The Orphan Collector is a timely story! The parallels to the 1918 pandemic and today's pandemic are eerie! I have read all of Ellen Marie Wiseman's books and I think this is the best yet.

3.5 stars.

I had a feeling that a book about the Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918 wasn’t going to be an easy one to read during the current pandemic and that may be why I put off reading it. It was definitely difficult, not just because some things sounded eerily familiar, but because most of the story is pretty bleak and there are some pretty gruesome scenes. Wiseman Paints this bleak picture of the impact of the Spanish Flu epidemic in Philadelphia, in particular on an impoverished neighborhood where many immigrants live. The focus of the story is on a young German immigrant girl, Pia, who out of desperation to find food for her baby brothers, leaves them in their apartment alone. Every possible thing goes wrong that one could imagine. Pia falls ill with the flu before she can get back to her twin brothers and they are gone when she is able to return. There’s another character who acts out of desperation, a desperation that comes from another place, one tinged with cruelty. Pia’s journey over the years is a sad one, filled with suspense and a mystery to solve as she never gives up on her search for her brothers.

The story has a number of facets. It’s a depiction of a time and place where immigrants are not seen in the best light. It’s a historical look at a pandemic that ravaged so many lives. It’s a coming of age story of a resilient girl,a character to be remembered. While Wiseman says that the specifics of the story are imagined, it reminded me in a way of [book:Before We Were Yours|32148570]. In her notes, Wiseman lists her sources and the novel appears to be very well researched. I have read several of Wiseman’s books and she doesn’t shy away from the difficult, the cruel, sometimes the gritty side of life and always taps into the emotional with characters that we can feel for. A little off of my rating of 4 stars because there were times when I felt it got a little melodramatic, but I rounded up because I had tears in my eyes when I read the last pages. Had to round up.


I received a copy of this book from Kensington Books through
NetGalley and Edelweiss.

A well-paced, informative and suspenseful story about an immigrant girl, Pia Lange, who survived the Spanish Flu but lost her mother and lost track of her infant twin brothers. I was drawn to the similarities and the differences between that pandemic and the current one and it actually made me feel better about our present situation. If you enjoyed Orphan Train by Christina Baker Klein, you will likely enjoy this novel as well.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for allowing me to read an advance copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Even though World War II is coming to an end, danger remains. 13-year old Pia lives with her German mother and baby brother in an overcrowded slum while her father is fighting in the US Army. When her mother dies, she must figure out how to find food for her brother and herself. The flu is raging, and Pia awakens from a fever to find herself in a church hospital ward. Her old neighbor Bernice, depressed from losing her own infant takes in Pia’s brother, but is very resentful of immigrants. Pia ends up in an orphanage. As I read this I kept thing about Dicken’s Oliver. I doubt that Wiseman knew she was addressing so many relevant issues when she wrote this book. The forms anti-immigration can take during a pandemic are multiple.

Coincidentally, I just happened to read two books depicting the 1918 flu epidemic. This one is set in Philadelphia and tells the story of 13-year-old Pia Lange who is gifted with the ability of being able to tell whether someone is sick by touching them. Pia’s world becomes chaos when her father is overseas fighting in the war, her mother succumbs to the deadly flu and she is left alone to care for her infant twin brothers. Though this is a work of fiction, the author has done research to accurately portray the uncertainty and discord of Philadelphia during this most difficult time period. The parallels between the 1918 pandemic and today’s COVID-19 pandemic are eery. There are descriptions of overcrowded hospitals with people waiting in line to be admitted, and people being told that the must wear masks in public. Minus people wearing garlic and onions around their necks to ward off germs, this could be a portrait of life today.

In addition to the time period and setting, I loved the story of Pia’s tenacity and perseverance. She went through hell and yet would stop at nothing to find her brothers who disappeared while she was out trying to get food for them. This tale has ups and downs and shows the spectrum of humanity from evil to good. I would not recommend this to someone who is looking for something uplifting to read but the subject matter is fascinating, the characters well-drawn and lovable, and the story extremely well-written.

This is the story of Pia, the daughter of German immigrants who came to the United States to find a better life for themselves and their daughter. Pia's dad ended up working in a coal mine before being recruited into the army. The family of 5 lived in squalor in a very poor section of Philadelphia along with immigrants from many other countries among resentful poor Americans. This is also the story of one of those such Americans, Bernice. It is 1918 and the Spanish Flu is hitting the city of Philadelphia exceptionally hard. This story follows Pia and Bernice during the pandemic. If you haven't read Ellen Wiseman before, you should be forewarned that her books are at times gut wrenching and horrific as she so brilliantly describes manufactured events during this period in our history. #theorphancollector #netgalley

I’ve been looking for a book about the 1918 Flu Pandemic for a while. When I saw The Orphan Collector was available to review through NetGalley I jumped in it. This book was amazing. It might be the best book I’ve read this year. Pia Lange and her family are a German immigrants living in Philadelphia during WWI. They experience discrimination and her father enlists in the Army to show their neighbors they are loyal Americans. Pia, her mother, and twin baby brothers are living in the slums of Philadelphia when the Flu hits the city and kills so many of their neighbors and even Pia’s mother, leaving her alone with twin babies and not much food. Pia decides she must sneak out and find food for her brothers. Pia collapses with the flu herself and wakes up a week later in a church not knowing what happened to the baby brothers she left in their apartment. Pia spends years searching for them in a heartbreaking story.

This book was heart wrenching from the beginning. I'm sure the author never imagined a book about the 1918 pandemic would be released during another global pandemic. As a mother of two small children, the stories of the suffering of the children made me sick to my stomach. It was so hard to read, but I kept going because it was so well written, and the story was very good. I love Ellen Marie Wiseman's books, and in the end, this one definitely did not disappoint. It was just very hard to read at times.

This book is the best one yet by this author and she writes some very good books. It’s such an emotional and touching story. It will leave you breathless. It’s filled with things that really did happen and the young girl Pia was so likable. She never, ever, gives up. I loved her.

In 1918 the Spanish flu hit America with a vengeance, killing so many. Leaving so many children without parents and so many parents without their children. This book is a story of one place where it hit and hit hard. Where children were placed in orphanages after the loss of their parents. Where parents were given children after losing theirs. It’s fiction but will leave you wondering how often some of these things really happened. Reading this during a pandemic in 2020 is a bit scary. But I’m so glad I read this book. It touched my heart. Broke my heart. Brought tears to my eyes many times.

Pia is only thirteen during the Spanish flu outbreak. She’s scared and trying her best to care for her baby twin brothers. She’s lost her mom and her dad is in the army so she has to do what she can to keep herself and her brothers alive. She leaves to go find food so they won’t starve but falls ill and can’t get back. When she finally does her baby brothers are gone. She will spend the next several years looking for them. She never gives up hope that they are alive and well. She’s taken from the hospital to an orphanage where she begs for help finding her bothers. The worse thing is the nuns in the orphanage seem so mean and cruel. I will never understand how anyone can be so cruel to children. They are our helpless little victims. They are the future. Pia is finally sent to work for a family and her life changes forever.

Bernice Groves lost her child to the flu. I felt sorry for her for that but she is truly an evil woman who I ended up hating. I never ever, not once, felt sorry for her again. She took Pia’s brothers when Pia was in the hospital. But not for the right reasons. She needed them to help her. They gave her a reason to live. But she was truly a bad woman. She did things that will make your blood boil. She hurt people, children, families. She hated children of immigrants and thought they were less than human. Kind of like some people still are sadly. Bernice is a very selfish person who thinks the only people who count are Americans. Everyone else needs to leave.

This is a very good story of love, loss, death, devastation, heartache, love, family and much more. There are several characters you will truly love and root for. There are also some that you will want to see destroyed. Well maybe want to see them get what they deserve. Being cruel to any child is just unacceptable. There are lots of very kind people though and you will love them and the good things they do. You will cry at the loss of a child and rejoice at the life of another. Yes this is a very emotional book. But so worth reading.

The author shares NOTES at the end that are so worth reading. It’s very obvious she put a lot of work and research into this book. I think it was so well done and the emotions are so real. It’s just an all around great book. Thank you Ellen Marie Wiseman for writing this story.

Thank you #NetGalley, #EllenMarieWiseman, #KensingtonBooks for this ARC. This is my review as told from my heart.

5/5 stars and it needs to be more and a very high recommendation to all.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with an advance copy of this book in return for a fair and honest review.

This was a very difficult book to read - not that it wasn't quite engrossing and readable, but difficult.

First, it was all too close to our reality right now. From the introductory notes from the publisher, it seems clear that this was written well before any of us had heard of COVID - and, of course, a book about the events of the 1918 flu pandemic would be an interesting setting for a book regardless. However, many of the events in this book just seemed all too familiar

Second, it was difficult to read because Ms. Wiseman writes characters who tug at our hearts. I have found this to be true in her previous books as well, particularly the first book I read by her, The Plum Tree. Her characters feel real and I worried about them, especially Pia, but others as well. The evil characters might be a bit overdrawn in their nastiness and villainy, but I can overlook a little melodrama! And, they were not cartoon villains, maybe just a little exaggerated. We certainly have a lot of nasty anti-immigrant people right now, for example.

Despite (or perhaps because of) this, I couldn't stop reading - I needed to find out what was going to happen in the end!

I think I've read all of Ms. Wiseman's books to date, and I will be eagerly anticipating her next.

Ellen Marie Wiseman wrote this wonderful,exciting,page turning,historical fiction story about a girl who lost all of her family from the time of the Spanish flu..you can tell that she had done a lot of research on this time period in American history.. 1918...even back then,we know so much more now but not so much,but they were smart enough to wear masks and isolate and clean just as we are having to do now with us going through our own virus,except it seems that they took it much more serious than some of the people now in America who refuse to wear a mask and isolate and think this is "going away"..,or the attitude of..It is what it is..for the deaths and headaches of so many...The characters in this story you will come to know and love and then some,not so much like but they become real to you .. Told through the eyes of Pia, the girl who this story is about,what she went through before and after and in between of becoming a orphan..The adventures and headaches she had to face during this terrible time in her life! As you read you become more and more involve in her life where everyone becomes real to you! Watch how Pia grows,goes through so much at the age of 13..Grab yourself some tissues,you will need them!! The writing of Miss Ellen,she has a way with her descriptive words to the point you are right there in the story yourself..A very much of a great read,this book is!!Received this from Net Gallery and thank you so very much !!

This was a timely book to be reading during the Covid 19 Pandemic as it is set during the 1918 Flu epidemic in Philidelphia. A very graphic, emotional story that is heart breaking and heart warming at different times in the story,. I knew the basic history of the 1918 epidemic but the true horror of what went on and what people went thru was truly heartbreaking.. Despite the horrors if was an excellent book, showing both the good and bad sides of humanity. If you like history you will like this book.

1918 America is not kind to German immigrants. Add in the Spanish flu, and life can become unbearable. The Orphan Collector is a story about heartbreak and a sort of revenge. Revenge taken out on the children of the city by Bernice, who feels these immigrant children are not true Americans.

Definitely a timely historical fiction novel considering we are all in the middle of another pandemic. It was eery at times since we all now know how the characters probably felt in those scary times.

I felt for the characters and had a strong hate for Nurse Wallis. She really was evil. Pia really evolved as the story went on and it was nice to see how she fared by the end.

3.5/5

Pia is a young, German girl living in the slums of Philadelphia with her twin brothers and her mother. Her father is fighting in the war overseas and they are struggling to survive. Then her mother dies of the Spanish Flu and the struggle worsens. Pia does everything she can to keep her family together. She slips out one day to find food and leaves her brothers at home alone. She collapses in the street and wakes up in a hospital sick with the flu. She is desperate to get to her brothers, but sadly, she is sent to an orphanage.

Pia struggles through most of her life. She is constantly trying to find a way to find her brothers. Adding to her stress is the orphanage…don’t even get me started! Then there is Bernice. She is pure evil and you MUST read this to find out why!

When I finished this read, I honestly said, “WOW!” This story is ripped straight from today’s headlines. Even though it is set in 1913, we are still fighting the same battles, immigration, racism and an epidemic. This novel also pulls at your heartstrings and I swear you just want to cry over some of these children.

You DO NOT want to miss this one! Grab your copy today!

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

First off -- I love Ellen -- I have read her other books and enjoyed them thoroughly. This one was tough -- I'm going to give it five stars because Ellen's writing is amazing -- unfortunately it was hard to get through because of the times we are in.

This book is set at the ending of WWI and the beginning of the Spanish Flu Epidemic of 1918.

Pia Lange is a German Immigrant girl whose father is deployed to Europe for WWI and she lives in Philadelphia where the flu breaks out big time after a parade. She is responsible for her twin baby brothers and she needs to find food for them. While she is looking for it she collapses with the flu. Her baby brothers are no longer there when she gets out of the hospital and goes to look. She is transported to an orphan asylum where she cannot leave. She is determined to find her baby brothers. It becomes a long quest with many clues but no solution until the end. I loved this story because of all of the elements (prejudice and pandemics) that remind us of this year (2020) and the historical part which gives more insight into the problems them were facing during this flu outbreak.

I read this story in one day because I couldn’t bear to put it down. My to do list is still to be done. I highly recommend this to all historical fiction lovers.

I have voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from NetGalley. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.

The author paints a vivid picture of South Philadelphia in 1918, as she takes the reader back there just as the Spanish Flu epidemic is sweeping through. Bernice aka Nurse Wallis is a prejudiced, evil woman who decides she is going to profit from the orphans in the city. Pia suspects Nurse Wallis has something to do with the disappearance of her twin brothers and eventually gets some help tracking her down. This is an emotional story of love, loss, family, desperation and hope. It is interesting timing for this book to release considering its similarities to our current pandemic.

This is a heartbreaking story, though beautifully written, about the plight of the orphans resulting from the Spanish influenza epidemic in 1918. I must say that it was difficult to read and was disturbing in part because of the current Covid-19 pandemic. And it's always depressing to read about other people's suffering. But it was an interesting story with a complex plot and I don't want to take praise away from the author because of the current state of the world.

I absolutely loved "The Orphan Collector"! This is my first book by "Ellen Marie Wiseman" and it definitely won't be my last.

I am giving this a 5 star rating, I would give it more if possible.

This is a historical novel about immigrants, the flu epidemic in Philadelphia during 1918 and the story of survival for 13 year old "Pia".

All the characters in this story are so believable! The main characters experiences tugged at my heart during the entire time I spent reading this book. What she endured during her young years is truly remarkable.

A truly riveting story from page 1 until the end!