Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.09 AVERAGE
4.09 AVERAGE
This novel about the time of the Spanish flu is eerily familiar having just come out of the Covid pandemic. Isolation, mask wearing, and overall uncertainty. This story focuses on a little girl named Pia and her story as she navigates through poverty, the pandemic, and her bravery as she finds her way.
The Orphan Collector is a brilliant story about the heartbreaks and loss during the Spanish Flu in 1918. While I thought this story would be more focused on the flu and quarantine, which is why I picked it up, the pandemic was just a backdrop to the real story. I thought this would disappoint me, but it did not! It was a great story of loss and heartbreak.
The characters were so life like, reading the story makes it seem like this could be real life. Because of other stories I've read, like Orphan Train, something like what happened in this book could really happen.
I would highly recommend this book for fans of Before We Were Yours and Orphan Train! This book gave off a similar writing style!
The characters were so life like, reading the story makes it seem like this could be real life. Because of other stories I've read, like Orphan Train, something like what happened in this book could really happen.
I would highly recommend this book for fans of Before We Were Yours and Orphan Train! This book gave off a similar writing style!
Yowza! If you didn’t know that The Orphan Collector was set in 1918, it would seem relevant to the events of 2020. The Spanish Flu is ravaging people all over the city and Pia, a 12 y/o daughter of German immigrants, is forced to make an adult decision regarding the survival of what’s left of her family. Bernice, a woman who’s lost her husband to the war and baby son to the flu, takes advantage of the situation and changes Pia’s life forever. Pia is moved to an orphanage where she encounters Bernice again, but under a villainous, deceitful disguise.
It made me sick to my stomach to see how Bernice treated immigrants and made excuses for her motives and wicked plans. And Pia never gave up, because she was the beacon of hope.
It made me sick to my stomach to see how Bernice treated immigrants and made excuses for her motives and wicked plans. And Pia never gave up, because she was the beacon of hope.
Reading this pandemic-related book in the height of COVID was… unsettling… to say the least. It was way too relatable in the worst possible way. For this book having been written just prior to the pandemic, the amount of similarities within were startling. With that being said, though, the virus in this novel was definitely a bit far fetched. It spread so rapidly and so quickly that people would get it and within hours would drop dead with blood pouring out of their orifices. That definitely heightened the sense of danger for Pia, but it was a bit too far fetched for a historical fiction novel.
Now, more related to the actual content of the book, I was very meh about it at the start. I didn’t really connect with Pia and found her to be annoying, the writing was a bit drawn out for me and was difficult for me to get into, and the historical setting wasn’t overly interesting for me. However, as Pia’s journey progressed, I became more and more invested in her plot and was easily able to immerse myself within the writing and the history.
To read more of my thoughts on this book, check out https://yalitreader.wordpress.com/2021/12/04/the-orphan-collector-by-ellen-marie-wiseman/
Now, more related to the actual content of the book, I was very meh about it at the start. I didn’t really connect with Pia and found her to be annoying, the writing was a bit drawn out for me and was difficult for me to get into, and the historical setting wasn’t overly interesting for me. However, as Pia’s journey progressed, I became more and more invested in her plot and was easily able to immerse myself within the writing and the history.
To read more of my thoughts on this book, check out https://yalitreader.wordpress.com/2021/12/04/the-orphan-collector-by-ellen-marie-wiseman/
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
3.5 rounded to 4 stars. I really enjoyed this book. It was a fast-paced read thanks to the dramatic environment and the author’s ability to invoke stress and suspense. However, I agree with another reviewer who mentioned things seemed to be a little too convenient to be believable. I’m fairly certain I’ve never detested a villain as much as nurse Wallis/Bernice. She was so horrible it was almost unbelievable.
challenging
dark
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
We may only be half-way through the weirdest year of the 21st century, but I can say with confidence that this will be one of my favorite books of 2020. I have a passion for historical fiction in normal times, but the timeliness of the issues presented here, primarily who we become in our worst moments, hits hard even a hundred years after the events of the book.
Our story centers on Pia Lange, a young German immigrant, whose family moved to Philadelphia in 1918 in hopes of a better life. Her father had enlisted in the US Army towards the end of WWI to combat the anti-German sentiments the family suffered, leaving his wife and twin baby sons at home along with 13-year-old Pia. Little did they know a far deadlier outcome than war awaited: influenza. Pia loses her mother, and in trying to care for her 4-month-old brothers, leaves them alone in the apartment as she searches for help and food. Grieving mother Bernice Groves sees Pia "abandoning" the babies, and takes it upon herself to care for them, setting in motion a series of events that shocked and horrified me to no end.
At face value, this story is a coming of age novel for Pia, who suffers unimaginable loss and hopelessness as she struggles to find her brothers, all while being shuffled around by sometimes well-meaning and sometimes cruel adults. But the most powerful element of the story is the reflection it casts on the current pandemic we are experiencing. Who do we become in our darkest moments? Would we feel compelled to help others in the same situation, to set aside our biases and think beyond our own predicaments? Can we recognize our privilege and use it to create a better environment for those who have far less advantages? If one novel should be touted during this year, it should be this one, because it is a mirror for us to examine ourselves, and it gives us a chance to be better as a result. And that is exactly what a good book should do.
Our story centers on Pia Lange, a young German immigrant, whose family moved to Philadelphia in 1918 in hopes of a better life. Her father had enlisted in the US Army towards the end of WWI to combat the anti-German sentiments the family suffered, leaving his wife and twin baby sons at home along with 13-year-old Pia. Little did they know a far deadlier outcome than war awaited: influenza. Pia loses her mother, and in trying to care for her 4-month-old brothers, leaves them alone in the apartment as she searches for help and food. Grieving mother Bernice Groves sees Pia "abandoning" the babies, and takes it upon herself to care for them, setting in motion a series of events that shocked and horrified me to no end.
At face value, this story is a coming of age novel for Pia, who suffers unimaginable loss and hopelessness as she struggles to find her brothers, all while being shuffled around by sometimes well-meaning and sometimes cruel adults. But the most powerful element of the story is the reflection it casts on the current pandemic we are experiencing. Who do we become in our darkest moments? Would we feel compelled to help others in the same situation, to set aside our biases and think beyond our own predicaments? Can we recognize our privilege and use it to create a better environment for those who have far less advantages? If one novel should be touted during this year, it should be this one, because it is a mirror for us to examine ourselves, and it gives us a chance to be better as a result. And that is exactly what a good book should do.
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes