This book is set during the 1918 Flu Epidemic which was raging in Philadelphia. It begins with the parade in Philadelphia that sparked the huge first wave of the outbreak there. Pia Lange is a poor girl who lives in a two room apartment with her mother, father, and twin infant brothers. Her father has gone off to fight in WWI in part to prove his loyalty as a German immigrant to the United States. When Pia's mother dies from the flu she is left to try and take care of herself and her brothers. Through a series of events Pia winds up in an orphanage, separated from her brothers and having no idea what has happened to them. The story grows more complicated when a woman, posing as a nurse beings collecting "orphans" throughout Philadelphia to rehome them.
I was immediately drawn into the story and the challenges that Pia was facing and her fortitude to overcome. The frightening epidemic setting seemed particularly relevant given our current situation of the COVID-19 pandemic. The struggles faced by Pia and her family far outweigh anything I have faced, but I could empathize with the fear of going out of the house and wondering who might be carrying the flu.
I was immediately drawn into the story and the challenges that Pia was facing and her fortitude to overcome. The frightening epidemic setting seemed particularly relevant given our current situation of the COVID-19 pandemic. The struggles faced by Pia and her family far outweigh anything I have faced, but I could empathize with the fear of going out of the house and wondering who might be carrying the flu.