Yesterday's Dead

Gr 5–8—Meredith is reluctantly sent into domestic service by her mother, who is having financial trouble since both her husband and her father died. Thirteen but pretending to be 15, she is taken to Toronto by a placement agent and set to work in the kitchen of a well-to-do widowed doctor's home under the supervision of the kindly cook, Mrs. Butters. Meredith hates the work and the long hours but is glad she can send money to her mother. World War I is winding down and the flu epidemic is spreading across the U.S. and Canada. The household initially feels safe as there have been only a few cases in the area. However, that rapidly changes as people begin contracting the contagious and deadly illness. One by one members of the household become ill, including Mrs. Butters and Dr. Waterton's two sons, leaving only Meredith and his incredibly spoiled 13-year-old daughter, Maggie, to care for everyone. The main characters are finely drawn, especially Meredith, who chafes at being treated as a servant, and Maggie, who is the epitome of a pampered, self-centered young teen. Both girls show considerable growth during the crisis as they discover they must work together and that they both have talents, although different ones. The story vividly depicts the family's fear and the victims' suffering.—Nancy P. Reeder, Heathwood Hall Episcopal School, Columbia, SC