If you're into 20th Century History, epidemiology, and war-time settings, then this is a novel for you! It's YA, but I've listed it as just general lit and fiction because I think it's got good crossover appeal for adult readers who are interested in the above categories. It's a book about a teen protagonist, but that alone does not a YA novel make, and I think this one straddles the line between Teen and general fiction. Grain of salt, YMMV, etc etc.

This is an ARC version of the novel, which came out in 2014 in hardcover and ebook.

Releasing at Seconds! The Lower Mainland Bookcrossing Meetup. Come & join us.

A really good read. Well thought out plot, a spunky 'heroine' and lots of history.

I sat down after lunch and just read until I finished this. It was totally captivating and so very believable. Cleo was such a normal 17year old, unsure of herself, happy in her friends, and without too many unpleasantnesses to deal with until her brother and his wife arrange for an anniversary trip to San Francisco and Cleo becomes a boarder for the six weeks at her school. When soldiers are transferred to the West Coast from the east and they are found to be suffering from the Spanish flu everything turns upside down. When the school is closed Cleo elects to sneak home rather than stay quarantined with those students who are unable to go home and it would be natural for someone to volunteer to help the Red Cross rather than stay alone in a big empty house, no matter how good the privacy is. Her experiences are what one would expect and her reactions are natural, too. This was a really enthralling read.