The Orphan Collector

When my mom comes to me with a book that isn't a biography on a rock artist from the 60s/70s, I listen. I can count on one hand the number of fiction books she's read, and this one has been the first she's ever liked enough to say “you have to read this”. She left it behind after visiting me for a week, even. Frugal mom, just leaving a book behind for someone, no strings attached. Wild.

So I listened. Based on the cover art and the title, I thought it was going to be a feel good story about a girl orphaned from the Spanish Flu taking in other orphans and creating a little family. I thought there'd be dark parts, particularly around the flu, but overall uplifting and sweet. I was wrong.

Admittedly the book takes a bit to get going as it sets up the characters. Pia Lange, child of immigrant parents, can tell when people are sick through skin contact, so you can imagine the buildup to the actual Spanish Flu was uncomfortable for her. Terrible, awful, gritty, dark depictions of the flu and loss await you in this book, and if you're particularly affected by the Coronavirus, maybe give this one a pass for a few years. You're also introduced to Bernice at the height of the flu, whose loss of her son and hatred of immigrant families drives her to do pretty terrible things in the name of “saving” the children of immigrant parents. The book revolves around these two characters as Pia searches for answers about her missing twin brothers, and Bernice does terrible things to families for money.

I found myself drawn in pretty completely once the Spanish Flu outbreak begins, and all hope of putting the book down lost after Pia begins her quest/crusade to find her brothers. Once things get rolling, they really get rolling, and it was hard to step away from it.