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The Children's Blizzard
The Children's Blizzard: A Novel | Melanie Benjamin
32 posts | 32 read | 34 to read
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Aviators Wife comes a story of courage on the prairie, inspired by the devastating storm that struck the Great Plains in 1888, threatening the lives of hundreds of immigrant homesteaders, especially schoolchildren. The morning of January 12, 1888, was unusually mild, following a punishing cold spell. It was warm enough for the homesteaders of the Dakota Territory to venture out again, and for their children to return to school without their heavy coatsleaving them unprepared when disaster struck. At the hour when most prairie schools were letting out for the day, a terrifying, fast-moving blizzard blew in without warning. Schoolteachers as young as sixteen were suddenly faced with life and death decisions: Keep the children inside, to risk freezing to death when fuel ran out, or send them home, praying they wouldnt get lost in the storm? Based on actual oral histories of survivors, this gripping novel follows the stories of Raina and Gerda Olsen, two sisters, both schoolteachersone becomes a hero of the storm and the other finds herself ostracized in the aftermath. Its 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 was Woodson and others like him who wrote the embellished news stories that lured northern European immigrants across the sea to settle a pitiless land. Boosters needed them to settle territories into states, and they didnt care what lies they told these families to get them thereor 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 todaybecause so many of its victims were immigrants to this country.
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LibraryCin
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Pickpick

I thought the initial part of the book was its strength; this is, of course, the part of the book when the blizzard happens. The book does continue with the aftermath of the storm and, though it is interesting to see where things end up, it‘s not the best part of the book. As always, I appreciate the author‘s note at the end. The bulk of the characters in this book were fictional, but some were based on real people. Cont in comments...

LibraryCin The author did, of course, use David Laskin‘s nonfiction book “The Children‘s Blizzard” in a big way in her research. I‘ve read it, but too long ago to really make any kind of comparison. 3mo
5 likes1 comment
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Suet624
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Pickpick

An HF audiobook randomly selected from Libby, it‘s the story of an unexpected blizzard that arrived one afternoon in 1888. Children were being released from school just as the storm exploded & many never made it home. Benjamin did a great job explaining the circumstances in the first half & I was riveted. Second half I could have skipped. The book also explains the tragedy of luring Europeans to the area that was almost desert-like at the time.

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BookNAround
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Gatsby and I are at the vet again to check her med level and make sure she‘s getting enough to beat this fungus.

dabbe Go, Gatsby, go! You can bet this! ❣️🐾❣️ 2y
RaeLovesToRead Good luck, my fluffy friend!!! 2y
Ruthiella Hope things are looking up! ❤️🐶 2y
See All 6 Comments
BookNAround @dabbe @RaeLovesToRead @Ruthiella Things were positive at the vet. Now we just wait for lab results. I can tell she feels a bit better though as she sneaked off to scarf the cat‘s treats while I was otherwise occupied. She hasn‘t done that in weeks. 2y
dabbe @BookNAround Good news! I meant to say #beat, btw, not bet. Oy. 🙄 2y
Ruthiella Stealing cat food means she‘s definitely feeling better! 👍 2y
65 likes6 comments
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MaggieCarr
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Pickpick

Today was -4°F but we'll know it was coming for nearly a week and had time to prepare in addition to up to the minute updates available. How anyone survived this storm is beyond me, even if they had a home they are nothing like today with insulated walls and protection. This was a very educational read wrapped in made up characters that kept varying perspectives and pace moving for a quick read on a day when nothing else needed rushing off to do.

SilversReviews I liked this book - never knew about this. 2y
29 likes1 comment
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candc320
Children's Blizzard | Melanie Benjamin
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Pickpick

I have had this one on my TBR for over a year now and I‘m so happy that I finally got to it! The story is broken up into 2 books: one dealing with before and during the blizzard and the 2nd dealing with the aftermath. Book one is a solid and resounding 5+ stars! It‘s full of tension and heartbreak and exceptional characters and I flew through the pages. Book 2 was much slower and took me a while to get through. There were also some aspects 👇🏻

candc320 Cont‘d: that didn‘t feel like they fit in this particular story - specifically the small amount mentioning the racism against the Native Americans and African Americans - it just felt like it was thrown in and not really incorporated into the bigger schemes of the story. With this being said it was still a really captivating and intriguing story. 🌟🌟🌟🌟 3y
25 likes1 comment
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IamIamIam
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Pickpick

In the winter of 1888, a surprise blizzard struck the Nebraska prairie in the middle of an unseasonably warm day. Nobody was prepared, least of all the children being sent home at the end of the school day. An excellent account of facts with some fiction tossed in. It's certainly not a bad way for me to end my 2021 reading list!!

Tamra I loved this too! 3y
IamIamIam @Tamra 😁😁😁 3y
33 likes1 stack add2 comments
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Kangaj1
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My Christmas gifts this year, including the fuzzy blanket. Merry Christmas to all who celebrate today!

ju.ca.no Lovely😍 Merry Christmas to you too! 3y
Dragon Merry Christmas 🎄 3y
mabell That tea is yummy with an orange slice steeped in it! 😊 3y
Nute Merry Christmas, Melissa!💚🌟♥️ 3y
31 likes4 comments
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Kshakal
Children's Blizzard | Melanie Benjamin
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Pickpick

A good book about a tragic event and how one decision can shape the rest of your life!

Tbr, wintertime read (35 points total)
#wintergames2021 #teamgamesleighers @StayCurious

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Danay
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21 #77 An interesting take on how a single tragic event can effect people‘s lives differently.

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tpixie
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This is a great book about a tragic event.
Mother Nature at her fiercest. It‘s interesting reading about this terrible Blizzard 🥶 in my current 100 degF 🥵
And who knew Grasshoppers were so dangerous to trains in the Summer- drawn to the heat retaining steel, clogging up their wheels. In the winter, the ice would freeze up the rail lines. Even trains 🚂 bow to Mother Nature 🌎

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Brooke_H
Children's Blizzard | Melanie Benjamin
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Mehso-so

A nonfiction book about this disaster would have been more for me. I couldn't connect with the characters. (I won't go into any speculation as to why Benjamin would name a character Anna and another Anette...) I enjoyed the historical details about the blizzard itself, but I think it would have been a more satisfying read if we had gotten a section in the beginning featuring our characters instead of immediately slammed into the blizzard.

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BClark
Pickpick

This is not a feel good book. It was a good read, a relatively easy one but the topic, albeit fiction is based on an actual event which will have you counting your blessings you are in the 21st century.

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Reviewsbylola
Children's Blizzard | Melanie Benjamin
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Pickpick

What better time to read about a frigid, devastating blizzard than the heat of summer?

While the story at times felt a bit too watered down, I truly enjoyed this fictionalized account of the blizzard that decimated the western frontier in 1888, leaving many school children dead in its wake.

Reggie Didn‘t you read this book like 4 years ago? I swear you had read this before. The only reason I say this is because everytime this book comes up I remember your post. It was for one of Cinfhen‘s music challenges. Also, crazy weather scares the hell out of me. 🤔 3y
Reviewsbylola Lol, I bet you‘re thinking of another book with the exact same name! 😂😂 @reggie 3y
tpixie I liked this quote of Anna‘s towards the end. Sharing with you because you‘ve read the book! “Out here, a woman would need an ally that would ask no questions & tell no tales”. 3y
Reviewsbylola ❤️❤️❤️ @tpixie 3y
69 likes1 stack add4 comments
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MelKelsey
Children's Blizzard | Melanie Benjamin
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Pickpick

Book 58
The Children's Blizzard by Melanie Benjamin is a historical fiction novel about a prairie blizzard in the late 1880s that hit at the time of school dismissal on an otherwise warm day. It was a well-written, engaging read. Characters could be more dimensional, but I recommend. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

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megnews
Children's Blizzard | Melanie Benjamin
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Pickpick

Historical fiction excellence. Recommend.

Kenyazero This must have been an interesting read! I learned about this event from a history podcast I listen to. Very tragic. 3y
megnews @Kenyazero very. I can‘t imagine the fear of those poor kids or the desperation of their parents. 3y
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megnews
Children's Blizzard | Melanie Benjamin
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From book set in 1888.
Has the media really gotten worse? Or has it always been this way?

MegaWhoppingCosmicBookwyrm The older I get, the more I‘m surprised how true the phrase “The more things change, the more they stay the same” can be. 😅 I was watching a documentary a while back and they mentioned finding ancient graffiti in a bathhouse. It was basically the same raunchy jokes and “so-and-so was here” stuff that you see in bathroom stalls now. We really haven‘t advanced much in many ways. 😂🤣 3y
megnews @MegaWhoppingCosmicBookwyrm that is hilarious! As the family historian, I‘ve looked through old newspapers and see the same kind of political junk we see today. The difference is our 24 hour news cycle and social media. 3y
29 likes2 comments
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intothehallofbooks
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Pickpick

Enjoyed it. I chose to read it because it is an 1800‘s story out on the prairie and I LOVE those. Prior to reading this, I had never heard of this blizzard event. I have never experienced even regular snowfall, so an event like this one just baffles my mind. The first half of the story is the actual storm, the second is the aftermath. I enjoyed reading the storm parts the most. It felt cold and terrifying, like I was trying to walk thru it myself.

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Lsmoore43
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All the things that have happened in our history. All the horrible things that people endured. Even in the earliest of times there was so much prejudice and hate. This story is set in 1888 and is about a blizzard that hits so unexpected and so sudden that many did not survive.Teachers of only 16-18 years of age. Just children theirselves. So much loss. Heartbreaking and so realistically written.
Full review: https://tinyurl.com/h3z2w

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Lsmoore43
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They came on boats, on trains, great unceasing waves of them-the poor, the disenfranchised, the seekers, the dreamers.
#FirstLineFridays
@ShyBookOwl

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Valhalla
Children's Blizzard | Melanie Benjamin
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☆☆☆☆☆

Come-read-with-me So pretty! 4y
AkashaVampie I love this one. I might have to see if I can find it. 4y
9 likes1 stack add2 comments
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JenniferP
Children's Blizzard | Melanie Benjamin
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Pickpick

I read two great books over spring break - the tagged is compelling historical fiction about a blizzard in the 1880s. And House of the Spirits, the family epic set in the political upheavals of 20th century Chile. #1001books #ListySpringBreak

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litenthusiast
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This is the best book I have read so far this year. It is the first book I read by Melanie Benjamin, and now I want to read more of her novels. The reason I loved this book so much was the writing. Benjamin takes the reader on a journey with the characters and it is as if the reader is experiencing the Blizzard of 1888 along with the characters. With every description I felt as if I was right there in the frigid temperatures and the snow.

Kristy_K She‘s a good author! I really enjoyed 4y
Cinfhen Totally agree @Kristy_K 4y
TEArificbooks I loved her hawk chapters 4y
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litenthusiast @Kristy_K Thank you. I am adding this to my TBR list. 4y
Kristy_K @litenthusiast I hope you like it! 4y
39 likes4 stack adds6 comments
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JenlovesJT47
Children's Blizzard | Melanie Benjamin
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Pickpick

Melanie Benjamin always chooses interesting things to write about & The Children‘s Blizzard is no exception. Based on the blizzard of 1888 in the Midwest, we get multiple points of view during this horrible storm that hit out of nowhere. Many lives were lost, but it was predominantly children, who had just been let out of school when the storm hit. This one got me in the feels & not gonna lie, I shed a few tears. Can‘t go wrong with MB imo. 4⭐️

GingerAntics I‘m going to have read this. The first blizzard I remember, I remember so vividly the whiteout conditions as the school bus took us home. Of course, I had no idea how dangerous that was, I just thought it was so cool that all you could see out the bus window was snow! I wonder how many of the younger children thought it was cool to run through when all they could see was snow. This is going to hit close to home. 4y
JenlovesJT47 @GingerAntics I‘ve never seen snow like that, I wouldn‘t know what to do! 😱 4y
GingerAntics @JenlovesJT47 oh, these days I‘d just stay home. It was funny the first time I realised it was actually a REALLY dangerous time to be on a school bus with no seat belts, even just being on the road. Innocence is awesome, until it‘s gone. It‘s what I image it would be like to be in the middle of a snow globe. lol 4y
67 likes3 stack adds3 comments
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Cinfhen
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Pickpick

I‘ve long been a fan of Melanie Benjamin‘s historical fiction and while she choose to write about a very tragic true event, her overly flowered prose made this feel a little trite. I wish she had used less winded details and let the rawness of the tragedy speak for itself. Overall a good story.

Cinfhen I think you‘d like this one @Crazeedi 4y
Velvetfur You always take such beautiful photos 💕 I love flowers and you photograph them so well! 💖 4y
Cinfhen Thanks so much @Velvetfur 💜💜💜 4y
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Crazeedi Yep it's been on my radar! I tried to get it through net Galley, unsuccessful! Cant wait to read, I've enjoyed her other books a lot 4y
Cinfhen It published in Jan @Crazeedi so try your library system again!! I‘m not sure this was my favorite of hers, but I liked it. 4y
Crazeedi @Cinfhen I will look, probably 12 week wait but that's ok. I have a "few" books to keep me busy, lol 4y
Centique I wondered about this one for His Elderliness. What do you think? 4y
Cinfhen This one was historical fiction and it felt overly written at times @Centique I haven‘t read this book by David Laskin, which is NF and im told its excellent (edited) 4y
Centique @Cinfhen oh it might be the Laskin one I put on his list then. 4y
Cinfhen LMK if #HisElderliness ends up reading the Laskin/ I read another book he wrote & it was incredible @Centique 4y
Centique @Cinfhen I will let you know! That book Family sounds like something I would like too 👍 4y
Cinfhen The Family is amazing @Centique it‘s a book I would actually re-read!!! 4y
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Cinfhen
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#NetGalley #ARC Any #Nebraska Littens?? Is it fair to equate Nebraska with the Garden of Eden??? I‘ve always LOVED Melanie Benjamin‘s HF novels so I‘m excited for this one 🥰

Amandajoy Um, I‘m not so sure about that comparison. But then again, I‘ve only lived here for two and a half years, people from here might disagree. 4y
Cinfhen I had a friend who lived in Nebraska for 11 years, and she too @Amandajoy did NOT see the comparison 😜😂 4y
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BlueStockingReviews
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Melanie Benjamin‘s descriptions of this storm was nothing short of gut-wrenching. THE CHILDREN‘s BLIZZARD is a masterfully written historical fiction story bounding with details. #netgalley Check out my review https://www.bluestockingreviews.com/post/the-children-s-blizzard

Crazeedi Definitely on my tbr!! Love the author 4y
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Reecaspieces
Children's Blizzard | Melanie Benjamin
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Mehso-so

I am in the minority on this one. But this fell a little short for me. Check out my review.

https://reecaspieces.com/2021/01/23/the-childrens-blizzard-by-melanie-benjamin-r...

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TEArificbooks
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Pickpick

This was an excellent work of historical fiction. If you are a fan of Willa Cather or Little House on the Prairie you will like this book. Based on true events and epic in scope. Has a large cast of characters and shows how different groups and individuals were long effected by this natural disaster in 1888. Follows three main characters and it all comes together in the end. Well done.

Cinfhen I have this ARC!!!! Must READ!!!! 🙈 4y
44 likes3 stack adds1 comment
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ReadingisMyPassion
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Pickpick

Riveting! Could not put it down.

This historical fiction, that reads like a thriller, was inspired by the horrific blizzard that hit Nebraska and the Dakota plains on January 12, 1888 and killed 235 people. Because the storm hit on an unseasonably warm winter day, just as children were being let out of school, wearing clothes not suitable for a blizzard, many of the deaths were children.

Crazeedi I recently saw this and put on my tbr, glad its good 4y
ReadingisMyPassion I was grabbed from the beginning. I hope you love it too. 4y
15 likes2 comments
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TEArificbooks
Children's Blizzard | Melanie Benjamin
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Cheating on my current read to start this one. It is fittingly the book birthday for the tagged book as it is the anniversary of the Children‘s Blizzard. Dinner tonight is bison chili which matches this book better than my current read as well.

LeslieO Oooop I want to read this one! And the nonfiction account with the same title. I don‘t know which to read first! 4y
TEArificbooks @LeslieO I rated the nonfiction book as a 5 ⭐️ read a few years ago when I read it. 4y
Amiable @LeslieO I loved the nonfiction account—definitely recommend. 4y
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SilversReviews
Children's Blizzard | Melanie Benjamin
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We meet two sisters who are teachers and a blizzard that is wreaking havoc on the Great Plains just as school is about to be let out.

THE CHILDREN'S BLIZZARD is based on a true event that took lives and maimed many.

Another of Ms. Benjamin's beautifully written, well-researched historical fiction. 4/5

PUBLICATION DATE is January 12.

FULL REVIEW: https://tinyurl.com/yynahrvn

@melaniebenjamin_author
@delacortepress