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4.09 AVERAGE
4.09 AVERAGE
I REALLY liked this book. Great story. Good historical fiction piece with an element of mystery. I highly recommend
Compelling
The story took many twists and turns that were unexpected. It was easy to feel empathy towards the characters as the parallels of a wide spread virus to our current times were undeniable. It was gruesome and at times the story felt hopeless but that made it compelling to keep on reading in search of hope in the story line. The ending couldn’t have been more perfect.
The story took many twists and turns that were unexpected. It was easy to feel empathy towards the characters as the parallels of a wide spread virus to our current times were undeniable. It was gruesome and at times the story felt hopeless but that made it compelling to keep on reading in search of hope in the story line. The ending couldn’t have been more perfect.
I expected to like this book a lot more than I did. It felt like the author wanted to set a book during the Spanish Flu pandemic, and did a lot of research, but didn’t have time to come up with a unique plot line. The villain in this book seems to be based on Georgia Tan, as recorded in “Before We Were Yours” by Lisa Wingate. The story of the main character is interesting, but it seems unlikely that her story would have been wrapped up as neatly in real life as it was in the book. All in all, I would say this book was just ok.
4.5 stars. A timely novel as we are in the midst of a pandemic. Well written story of an impoverished 13 yr old girl whose world falls to pieces after the Spanish Flu strikes her community in 1918. Dealing with discrimination against immigrants as well as people around her dropping dead from a horrible disease including loved ones is hard enough. Contracting that same disease and ending up in an orphanage and not knowing what has become of most of your family makes it worse. Young Pia tries to find out but it’s not easy. As we follow her through ups and downs we hope for the best outcome. Though based on the 1918 pandemic, most events in the story are the creation of the author. I’ve loved other books by this author and look forward to reading more.
3.5 stars The Orphan Collector started off as compelling and page-turning for me. Living in the current pandemic, the comparisons were eerie and this book really made me think about that time period and the fact that this was during World War I. It raised some interesting thoughts and questions for me and immediately made me want to do more research. Did World War I cause the Spanish flu to spread further? (The answer is yes…it spread further and with more severity.). I hadn’t known much about the Spanish flu in the United States, so this book set in Philadelphia was also interesting for me. In thinking about the Spanish flu, I also realized my grandparents were alive and young children at that time, so that was really interesting to consider as well.
That said, once I got to the middle of The Orphan Collector, it wasn’t as compelling as I’d hoped. It started off very promising and I was very intrigued at first by Bernice, a prejudiced, bitter woman. After awhile, however, her character seemed extreme and evil with no shades of gray and maybe that didn’t work for me because part of the book was told from her point of view. I also found the book dragging a bit. It felt like a chore to pick up in the middle of the book, which surprised me because I love Wiseman’s writing. I also didn’t quite buy into Pia’s “feelings” where she’d sense who was ill simply by touching them.
The Orphan Collector picked up for me toward the end of the book. Wiseman is a great story teller and writer and I felt the deep grief over the many losses the characters experienced. Wiseman clearly researched the time period and events that took place during the time of the Spanish flu. The inclusion of the immigration act signed by Calvin Coolidge, “the purpose of which was to preserve the American ideal of homogeneity and stabilize the ethnic composition of the population”, reminded me again, sadly, of our country today. Although I found the ending to be rather melodramatic and unlikely, I felt very satisfied and found myself flying through the pages toward the end. The discussion questions at the end of the book were also great and very thought-provoking. I struggled with what to rate this book. I’m giving it 3.5 stars, but I don’t think I can quite round it up to 4.
That said, once I got to the middle of The Orphan Collector, it wasn’t as compelling as I’d hoped. It started off very promising and I was very intrigued at first by Bernice, a prejudiced, bitter woman. After awhile, however, her character seemed extreme and evil with no shades of gray and maybe that didn’t work for me because part of the book was told from her point of view. I also found the book dragging a bit. It felt like a chore to pick up in the middle of the book, which surprised me because I love Wiseman’s writing. I also didn’t quite buy into Pia’s “feelings” where she’d sense who was ill simply by touching them.
The Orphan Collector picked up for me toward the end of the book. Wiseman is a great story teller and writer and I felt the deep grief over the many losses the characters experienced. Wiseman clearly researched the time period and events that took place during the time of the Spanish flu. The inclusion of the immigration act signed by Calvin Coolidge, “the purpose of which was to preserve the American ideal of homogeneity and stabilize the ethnic composition of the population”, reminded me again, sadly, of our country today. Although I found the ending to be rather melodramatic and unlikely, I felt very satisfied and found myself flying through the pages toward the end. The discussion questions at the end of the book were also great and very thought-provoking. I struggled with what to rate this book. I’m giving it 3.5 stars, but I don’t think I can quite round it up to 4.
This is the third book I’ve read by this author and I’m still very much on the fence about her. Some of the story was very patched together, held in place by just-believable-enough strings of events. Her writing is lovely—full of description and character, engaging, heartwarming. But she falls short in convincing me of her characters’ genuineness. While Pia’s story was filled with heart wrenching twists and turns, and I felt a genuine connection to her, and her motivations and her plights, Bernice was flat and unconvincing. Her hatred of immigrants felt false and forced, especially when she took in the twins—whom she knew to be Germans—as her own, going so far as to breastfeed them without hesitation. Then they mostly disappeared from the story while Bernice undertook her malicious endeavors, only to be inexplicably disposed of later, as if they had never been her children at all. There was no explanation or follow-up to her cruel message to Pia, or Rebecca’s appearance and subsequent absence. The story simply progressed several years, ignoring Rachel’s side story, ignoring the revelations Pia had made and her pursuit of the truth until a random point of time at which it was convenient to bring Finn back as a dashing young man.
All that considered, as I said, the story was extremely well written and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. It was a really intriguing concept, and especially interesting to read during the current pandemic. I think this author is extremely talented, and am also frustrated by her shortcomings BECAUSE she is so talented.
All that considered, as I said, the story was extremely well written and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. It was a really intriguing concept, and especially interesting to read during the current pandemic. I think this author is extremely talented, and am also frustrated by her shortcomings BECAUSE she is so talented.
Probably not the *best* book to read during a global pandemic, but this book was stunning. Sweeping historical fiction about the 1918 Spanish Flu epidemic, set in Philadelphia.
13-year-old German-American Pia Lange is waiting for her father to return from WWI while her mother and infant twin brothers try to scrape by. And then the flu hits. I honestly wasn’t sure how I felt about this book until halfway through. I think Bernice is an absolute MONSTER and garbage human being and a disgusting bigot and I was so full of rage for everything that she did throughout the the book.
My heart broke for Pia over and over again as she deals with the loss of her mother and twin brothers. After recovering from the flu, she’s sent to a truly horrid orphanage and her experiences there were just so heartbreaking.
I was cautiously optimistic when she went to live with/work for the Hudsons, but I didn’t want to get my hopes up too high. All my worry was for nothing, because the Hudsons were wonderful and became like a second family to Pia.
Least favorite parts of the book were any part with Bernice, like.....I *guess* I understood why she did what she did (the taking the twins bit, NOT the fucking SELLING IMMIGRANT CHILDREN TO “WHITE/AMERICAN” FAMILIES TO ASSIMILATE THEM because what the fuck?????) but also WHO RAISED YOU, YOU ABSOLUTE SHITBAG???? The time jump initially threw me, but I’m glad the book ended the way it did. (Also I’m so glad that Finn made a reappearance, thank god)
In conclusion, FUCK BERNICE, SHE IS THE WORST, may she rot in hell (and yes I am aware she is a fictional character)
13-year-old German-American Pia Lange is waiting for her father to return from WWI while her mother and infant twin brothers try to scrape by. And then the flu hits. I honestly wasn’t sure how I felt about this book until halfway through. I think Bernice is an absolute MONSTER and garbage human being and a disgusting bigot and I was so full of rage for everything that she did throughout the the book.
My heart broke for Pia over and over again as she deals with the loss of her mother and twin brothers. After recovering from the flu, she’s sent to a truly horrid orphanage and her experiences there were just so heartbreaking.
I was cautiously optimistic when she went to live with/work for the Hudsons, but I didn’t want to get my hopes up too high. All my worry was for nothing, because the Hudsons were wonderful and became like a second family to Pia.
Least favorite parts of the book were any part with Bernice, like.....I *guess* I understood why she did what she did (the taking the twins bit, NOT the fucking SELLING IMMIGRANT CHILDREN TO “WHITE/AMERICAN” FAMILIES TO ASSIMILATE THEM because what the fuck?????) but also WHO RAISED YOU, YOU ABSOLUTE SHITBAG???? The time jump initially threw me, but I’m glad the book ended the way it did. (Also I’m so glad that Finn made a reappearance, thank god)
In conclusion, FUCK BERNICE, SHE IS THE WORST, may she rot in hell (and yes I am aware she is a fictional character)
Well written with good character development and dives into the psyches of the main characters- why they choose to do what they do and then the consequences they feel after.
This book was an interesting read for the first half and was exactly what I would expect from a Historical Fiction story. Which made it all the more disappointing then though when the story started to significantly steer away from that and become a fictional story primarily about thought processes and events that there is no historical evidence to suggest would have occurred during this time period. I am giving this book two stars because I felt the beginning of the book was a worthwhile read. I just wish the second half had been as good.
How relevant was this book? Let me count the ways. The novel depicts life in the city during the Spanish Flu and how everyone's lives were disrupted because of the raging pandemic all while prejudice towards immigrants was rampant and very hostile. (Does this sound familiar?!). Perhaps this is why I had a hard time getting through the book - it mirrored our real life too much and the pain and suffering felt throughout the book was too much for me. In fact, some scenes were just gruesome to bear. When you are brave enough to delve right into this eerily paralleled world, then it's worth the read. The story is gripping and the main character is one of the best drawn heroines. It's definitely not one for you to escape your own reality, but a must read in order to face it.