I can honestly still picture it in my head weeks later, and trust me when I say it is not a pretty sight. The way she describes the toll this flu took on people’s bodies….
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Ellen does not hold back on describing the ways in which those affected by the Spanish Flu suffered. I will say, though, if you have a light stomach, this might not be a book for you (at least not at the beginning). The Orphan Collector was ultimately a great book and I’m glad I didn’t let my distaste for Bernice stop me from getting to the end. So much so that I almost stopped listening to the book because Bernice made me so upset! However, don’t let her stop you from reading this page-turner! Ellen Marie Wiseman does a phenomenal job depicting this character. That being said, she is a terrible, terrible human (in my not-so-humble opinion).
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I mean, I completely understand her heartache at losing her husband and her baby boy to the Spanish Flu. I don’t even know where to begin with this witch of a woman. Her story alone is what kept me hanging on until the end of the book, needing to know if she ever finds her baby brothers (sorry, no spoilers here, folks). I felt like she was forced to grow up so quickly and she handled it with grace. A breathtaking examination of family and social systems.' Jessica Keener 'Wisemans blistering moving and profound novel, set against the devastating backdrop of the 1918 Spanish flu, hones in on an. As a young girl during this time, I found her story so inspiring as she perseveres through unimaginable conditions and life experiences, from losing her mother, to contracting and surviving the flu, and overcoming it all. The Orphan Collector is a story that relentlessly pursues those intent on committing evil deeds and those who have the courage to defy them. Once I got past the initial shock of how history repeats itself, I was drawn into the story of Pia as she navigated this dreadful time. Can I just say how surreal it was to read about how over 100 years ago there was a massive epidemic in which people were dying so rapidly, businesses shut down, and the hospitals were overran. First and foremost, the story takes place during the Spanish Influenza. Only with persistence, and the courage to face her own shame and fear, will Pia put the pieces together and find the strength to risk everything to see justice at last.The Orphan Collector by Ellen Marie Wiseman was such a captivating read (or in my case, listen). And it will be a long and arduous journey to learn what happened-even as Bernice plots to keep the truth hidden at any cost. Well-researched and impossible to put down, this is an emotional tug-of-war. 'Wisemans writing is superb, and her descriptions of life during the Spanish Flu epidemic are chilling. When Bernice sees Pia leaving her tenement across the way, she is buoyed by a shocking, life-altering decision that leads her on a sinister mission: to transform the city’s orphans and immigrant children into what she feels are “true Americans.” As Pia navigates the city’s somber neighborhoods, she cannot know that her brothers won’t be home when she returns. Powerful, harrowing, and ultimately exultant, The Orphan Collector is a story of love, resilience, and the lengths we will go to protect those who need us most. If doctors hadn’t been so busy tending to hordes of immigrants, perhaps they could have saved her son. With no food at home, Pia must venture out in search of supplies, leaving her infant twin brothers alone … Since her baby died days ago, Bernice Groves has been lost in grief and bitterness. Spanish influenza is spreading through the city. But an even more urgent threat has arrived. The Orphan Collector is a gripping and powerful tale of upheavala heartbreaking saga of resilience and hope perfect for fans of Beatriz Williams and Kristin Hannahset in Philadelphia during the 1918 Spanish Flu outbreakthe deadly pandemic that went on to infect one-third of the world’s population. In the fall of 1918, thirteen-year-old German immigrant Pia Lange longs to be far from Philadelphia’s overcrowded streets and slums, and from the anti-German sentiment that compelled her father to enlist in the U.S.
Ellen Marie Wiseman, acclaimed author of What She Left Behind and The Life She Was Given, weaves the stories of two very different women into a page-turning novel as suspenseful as it is poignant, set amid one of history’s deadliest pandemics.