Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres, so I celebrate any time a great new historical novel shows up in the world. Tomorrow is cause for celebration indeed because it’s the release day for Winnie’s War (Walker Books for Young Readers) by Jenny Moss. In the interest of full disclosure, I’ll tell you that Jenny and I share a publisher and are online friends, but I’d be crowing about this book even if I’d never heard of her before.
I had the good fortune to read an ARC of Winnie’s War a few months ago and was absolutely swept away by this story of a small-town Texas girl standing up to try and protect her family from the 1918 Spanish Influenza epidemic. This is the very best kind of historical fiction – full of rich characters, vividly detailed history, the suspense of a threatening pandemic, and even a touch of romance in the form of a sweet little first-kiss scene that made me smile for weeks after I read it. Teachers of grades 4-8, in particular, will want to snatch this one up for their classrooms and school libraries.
I have this book in my hand.
I look forward to reading it, and spreading the news that it is great!
ooh – nice review! I’m already panting after this one, and hoping that it turns up in stores near me TOMORROW, which is its official release date!
Ooh — this is a period of time I am really interested in. My mom was just a baby then, being raised by her grandmother while her mother took care of her father who was near death as a result of the influenza. I will read this book.
I’ve always been fascinated by this era, too. My grandmother was orphaned in the 1918 epidemic, and I’ve always wondered what it must have been like to live with that fear in the air. Jenny’s book does an amazing job exploring that.
Lucky you! You’re going to love it.
Yay!!