A death-struck year

Now THIS is what YA romance should be like! (No, this isn't really a romance; it's a story of the Spanish Flu epidemic, when more people died than in the Black Plague.) Quick attraction, but not insta-love. Real characters, not cardboard cutouts. Time to develop friendship & love, because duh, love at first sight isn't really love (it's just infatuation). Real conflicts, not just “my family doesn't like him.” Decent (I mean “good,” not “well-written”) characters, not bad boys and rebellious girls. And this is all on top of a fascinating historical event, good writing, and interesting characters.