A story of hope and survival

Before COVID there was Spanish influenza. In 1918 there were masks. Schools, restaurants, and even churches closed. A nation at war curtailed the draft. One in four Americans stricken, and an estimated 675,000 Americans dead. All because of a deadly germ carried on a puff of air. But there were no effective vaccines. No ventilators. No medicines to stop a virus. And a war to win.

Everyone likes Josie, except the spoiled and arrogant Billy Detwiler. He calls her Pharmacy Girl, but it is no compliment. As the hazy days of September 1918 drift into the deadly autumn of Spanish influenza, Josie’s everyday problems of school and friends, even the war effort at home, become insignificant when her mother comes down with the flu. But Josie is no slacker. She faces Billy in a class election, raises money for the Liberty Loan, and steps up to help her family when the pandemic strikes home.

2021-2022 California Teachers’ Association, California Reads Selection

2021 Readers’ Favorite International Book Award Finalist, Children’s Pre-teen Fiction

2020 National Federation of Press Women 2nd Place Award for Children’s Fiction

2020 Delaware Press Association Award for Children’s Fiction

2020 American Book Fest, Best Book Awards, Finalist, Children’s Fiction

2019 Moonbeam Children’s Fiction Silver Medal for Pre-teen Historical/Cultural Fiction