Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres. I would even go so far as to say it is my absolute favorite. I enjoy seeing history come to life in a work of fiction. And I love it, even more, when a novel introduces me to a historical event that I knew little to nothing about before I opened the novel. This was the case with The Children's Blizzard by Melanie Benjamin.
"The New York Times bestselling author of The Aviator's Wife reveals a little-known story of courage on the prairie: the freak blizzard that struck the Great Plains, threatening the lives of hundreds of immigrant homesteaders--especially their children.
The morning of January 12, 1888, was unusually mild, following a long cold spell, 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 just the hour when most prairie schools were letting out for the day, a terrifying, fast-moving blizzard struck without warning. Schoolteachers as young as sixteen were suddenly faced with life and death decisions: keep the children inside, 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, the novel follows the stories of Raina and Gerda Olsen, two sisters, both schoolteachers--one who becomes a hero of the storm, and one who 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 is Woodson and others like him who wrote the embellished news stories that lured immigrants across the sea to settle a pitiless land. Boosters needed immigrants to settle territories into states, and they didn't care what lies they told them 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." (synopsis courtesy Goodreads.com )
The Children's Blizzard, or Schoolhouse Blizzard, hit the Great Plains on January 12, 1888. The days preceding had been brutally cold, but this morning dawned pleasant and mild. As a result, many left their homes without their usual heavy winter clothing and coats - leaving them unprepared for the storm that would unexpectantly arrive during the late afternoon. The blizzard suddenly began just as children were being released from school for the day. Teachers (many of them still teenagers themselves) faced the life or death decision of whether to send out into the storm or try to wait it out in school houses ill-prepared to provide shelter through such a vicious storm. Hundreds were caught out in the storm. It is a riveting and tragic story.
Unfortunately, I found many of the main characters lacking in dimension and unlikable. While well written, the story drags in several places, especially when focusing on the non-relevant personal dramas of the characters rather than the storm and its aftermath. However, if you press through those portions of the novel, it is an interesting - although sad - story.
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