Publisher: Dell
Release Date: January 12, 2021
Genre: Historical Literary Fiction
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Aviator’s Wife comes a story of courage on the prairie, inspired by the devastating storm that struck the Great Plains in 1888, threatening the lives of hundreds of immigrant homesteaders, especially schoolchildren.
“Melanie Benjamin never fails to create compelling, unforgettable characters and place them against the backdrop of startling history.”—Lisa Wingate, author of The Book of Lost Friends
The morning of January 12, 1888, was unusually mild, following a punishing cold spell. It was warm enough for the homesteaders of the Dakota Territory to venture out again, and for their children to return to school without their heavy coats—leaving them unprepared when disaster struck. At the hour when most prairie schools were letting out for the day, a terrifying, fast-moving blizzard blew in without warning. Schoolteachers as young as sixteen were suddenly faced with life and death decisions: Keep the children inside, to risk freezing to death when fuel ran out, or send them home, praying they wouldn’t get lost in the storm?
Based on actual oral histories of survivors, this gripping novel follows the stories of Raina and Gerda Olsen, two sisters, both schoolteachers—one becomes a hero of the storm and the other finds herself ostracized in the aftermath. It’s also the story of Anette Pedersen, a servant girl whose miraculous survival serves as a turning point in her life and touches the heart of Gavin Woodson, a newspaperman seeking redemption. It was Woodson and others like him who wrote the embellished news stories that lured northern European immigrants across the sea to settle a pitiless land. Boosters needed them to settle territories into states, and they didn’t care what lies they told these families to get them there—or whose land it originally was.
At its heart, this is a story of courage, of children forced to grow up too soon, tied to the land because of their parents’ choices. It is a story of love taking root in the hard prairie ground, and of families being torn asunder by a ferocious storm that is little remembered today—because so many of its victims were immigrants to this country.
“Melanie Benjamin never fails to create compelling, unforgettable characters and place them against the backdrop of startling history.”—Lisa Wingate, author of The Book of Lost Friends
The morning of January 12, 1888, was unusually mild, following a punishing cold spell. It was warm enough for the homesteaders of the Dakota Territory to venture out again, and for their children to return to school without their heavy coats—leaving them unprepared when disaster struck. At the hour when most prairie schools were letting out for the day, a terrifying, fast-moving blizzard blew in without warning. Schoolteachers as young as sixteen were suddenly faced with life and death decisions: Keep the children inside, to risk freezing to death when fuel ran out, or send them home, praying they wouldn’t get lost in the storm?
Based on actual oral histories of survivors, this gripping novel follows the stories of Raina and Gerda Olsen, two sisters, both schoolteachers—one becomes a hero of the storm and the other finds herself ostracized in the aftermath. It’s also the story of Anette Pedersen, a servant girl whose miraculous survival serves as a turning point in her life and touches the heart of Gavin Woodson, a newspaperman seeking redemption. It was Woodson and others like him who wrote the embellished news stories that lured northern European immigrants across the sea to settle a pitiless land. Boosters needed them to settle territories into states, and they didn’t care what lies they told these families to get them there—or whose land it originally was.
At its heart, this is a story of courage, of children forced to grow up too soon, tied to the land because of their parents’ choices. It is a story of love taking root in the hard prairie ground, and of families being torn asunder by a ferocious storm that is little remembered today—because so many of its victims were immigrants to this country.
My Review 🖤
The Children's Blizzard is a story that is beyond heartbreaking, is every parents worst nightmare, and that foreboding feeling really stuck with me the entire time I was reading. Then you add in the strange side characters that added a creepy off color, and I was left with mixed feelings about the entire novel, especially with how things played out with the sisters, Raina and Gerda.
The novel as a whole felt disjointed, like the puzzle pieces fit, but had to be forced to do so. I struggled throughout to connect to many of the characters, with the exception of sweet Anette, who instantly grasped my heart, and who honestly was the reason I kept reading even when parts of the book dragged on.
The Children's Blizzard is set up in two parts: the blizzard and the aftermath. Part one had me glued to the pages, especially the harrowing details of the children fighting this insane weather event, those precious babies only wanting to get home.
The side stories were what really had this novel off-kilter in my opinion, with characters that had true predator and psychotic tendencies, that made me cringe to my core. I felt like there was too much focus on the fictional homesteaders than on the blizzard itself, each character only based on those that experienced this horrific event, and not on a real person who actually lived it. Selfishness abounds in this story and I really didn't feel like there was enough focus, or respect, for those that were lost in this tragic event. It seems to me that Ms. Benjamin focused too much on the fiction, and not enough on the facts, which is a shame because I think this would've elevated the novel as a whole.
While I was reading The Children's Blizzard my home state of Texas had a record-breaking blizzard come through, and it really put this story into perspective, especially when our power was out for three days, and we had no water. As I read, I was thankful that we live in a time where we can be warned about the weather and can prepare. These poor people had no warning whatsoever and my heart really goes out to the victims of this true and terrifying story.
As far as the novel, I had really high hopes but feel very torn about my feelings and opinions. Not all of the reading was bad, as I stated above, but as a whole it was just okay. There are moments that brought tears to my eyes, and other parts that felt like they weren't cohesive with the rest of the story, and only put there to further sensationalize the narrative. But honestly, the details of the blizzard are horrific enough on their own, and the novel would've been better off without them.
My Rating: ★★★
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Her most recent novel is the new historical fiction, THE CHILDREN'S BLIZZARD, about the real-life devastating blizzard that swept the Great Plains in 1888, upending the lives of the immigrant homesteaders, especially schoolchildren and their young teachers.
*I have voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from Dell Publishing through NetGalley. All views and opinions expressed are completely honest, and my own.
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