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carolineinthelibrary's review
5.0
It's bizarre to think I shelved this book to read in February 2020. The striking resemblance between the 1918 Flu and COVID is such a scary reminder that if we don't learn about history, we're doomed to repeat it.
I thought this was a really interesting graphic novel history! The illustrations are simple but sort of haunting. The facts are delivered in a way that's easy to understand without being too dry or textbook feeling. I really didn't know too much about the 1918 Flu, other than when it occurred, so this was a really informative read! This is also a great book for young historians or readers interested in history to see how events overlap and impact each other. The 1918 Flu occurring at the crossroads of World War 1 could create a lot of interesting discussion among readers.
I thought this was a really interesting graphic novel history! The illustrations are simple but sort of haunting. The facts are delivered in a way that's easy to understand without being too dry or textbook feeling. I really didn't know too much about the 1918 Flu, other than when it occurred, so this was a really informative read! This is also a great book for young historians or readers interested in history to see how events overlap and impact each other. The 1918 Flu occurring at the crossroads of World War 1 could create a lot of interesting discussion among readers.
witchofottawacounty's review
informative
reflective
tense
fast-paced
5.0
This makes me infinitely more angry about the response to COVID. Will we never learn?
jwinchell's review
4.0
This is an easy to read graphic novel about the 1918 flu epidemic. It’s interesting to read about other pandemics while living through the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. There was controversy surrounding mask wearing just like now, but people did not understand how the flu spread from person to person because they still held rallies to raise funds for WWI. The transportation of soldiers contributed to the worldwide spread of the flu. 650,000 Americans and 50 million worldwide died of this pandemic, over the course of 4 years. Now we are at 281,000 Americans and 1,538,000 have died worldwide in the span of 9 months-1 year. This book will be interesting to young people grades 4-12, making it that rare kind of graphic nonfiction that appeals to a wide audience. I liked that the quotes were in orange, with source notes at the end. Well researched and very interesting.
fleurdujour's review
4.0
A very stark and harrowing look into the Spanish Influenza Epidemic. This was a fascinating read, as it went very in depth to exactly what was happening in a time period often glossed over in history books as "a lot of people got sick and died."
jessireadsya's review
4.0
Because I really wanted to freak myself out today, I decided to read this. It’s completely sobering to think about in this time period, but a completely essential read to any one who wants to know the basics about the flu of 1918 and 1919.
margeryb's review
4.0
You would think this book was being heavy-handed in its parallels to the Covid-19 pandemic, except it was published in September 2019.
Anyone in the children's lit world knows that Don Brown is incomparable in distilling history into graphic novels for young people with no gimmicks or gags. His art style fits particular well with the disease and despair subject-matter.
Anyone in the children's lit world knows that Don Brown is incomparable in distilling history into graphic novels for young people with no gimmicks or gags. His art style fits particular well with the disease and despair subject-matter.
molly_dettmann's review
3.0
A solid intro to the killer flu of the early 1910s. The artwork was drab and the information was a little boring to get through for something that is so fascinating and has been done really well in some other recent young adult nonfiction. Overall this one was okay.