4/5 stars ★★★★☆
My favorite type of historical fiction books are ones that teach me about a subject in which I have no knowledge. Little Souls by Sandra Dallas did just that. I mean, did you learn much about the Spanish Flu in the US during WWI? I had no idea how it was so akin to COVID and all that we just experienced.
About The Book:
“Little Souls” refers to “…the poor, the homeless, the common people nobody ever notices. In truth, it applies to all of us. We’re all lost little souls.” (p 36)
Sisters Helen and Lutie move to Denver, Colorado, in 1918, after both of their parents have died. Both get a job, boyfriends, and life is going well, until it isn’t. They fight to keep an orphaned young girl, Dorothy, as part of their family.
My Thoughts:
I LOVED that this book took place in Denver, Colorado. It was fun to picture the places that they talked about. I even learned that some places existed back then that I thought were more current, such as Elitch Gardens (which I now know opened in 1890). Sandra Dallas does a great job of creating characters that are believable. She not only focuses on the two main characters and their story line, but the sub-plots are just as interesting.
It was crazy to read about the Spanish Flu or “the influenza” as they referred to it in the book. It was like she used the same events as COVID. There were face masks, stores shutting down, people stopped hugging and doing handshakes. It was one of the deadliest times in American history. I probably found this book more interesting since I have lived through something similar now.
If you like books that take place in US history, you will enjoy this book. You can tell that Dallas did her research about a topic that isn’t talked a lot about in history classrooms.
I gave this book four out of five stars. I enjoyed the sister’s relationship, the romance, and the historical parts of the book.
Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martins Griffin, and Sandra Dallas for a free copy of this book. This is my honest review.
If you would like to read more of my reviews, you can find them at: https://judiholst.com/book-reviews/
You can buy this book at: https://amzn.to/3Zyy1g9
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