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A follow-up of the bestselling, Geoffrey Bilson Award--and Victoria Book Prize--nominated A Blinding Light, focusing on the aftermath of the Halifax Explosion and the onset of the Great Influenza Pandemic.
When Jane Mooney's older brother Connor lies about his age and enlists in the Great War at age fifteen, she can't imagine ever being more devastated. But on December 6, 1917, when two ships collide in Halifax Harbour, the resulting explosion proves her wrong.
An injured Jane awakes to discover that the North End of Halifax, including her home, has been destroyed; her father and three of her brothers have been killed; her mother, recovering from a head injury, has been left confused and forgetful; and her two surviving brothers are looking to her for guidance. Like so many Explosion survivors, Jane and her family are forced to start over. This means accommodation in a newly-constructed apartment block, clothing and furniture from donation centres, and a new school. Unfortunately for Jane, the school she must now attend is in the prosperous South End. How will she fit in with her uppity classmates?
The only bright light is that Jane now lives closer to her best friend, Livy Schneider. Livy's older brother, Will, a student at the same school, gives Jane a job at the school newspaper. The start of the 1918 school year appears more hopeful until Jane hears rumblings of a new enemy at their door--and this one is contagious. The Great Influenza Pandemic has reached Halifax's vulnerable shores. In a time of financial and emotional strain, and with this terrifying new threat, how will Jane keep her family safe? And why hasn't Connor written to her? Will he ever return from the trenches?
Following in the immediate wake of A Blinding Light, with a universal message of hope and determination, Out of the Dark uses dual point of view to tell a remarkable story of rebuilding and resilience in a time of global upheaval.
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Reviews
Lawson's riveting novel not only adds to our understanding of the struggles Haligonians faced after the explosion; it also sheds light on an earlier pandemic where those infected suffered without the medical equipment, medicine, and vaccines we have today. Interestingly, the author began her research on the Spanish Flu before she was served up the first-hand experience of COVID-19.
--Atlantic Books Today
Touching on topics still relevant today, including domestic violence, poverty, global pandemics, social exclusion, and the global impact of war, Out of the Dark gives readers a sense of what it's like when these social issues intersect. Through the eyes of Jane, a young girl living in one of the more impoverished parts of North End Halifax, readers will empathize with Jane and the difficult decision she has to make to survive and take care of her traumatized siblings and mother while dealing with her own problems.
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