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In 1918, Tom and Pauline Bright move to Philadelphia close on the heels of a devastating personal loss. In search of a better life for his wife and three daughters, Tom will become partner in his uncle’s funeral home business. Shortly, though, the family’s hopes for a brighter future are dashed. They find themselves confronting not only the upheaval of World War I but also the Spanish flu pandemic, one of the deadliest such episodes in history and one that killed 12,000 people in Philadelphia al
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Pauline Bright is a Quakertown, Pennsylvania mom who starts 1918 still grieving the recent loss of her infant son, and who faces a move to Philadelphia where her husband will get a chance to take over his uncle's undertaking business. The story is told first-person from Pauline's perspective, and also from the point of view of each of her three daughters. It being 1918, and you having read the book jacket, you know that a war and an even worse flu epidemic is in the immediate future.
Meissner wri ...more
Meissner wri ...more
A beautiful story about loss and family that takes place in the early 20th century. A family of five moves from rural Pennsylvania to Philadelphia so that the patriarch can work in his bachelor uncle's undertaken business. A series of tragedies pushes them apart and pulls them together. The story is told by various members of the family, not all of which seemed believable to me, and one particular storyline was based on so many coincidences as to not be credible. Nevertheless, the characters wer
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I enjoyed the insight into the flu pandemic, but a little too sentimental to me especially with wrapping everything up in a neat bow.
More like 3.5 or 3.75 stars. The writing is pretty juvenile but the story is interesting. It was a fast read. The characters were enjoyable. It was hard to put down.
Oct 30, 2017
Jillian (Peapod Historical Bookery)
marked it as to-read
Dec 30, 2017
Awallens
marked it as to-read
Jan 08, 2018
Meckenzie
marked it as to-read
Feb 12, 2018
K
marked it as to-read
May 09, 2018
Lauren
marked it as to-read
Aug 31, 2018
Martha
marked it as to-read
Sep 06, 2018
Erin Leiter
marked it as to-read
Dec 11, 2019
Mary Anne
marked it as to-read
Apr 09, 2020
Corie
marked it as to-read
Jan 01, 2021
Kristen
marked it as to-read
Oct 27, 2021
Sharon Dwyer
marked it as to-read
Feb 08, 2025
Traci
marked it as check-these-out-further
