Om January 12th, 1888, a winter storm came out of nowhere on a relatively mild day. Children in schoolhouses were not dressed or prepared for such a storm – nor were the young teachers, barely older than some of the students they taught.

Two sisters, Teachers of two different schools that were in the path of the storm make very different choices. One becomes a hero, and one will spend the rest of her life seeking absolution.

In the end, over 235 confirmed deaths, many of them children, were the result of this storm that covered states such as Minnesota, South Dakota, North Dakota, Nebraska, Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho. 

They deserved to be treated like people, not rungs on the ladder to heaven.
~ The Children’s Blizzard by Melanie Benjamin

This book was our Bookies Book Club read for January. We thought it would be an interesting read due to the storm taking place in Minnesota and it being a January storm. I missed the group discussion of this read as I was in Florida so the review here is mine alone.

I found the book interesting and the fictional story that wove throughout the pages held my attention. It is a part of our history that is surreal and heartbreaking. While not the easiest of reads, I am glad I had the opportunity to read it.

Would this make a good book club read? Yes. Based on a true story there is much to talk about the storm as well as the liberties the author took to create the fictional thread.

An article about the storm