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alsudik's review
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
book_concierge's review against another edition
3.0
Book on CD read by Cassandra Campbell
Benjamin is known for writing novelized “biographies” of historical figures (usually women) who have been under-represented (or completely ignored) by history. This time, she turns her attention of an historical event, the blizzard of 1888 that caught residents of the great plains completely unawares, and invents the characters to populate the story.
The novel focuses on two schoolteachers in different communities, sisters Gerda and Raina Olsen. Barely out of school themselves, they take positions as teachers, Gerda in the Dakota Territory, Raina nearer her family farm in Nebraska. When the blizzard hits, the two sisters take different approaches, and the outcomes are drastically different.
I felt that the romantic entanglements each sister experienced detracted from the basic storyline, especially in Raina’s case. I also thought that the storyline featuring the child Anette bordered on the melodramatic.
I had previously read David Laskin’s excellent NONfiction account of this event, also titled The Children’s Blizzard. So, the bar was set high for this work of fiction. And Benjamin didn’t quite make it.
Cassandra Campbell has become one of my favorite audio book narrators. She does a fine job with this work, though I did occasionally lose track of which sister’s story we were following (especially earlier in the novel).
Benjamin is known for writing novelized “biographies” of historical figures (usually women) who have been under-represented (or completely ignored) by history. This time, she turns her attention of an historical event, the blizzard of 1888 that caught residents of the great plains completely unawares, and invents the characters to populate the story.
The novel focuses on two schoolteachers in different communities, sisters Gerda and Raina Olsen. Barely out of school themselves, they take positions as teachers, Gerda in the Dakota Territory, Raina nearer her family farm in Nebraska. When the blizzard hits, the two sisters take different approaches, and the outcomes are drastically different.
I felt that the romantic entanglements each sister experienced detracted from the basic storyline, especially in Raina’s case. I also thought that the storyline featuring the child Anette bordered on the melodramatic.
I had previously read David Laskin’s excellent NONfiction account of this event, also titled The Children’s Blizzard. So, the bar was set high for this work of fiction. And Benjamin didn’t quite make it.
Cassandra Campbell has become one of my favorite audio book narrators. She does a fine job with this work, though I did occasionally lose track of which sister’s story we were following (especially earlier in the novel).
mbkarapcik's review against another edition
5.0
Melanie Benjamin focuses her attention on the long-forgotten Children's Blizzard, which devastated the Dakota territories and Great Plains on January 12, 1888. On a seemingly beautiful day, the winds started blowing, and the snow started piling up. Children returning home from school became lost and many severely injured. Some perished. Two young schoolteachers who are sisters take two different paths in deciding what to do with their students, one becoming a heroine and the other a pariah. Other characters round out the tale like a servant girl, a Northeastern newspaperman, and other notable persons.
Although the story can be harrowing at times and is definitely not escapist literature, it is powerful and examines the human condition. Many times, I felt like I was reading a heavy, more mature installment of Little House on the Prairie, but it featured way more depth. The stories draw you in because you're just hoping that everyone recovers from their injuries and their sorrow. It contains descriptive passages about the prairie and truly depicts the struggles during the storm. I could imagine the snow falling and the trepidation and indecision that both teachers feel.
At times, it can be very depressing, but that also makes for a good, realistic piece on this storm. It is not a story to be taken lightly or chosen for some light reading. In fact, this could work very well as a book club selection--there are so many factors to discuss.
Again, Melanie Benjamin produces a thoughtful portrayal of a historical event, but this time, it's not all glamour, but the true grit that's indicative of the challenges immigrants faced when becoming pioneers in a desolate place.
Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Delacorte Press, for an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! It was a pleasure!
Although the story can be harrowing at times and is definitely not escapist literature, it is powerful and examines the human condition. Many times, I felt like I was reading a heavy, more mature installment of Little House on the Prairie, but it featured way more depth. The stories draw you in because you're just hoping that everyone recovers from their injuries and their sorrow. It contains descriptive passages about the prairie and truly depicts the struggles during the storm. I could imagine the snow falling and the trepidation and indecision that both teachers feel.
At times, it can be very depressing, but that also makes for a good, realistic piece on this storm. It is not a story to be taken lightly or chosen for some light reading. In fact, this could work very well as a book club selection--there are so many factors to discuss.
Again, Melanie Benjamin produces a thoughtful portrayal of a historical event, but this time, it's not all glamour, but the true grit that's indicative of the challenges immigrants faced when becoming pioneers in a desolate place.
Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Delacorte Press, for an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! It was a pleasure!
ecthompson's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Death
caseyflemingo's review against another edition
4.0
This book is a great snapshot of a tragic historical event. I was immediately brought into this story, and I felt the stress and terror the characters did as the blizzard hit.
candacesiegle_greedyreader's review against another edition
5.0
They called the killer snowstorm of January 12, 1888 "the children's blizzard," because it hit just as schools were letting out. Some children had already left the schoolhouse, others were gathered inside to shelter in place, some made it home, and some froze to death on the way home. Coming at the end of a balmy morning, too many children and teachers didn't have their usual cold weather coats and wraps with them. The result was a heartbreaking loss in a region where every person was needed.
Welcome to the Great Plains in the late 19th century. Pamphlets extolling wonderful farming opportunities and cheap land drew families from across the world to Nebraska and the Dakotas, people who were completely unprepared to handle the brutal weather, wind and loneliness. Melanie Benjamin focuses on two sister school teachers--both teens themselves--who have schools at two different parts of the territories. How they react to the blizzard will shape the rest of their lives. Also on the scene is Gavin Woodson, a New York newspaperman whose glowing descriptions of the prairies lured people from Norway, Sweden, and Germany to a flat and inhospitable land. He's now based in the frozen, sodden but growing city of Omaha, where he can see first hand what his writing has done.
This is an almost unbearably suspenseful novel, and Melanie Benjamin's descriptions of the teachers and the children's fight to survive will keep you up until the wee hours. And better, the tension of the story does not end once the morning light comes. What happens in sunlight when you can see family members frozen to death only feet from the front door? How do your support your neighbors? What happens to frostbitten farmers who lose limbs?
I loved this book, and was so, so happy to see Melanie Benjamin writing again on the level of "Alice I Have Been" and "Mrs. Tom Thumb." Here we are, bummed about being stuck in our houses, and"The Children's Blizzard" reminds us about how others faced brutal hardship and fought their way through. Super reading and a perfect book for our times.
MANY thanks to Netgalley, Edelweiss, and the publisher for granting access to this title in exchange for an honest review.
~~Candace Siegle, Greedy Reader
Welcome to the Great Plains in the late 19th century. Pamphlets extolling wonderful farming opportunities and cheap land drew families from across the world to Nebraska and the Dakotas, people who were completely unprepared to handle the brutal weather, wind and loneliness. Melanie Benjamin focuses on two sister school teachers--both teens themselves--who have schools at two different parts of the territories. How they react to the blizzard will shape the rest of their lives. Also on the scene is Gavin Woodson, a New York newspaperman whose glowing descriptions of the prairies lured people from Norway, Sweden, and Germany to a flat and inhospitable land. He's now based in the frozen, sodden but growing city of Omaha, where he can see first hand what his writing has done.
This is an almost unbearably suspenseful novel, and Melanie Benjamin's descriptions of the teachers and the children's fight to survive will keep you up until the wee hours. And better, the tension of the story does not end once the morning light comes. What happens in sunlight when you can see family members frozen to death only feet from the front door? How do your support your neighbors? What happens to frostbitten farmers who lose limbs?
I loved this book, and was so, so happy to see Melanie Benjamin writing again on the level of "Alice I Have Been" and "Mrs. Tom Thumb." Here we are, bummed about being stuck in our houses, and"The Children's Blizzard" reminds us about how others faced brutal hardship and fought their way through. Super reading and a perfect book for our times.
MANY thanks to Netgalley, Edelweiss, and the publisher for granting access to this title in exchange for an honest review.
~~Candace Siegle, Greedy Reader
jennaaah's review against another edition
2.0
Big time Spoilers:
Everything bad about the 1880’s seemed to be dumped into one book. Dysfunctional relationships, death by nature and murder, selling kids, newspaper omissions, depression, all the problems of immigrating to a new territory and the end where it just grazes the horrors Indian children faced when they were taken away from their homes to be “schooled” for their own good. Yuck this book should not have happened.
I had never heard about the children’s blizzard before this book. For that reason I gave it two stars and that’s being generous. I was intrigued to read about their strategy to survive such a brutal event. What I got was half a book of blizzard and the second half a super sad life story of those main characters. It spans unknown years but why??? I know why people stopped reading halfway through, the rest is so very unnecessary. I would have liked to have my own imagination hope for the best for all that survived the blizzard.
What happened was super sad but it wasn’t told in a way that you can feel and relate to the characters. I thought all the characters where awful in their own way except maybe Annette. So if you still want to read about the blizzard read the first half.
Everything bad about the 1880’s seemed to be dumped into one book. Dysfunctional relationships, death by nature and murder, selling kids, newspaper omissions, depression, all the problems of immigrating to a new territory and the end where it just grazes the horrors Indian children faced when they were taken away from their homes to be “schooled” for their own good. Yuck this book should not have happened.
I had never heard about the children’s blizzard before this book. For that reason I gave it two stars and that’s being generous. I was intrigued to read about their strategy to survive such a brutal event. What I got was half a book of blizzard and the second half a super sad life story of those main characters. It spans unknown years but why??? I know why people stopped reading halfway through, the rest is so very unnecessary. I would have liked to have my own imagination hope for the best for all that survived the blizzard.
What happened was super sad but it wasn’t told in a way that you can feel and relate to the characters. I thought all the characters where awful in their own way except maybe Annette. So if you still want to read about the blizzard read the first half.
the_horror_maven's review against another edition
4.0
The Children's Blizzard is one historical event that I really hold close to my heart. I've always felt very connected to pioneer history, and I have even visited a historical marker in rememberance of this blizzard in South Dakota. Needless to say, I about jumped out of my skin when I saw this book at the bookstore and even paid full price for it because I was so excited to see a historical fiction novel address this event. Unfortunately, I became very disappointed in the writing. All of the characters were poorly developed and largely unlikeable. I think it was because she didn't take the time to build them and allow the reader to form a connection. There were also way too many characters in the book, which contributed to a feeling of overwhelm. The author clearly tried to remain historically accurate, so much so, that she didn't seem to take the time to make the characters complex, and her writing fell very flat. Even though I have studied this blizzard extensively, I did appreciate how she put some true background behind the event at the end of the book for those who aren't as aware of this particular history.
nbonz4's review against another edition
3.0
This isn’t a poor book, but it just didn’t grab me for some reason.