Book Summary and Reviews of The Orphan Collector by Ellen Marie Wiseman

Book Summary

From the internationally bestselling author of What She Left Behind comes a gripping and powerful tale of upheaval—a heartbreaking saga of resilience and hope perfect for fans of Beatriz Williams and Kristin Hannah—set in Philadelphia during the 1918 Spanish Flu outbreak—the 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 slums and the anti-immigrant sentiment that compelled her father to enlist in the U.S. Army. But as her city celebrates the end of war, an even more urgent threat arrives: the Spanish flu. Funeral crepe and quarantine signs appear on doors as victims drop dead in the streets and desperate survivors wear white masks to ward off illness. When food runs out in the cramped tenement she calls home, Pia must venture alone into the quarantined city in search of supplies, leaving her baby brothers behind.

Bernice Groves has become lost in grief and bitterness since her baby died from the Spanish flu. Watching Pia leave her brothers alone, Bernice makes a shocking, life-altering decision. It becomes her sinister mission to tear families apart when they're at their most vulnerable, planning to transform the city's orphans and immigrant children into what she feels are "true Americans."

Waking in a makeshift hospital days after collapsing in the street, Pia is frantic to return home. Instead, she is taken to St. Vincent's Orphan Asylum – the first step in a long and arduous journey. As Bernice plots to keep the truth hidden at any cost in the months and years that follow, Pia must confront her own shame and fear, risking everything to see justice – and love – triumph at last. 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.

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

1. The 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic killed more people than any other illness in recorded history, including the 14th century's Black Death and AIDS in the 20th century. Taking an estimated 100 million lives, it was a horror that turned victims bluish-black then drowned them with their own body fluids. A person would be fine one minute, then incapacitated and delirious the next, with fevers rising to 104-106 degrees. Death was quick, savage, and terrifying.
   
   Yet 1918 is called the "Year of Forgotten Death" because the Spanish Flu was so rarely discussed or even remembered in the 100 years after. Why do you think that is? When did you first learn about the 1918 pandemic?
2. During the time of the Spanish flu, people used all kinds of ...