but the payoff is there. It is a tremendous, well-researched, story that gave me all the feels. Five stars.
Thank you to Bookish First and Kensington Publishing Corp. for an ARC of The Orphan Collector in exchange for a candid review.