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bexxa12345's review
5.0
I honestly got this from my school library and thought that it was published last year or this year until I read it. Irony.
apriljp57's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
alboyer6's review against another edition
4.0
When I opened this book on the Spanish influenza epidemic that ravaged so many towns across the country I wasn't sure I really wanted to read it, but I'm glad I did. It is a story about the epidemic but it is a story about those who put them selves at risk to help others. Cleo, though a fictional character, is a strong young woman who can't turn her back on others. She doesn't want anyone left sick and dying alone because she played it safe and didn't help. A good title that gives a peak into a time in history when the world was small enough that an epidemic out east didn't mean you were safe out west.
ARC courtesy of publisher and Netgalley
ARC courtesy of publisher and Netgalley
cari1268's review
4.0
This book was addicting and I stayed up way too late finishing it up. I didn't know very much about the Spanish Influenza epidemic and it was very apparent that this author had done her research.
That being said, I felt that the historical information was not always seamlessly weaved into the story. Plus, everything was a little too simple in this book. From the characters to the plot, I was looking for more complexity and depth.
However, as I stayed up late reading, those faults were easy to overlook. It was an exciting, sad, and informative book. This was definitely a solid four star read.
Four Stars.
That being said, I felt that the historical information was not always seamlessly weaved into the story.
Spoiler
i.e. While the Margaret Sanger pamphlet was interesting and even made for a funny moment, it didn't feel necessary or useful to the plot and focus of the book.However, as I stayed up late reading, those faults were easy to overlook. It was an exciting, sad, and informative book. This was definitely a solid four star read.
Four Stars.
dua008's review
hopeful
informative
inspiring
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
4.75
novahkiin's review against another edition
5.0
The very first thing I want to say before I get to this review is that I read this as an ebook because my library had it on their digital shelves, and I enjoyed this book so much that I need it in a physical form. If you love historical fiction and enjoyed books formatted like Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepytes (one of my favorite historical novels ever), then you’ll really enjoy A Death-Struck Year. It really is interesting and a pretty quick read, it sucks you in and doesn’t let you go.
Now, onto my review, which will probably contain more of me talking about how much I liked it, but it is what it is. I definitely need this book on bookshelves at some point, though.
In this story, you follow a girl named Cleo Berry, 17-years-old, who lives in Portland in 1918, just as the Spanish Influenza is making its historic rounds. If you don’t know anything about the Spanish Influenza, I highly suggest NOT reading up on it until after you’d finished the book. It makes it a lot more entrapping to not know how things are going to go, and who you will and won’t lose along the way based on the statistics we have now. Once you’ve finished, Wiki it out! I definitely did.
The story you follow through Cleo’s eyes is one of fear and turmoil as the disease ravages the world around her, and Cleo is stuck in the middle of it. I won’t go as far as to tell you how she is or where she’s experiencing this all from, since that could be spoilery, but I will say that her position in it, as working for the Red Cross (stated in the blurb, though I won’t go into detail beyond that), was not something I myself would have been able to do. Especially not in a town where I had grown up with the people being struck by the disease. At least, I don’t think I would have. Who knows what someone’s capable of until disaster strikes, right?
Anyway.
My biggest concern with this book was the ending, simply because I wanted to know more about what had happened, but otherwise I think that this book was great from start to finish. There was some drama and excitement, but nothing too extreme for a book about a disease that hit America in the early 20th century. In fact, if you’re not interested in the experience, you might even find this book a little bit boring. I didn’t, but seeing things through the eyes of a character in the most direct way possible is my favorite kind of historical fiction novel.
All in all, this book was fantastic. It was interesting (to me), informative, capturing. The prose was easy to read and Cleo as a character didn’t drive me up the wall despite being 17. It didn’t push any boundaries and it had something happening in each chapter instead of sticking you in a slump where nothing happened (which, during an endemic, is pretty unlikely anyway), and it didn’t get boring for a single moment. If you like historical fiction, I highly suggest giving this one a go, you may really enjoy it.
Now, onto my review, which will probably contain more of me talking about how much I liked it, but it is what it is. I definitely need this book on bookshelves at some point, though.
In this story, you follow a girl named Cleo Berry, 17-years-old, who lives in Portland in 1918, just as the Spanish Influenza is making its historic rounds. If you don’t know anything about the Spanish Influenza, I highly suggest NOT reading up on it until after you’d finished the book. It makes it a lot more entrapping to not know how things are going to go, and who you will and won’t lose along the way based on the statistics we have now. Once you’ve finished, Wiki it out! I definitely did.
The story you follow through Cleo’s eyes is one of fear and turmoil as the disease ravages the world around her, and Cleo is stuck in the middle of it. I won’t go as far as to tell you how she is or where she’s experiencing this all from, since that could be spoilery, but I will say that her position in it, as working for the Red Cross (stated in the blurb, though I won’t go into detail beyond that), was not something I myself would have been able to do. Especially not in a town where I had grown up with the people being struck by the disease. At least, I don’t think I would have. Who knows what someone’s capable of until disaster strikes, right?
Anyway.
My biggest concern with this book was the ending, simply because I wanted to know more about what had happened, but otherwise I think that this book was great from start to finish. There was some drama and excitement, but nothing too extreme for a book about a disease that hit America in the early 20th century. In fact, if you’re not interested in the experience, you might even find this book a little bit boring. I didn’t, but seeing things through the eyes of a character in the most direct way possible is my favorite kind of historical fiction novel.
All in all, this book was fantastic. It was interesting (to me), informative, capturing. The prose was easy to read and Cleo as a character didn’t drive me up the wall despite being 17. It didn’t push any boundaries and it had something happening in each chapter instead of sticking you in a slump where nothing happened (which, during an endemic, is pretty unlikely anyway), and it didn’t get boring for a single moment. If you like historical fiction, I highly suggest giving this one a go, you may really enjoy it.
bmg20's review
2.0
My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars
I received this book free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
It’s 1918 in Portland, Oregon and 17-year-old Cleo Berry is living temporarily in the dormitory of her school when her guardians, her older brother and his wife, leave on vacation to celebrate their anniversary. Soon after their departure the news everyone has been dreading arrives: the Spanish influenza has made its way to the west coast. After her school is shut down, Cleo decides to sneak back home to wait for her brother to get back to town. She inevitably decides to assist the Red Cross after a newspaper advertisement shows them asking for volunteers, preferably those with transportation.
There were a few things that initially drew me to this book. One: This reminded me a lot of In the Shadow of Blackbirds which I enjoyed immensely. I had never read anything about the 1918 Spanish influenza but I was riveted by the details of that time period. Two: I loved the idea of this girl volunteering to assist in something so dreadful. I knew she had to be an amazing main character to persevere through something like that. Unfortunately, what I found most intriguing about this book didn’t pan out for me.
The details regarding the Spanish influenza were detailed and clearly well-researched but the story as a whole managed to lack an emotional intensity especially when you consider the devastation going on. The story is told from the point of view of Cleo and she gives us a firsthand account of her day to day life while the influenza spreads through Portland like wildfire. We’re witnesses to the deaths of men, women and children but there was a seemingly unintentional disconnect like Cleo wasn’t truly living in the moment but as if we’re being giving a secondhand accounting instead. It all felt very subdued and didn’t generate the type of emotion I think I should have been feeling given the subject matter. In addition to the lack of emotion, I missed the lack of effect the war was having on the states. There was only brief references to the war going on and soldiers coming home but the people didn’t seem to be effected by hardship due to rations or anything of the sort. I realize that by 1918 we’re at the tail end of the war but it still had a serious impact on peoples way of life for many more months.
As I stated above, I loved the idea of this young girl deciding to assist in helping the Red Cross during this tragedy when she didn’t have to. I loved the idea of this experience having a maturing effect on her and causing a form of transformation. But after about the fifth time she mentioned she had forgotten her mask after walking into a house stock full of sick people I had just about had enough. Putting on your mask to help prevent against the flu isn’t difficult. You’re nursing people that are hacking up a lung and bleeding all over the place and you’re like, “Oops! I left it in the car.” Seriously?!
Every time this would happen it only succeeded in completely enraging me and throwing off the flow of the story. She kept saying throughout the story that she’s not a child and that she can take care of herself when in fact her actions told a completely different story. Cleo could have been an amazing character for me but her complete disregard for her own health was ridiculous and only proved to me that maybe she should have stayed home.
The budding romance, as the summary describes it, is a perfect description. We don’t ever get to witness the bud come to fruition and bloom, we only receive the hints of it. But the ‘budding’ itself between Cleo and Edmund wasn’t anything to get excited about and there really was zero chemistry between the two. I honestly don’t see the reason or purpose for it being a part of the story.
As much as I wanted to love this one, I wasn’t impressed. The story was well written and the research was evident but the the lack of characterization completely killed the story for me. When writing about something as devastating as the 1918 Spanish influenza pandemic then I would expect to be completely enshrouded in the desolation of the event and I wasn’t.
I received this book free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
It’s 1918 in Portland, Oregon and 17-year-old Cleo Berry is living temporarily in the dormitory of her school when her guardians, her older brother and his wife, leave on vacation to celebrate their anniversary. Soon after their departure the news everyone has been dreading arrives: the Spanish influenza has made its way to the west coast. After her school is shut down, Cleo decides to sneak back home to wait for her brother to get back to town. She inevitably decides to assist the Red Cross after a newspaper advertisement shows them asking for volunteers, preferably those with transportation.
There were a few things that initially drew me to this book. One: This reminded me a lot of In the Shadow of Blackbirds which I enjoyed immensely. I had never read anything about the 1918 Spanish influenza but I was riveted by the details of that time period. Two: I loved the idea of this girl volunteering to assist in something so dreadful. I knew she had to be an amazing main character to persevere through something like that. Unfortunately, what I found most intriguing about this book didn’t pan out for me.
The details regarding the Spanish influenza were detailed and clearly well-researched but the story as a whole managed to lack an emotional intensity especially when you consider the devastation going on. The story is told from the point of view of Cleo and she gives us a firsthand account of her day to day life while the influenza spreads through Portland like wildfire. We’re witnesses to the deaths of men, women and children but there was a seemingly unintentional disconnect like Cleo wasn’t truly living in the moment but as if we’re being giving a secondhand accounting instead. It all felt very subdued and didn’t generate the type of emotion I think I should have been feeling given the subject matter. In addition to the lack of emotion, I missed the lack of effect the war was having on the states. There was only brief references to the war going on and soldiers coming home but the people didn’t seem to be effected by hardship due to rations or anything of the sort. I realize that by 1918 we’re at the tail end of the war but it still had a serious impact on peoples way of life for many more months.
As I stated above, I loved the idea of this young girl deciding to assist in helping the Red Cross during this tragedy when she didn’t have to. I loved the idea of this experience having a maturing effect on her and causing a form of transformation. But after about the fifth time she mentioned she had forgotten her mask after walking into a house stock full of sick people I had just about had enough. Putting on your mask to help prevent against the flu isn’t difficult. You’re nursing people that are hacking up a lung and bleeding all over the place and you’re like, “Oops! I left it in the car.” Seriously?!
Every time this would happen it only succeeded in completely enraging me and throwing off the flow of the story. She kept saying throughout the story that she’s not a child and that she can take care of herself when in fact her actions told a completely different story. Cleo could have been an amazing character for me but her complete disregard for her own health was ridiculous and only proved to me that maybe she should have stayed home.
The budding romance, as the summary describes it, is a perfect description. We don’t ever get to witness the bud come to fruition and bloom, we only receive the hints of it. But the ‘budding’ itself between Cleo and Edmund wasn’t anything to get excited about and there really was zero chemistry between the two. I honestly don’t see the reason or purpose for it being a part of the story.
As much as I wanted to love this one, I wasn’t impressed. The story was well written and the research was evident but the the lack of characterization completely killed the story for me. When writing about something as devastating as the 1918 Spanish influenza pandemic then I would expect to be completely enshrouded in the desolation of the event and I wasn’t.
neglet's review
Fell into this vividly realized depiction of the flu pandemic of 1918. The main character is sympathetic and believable—my only problem is I wanted the book to be longer! The ending felt a bit rushed to me. But otherwise I devoured it—interesting noting the parallels and differences between 1918 and the current pandemic.
sidneyellwood's review
3.0
i cannot believe this book was written in 2014 it feels like it was written in 2020
trisha_thomas's review
4.0
"Good morning. I'm with the Red Cross. My name is Cleo Berry. We're in your neighborhood today distributing information on the Spanish Influenza and handing out face masks for your household."
I had no idea. Born and raised in Oregon, you never think of the Spanish Flu and how it hit the west coast. I read about all over the world, but never specifically my home town and how it was affected. Shutting down schools and canceling all events.
it was so inspiring to read about the few that really rose to the challenge.
I had no idea. Born and raised in Oregon, you never think of the Spanish Flu and how it hit the west coast. I read about all over the world, but never specifically my home town and how it was affected. Shutting down schools and canceling all events.
it was so inspiring to read about the few that really rose to the challenge.