For Fans of When We Were Yours and Orphan Train
We may only be half-way through the weirdest year of the 21st century, but I can say with confidence that this will be one of my favorite books of 2020. I have a passion for historical fiction in normal times, but the timeliness of the issues presented here, primarily who we become in our worst moments, hits hard even a hundred years after the events of the book.
Our story centers on Pia Lange, a young German immigrant, whose family moved to Philadelphia in 1918 in hopes of a better life. Her father had enlisted in the US Army towards the end of WWI to combat the anti-German sentiments the family suffered, leaving his wife and twin baby sons at home along with 13-year-old Pia. Little did they know a far deadlier outcome than war awaited: influenza. Pia loses her mother, and in trying to care for her 4-month-old brothers, leaves them alone in the apartment as she searches for help and food. Grieving mother Bernice Groves sees Pia "abandoning" the babies, and takes it upon herself to care for them, setting in motion a series of events that shocked and horrified me to no end.
At face value, this story is a coming of age novel for Pia, who suffers unimaginable loss and hopelessness as she struggles to find her brothers, all while being shuffled around by sometimes well-meaning and sometimes cruel adults. But the most powerful element of the story is the reflection it casts on the current pandemic we are experiencing. Who do we become in our darkest moments? Would we feel compelled to help others in the same situation, to set aside our biases and think beyond our own predicaments? Can we recognize our privilege and use it to create a better environment for those who have far less advantages? If one novel should be touted during this year, it should be this one, because it is a mirror for us to examine ourselves, and it gives us a chance to be better as a result. And that is exactly what a good book should do.
Our story centers on Pia Lange, a young German immigrant, whose family moved to Philadelphia in 1918 in hopes of a better life. Her father had enlisted in the US Army towards the end of WWI to combat the anti-German sentiments the family suffered, leaving his wife and twin baby sons at home along with 13-year-old Pia. Little did they know a far deadlier outcome than war awaited: influenza. Pia loses her mother, and in trying to care for her 4-month-old brothers, leaves them alone in the apartment as she searches for help and food. Grieving mother Bernice Groves sees Pia "abandoning" the babies, and takes it upon herself to care for them, setting in motion a series of events that shocked and horrified me to no end.
At face value, this story is a coming of age novel for Pia, who suffers unimaginable loss and hopelessness as she struggles to find her brothers, all while being shuffled around by sometimes well-meaning and sometimes cruel adults. But the most powerful element of the story is the reflection it casts on the current pandemic we are experiencing. Who do we become in our darkest moments? Would we feel compelled to help others in the same situation, to set aside our biases and think beyond our own predicaments? Can we recognize our privilege and use it to create a better environment for those who have far less advantages? If one novel should be touted during this year, it should be this one, because it is a mirror for us to examine ourselves, and it gives us a chance to be better as a result. And that is exactly what a good book should do.