School Library Journal
Gr 7 Up—In this compelling, tautly written novel, Mercy Kaplan, 16, feels the weight of endless daily chores and caring for her younger siblings. She has a loving family, but she longs for the freedom to be herself. Times are hard as World War I drags to an end. Mercy's family can no longer afford her keep, so she hires out miles away on the Bonner farm, and her dreams of freedom slip further away. Yet her troubles are just beginning. The influenza epidemic of 1918 sweeps across the country. No sooner does Mercy begin to feel at ease with the Bonners than tragedy strikes them, and she heads back home, only to find that her family has died. She soon gets a job as housekeeper and nanny for the widow Wilder's two small children, but there is something about the household that puts Mercy on edge. Is it the attention Daniel Wilder, the handsome, older stepson, pays her, or is it the peculiar behavior of Cora Wilder that causes Mercy's uneasiness and concern? In the end, events spiral into disaster, and Mercy struggles to be true to herself.—Roxanne Myers Spencer, Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green
Kirkus Reviews
At the close of World War I, a Texas sharecropper's daughter painfully learns about loss and suffering when the Spanish Influenza kills those she loves. Seventeen-year-old Mercy wonders how to "break free and make a life for herself without marrying some fool boy" and ending up saddled with four kids like her Mama. When she's forced to work on another farm, Mercy gains strength from Mama's advice to look for heart signs. Likewise, she copes with being the lone flu survivor of her family by heeding Mama's exhortation to think about "the good that might be coming." When she's hired by the Wilder family and falls in love with the two young children and their older stepbrother, she's determined not to end up like Mama-until she realizes she's just like Mama and must follow her heart. Mercy tells her story in a gentle, cadenced voice filled with youthful hope, simple wisdom and gritty endurance. Perfect similes capture the flavor of Mercy's bittersweet life during the epidemic of 1918. (Fiction. 12-18)
From the Publisher
The history—of the epidemic and of early feminism—creates a dramatic story, and Mercy’s personal struggle for independence is universal.” —Booklist
“Mercy tells her story in a gentle, cadenced voice filled with youthful hope, simple wisdom and gritty endurance. Perfect similes capture the flavor of Mercy's bittersweet life during the epidemic of 1918.” —Kirkus Reviews
“[A] compelling, tautly written novel.” —School Library Journal
APRIL 2010 - AudioFile
In 1918, 16-year-old Mercy Kaplan has to say goodbye to everything she holds dear: first, her father, as he searches for work after a failed harvest; then, her mother and siblings, when Spanish influenza sweeps through their Texas town. When she finally finds a home with widow Cora Wilder and her two young children, Mercy's life is disrupted once again by murder and mystery, putting her in a situation that requires her to choose between love and her hard-won independence. An easy Southern accent rolls through Georgette Perna's narration, giving Mercy a sense of calm despite the highs and lows of her ever-changing life. Perna’s quiet, measured pace guides the listener through the historical and emotional events, although the childlike quality in Mercy's voice is often at odds with the character of the independent and determined young protagonist. E.N. © AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine
