Author Melanie Benjamin has taken a real-life incident - a horrific blizzard that hit Nebraska and the Dakota Territory on January 12, 1888 - and built characters based on oral histories and newspaper accounts from the time to tell its story.  My children's Scandinavian ancestors had settled in North Dakota by 1886, so I have to wonder if they experienced this storm.  Beautiful weather earlier in the day had people out and about in light winter clothing, and they were surprised by the storm.

The Children's Blizzard (one of the names the storm came to be called) has four main narrators.  Sisters Gerda and Raina Olsen are young schoolteachers, 18 and 16 respectively.  Gerda is teaching near Yankton in the southeast corner of the Dakota Territory.  Raina is closer to their family's home in the northeast corner of Nebraska, but far enough away that she needs to room and board with a family closer to the school, the Pedersons.

Anette Pederson, despite her surname, is really an overworked and mistreated servant in the Pederson household - sold by her mother.  And Gavin Woodson is a newspaperman (really a propagandist for the railroad) in Omaha.  There are also a couple chapters told from the viewpoints of Anna Pederson, Anette's boss, and of Ollie Tennant, a black bar owner in Omaha.

The first part of the book is about the storm itself, and its immediate aftermath.  The second part follows the main characters some years into the future.  This part could have been shorter, and there are some distracting and unnecessary side stories throughout the book that, in my opinion, could have been left out.  Nevertheless, I'm giving it more stars than I would have to offset the downrating by an anti-"woke" reviewer here.

In her author's note, Benjamin provides some additional context, and cites her sources.  She notes that Raina "is loosely based on the real-life heroine Minnie Freeman," and the "character of Anette Pedersen is based on another survivor, Lena Woebbecke" (page 443).  I think parts of Gerda's experience were based on those of Etta Shattuck and Lois Royce, but sadly Gerda suffered from the tendency of others to blame and ostracize those who make poor decisions in situations that aren't entirely under their control. ( )

Didn’t read it all. Couldn’t get into it. ( )

Raina and Gerda are teenaged sisters who have recently become teachers. In January 1888 in rural Nebraska, they are put to the test in their respective schools with a crazy winter storm that rolls in just after a beautifully warm morning. The storm comes in just as or before kids are being let out of school to walk varying distances home. They each make different decisions on this day; one becomes a heroine and one does not fare so well.

Anette is one of Raina’s students, who was sold by her mother to a woman who works her to the bone and does not treat her kindly. Although Raina’s other students stay behind, Anette is worried she will be in trouble if she doesn’t come home right away. Her only friend Frederik follows her into the storm.

The storm, of course, really did happen, and it was called “the children’s blizzard” because of the timing and the fact that so many children (among other people) died that day. 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. 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. ( )

Book on CD read by Cassandra Campbell

Benjamin is known for writing novelized “biographies” of historical figures (usually women) who have been under-represented (or completely ignored) by history. This time, she turns her attention of an historical event, the blizzard of 1888 that caught residents of the great plains completely unawares, and invents the characters to populate the story.

The novel focuses on two schoolteachers in different communities, sisters Gerda and Raina Olsen. Barely out of school themselves, they take positions as teachers, Gerda in the Dakota Territory, Raina nearer her family farm in Nebraska. When the blizzard hits, the two sisters take different approaches, and the outcomes are drastically different.

I felt that the romantic entanglements each sister experienced detracted from the basic storyline, especially in Raina’s case. I also thought that the storyline featuring the child Anette bordered on the melodramatic.

I had previously read David Laskin’s excellent NONfiction account of this event, also titled The Children’s Blizzard. So, the bar was set high for this work of fiction. And Benjamin didn’t quite make it.

Cassandra Campbell has become one of my favorite audio book narrators. She does a fine job with this work, though I did occasionally lose track of which sister’s story we were following (especially earlier in the novel). ( )

On an unusual day in the Dakota territories in January of 1888 a blizzard strikes. Two teenage sisters who are also school teachers in different towns are tested beyond their measures to keep their students safe. One will succeed and one does not. Another young woman, a servant, hopes for love to reign in the disaster. All based on a sad true story that has betrayal, death, and hope.

I love Melanie Benjamin's historical fiction because she seems to be able to jump into each character’s mind so easily. The characters' emotions feel true and their reactions to things that happen just make sense.

This book did jump around to the 3 or 4 characters often. I did get confused about which sister was which. I think that is just me. I have horrible short-term memory and names don’t stick in my head.

I will continue to read Mrs. Benjamin’s books because I love them. She has a new one called California Golden either out now or soon. I look forward to it and future releases. ( )