AS BRIGHT AS HEAVEN by Susan Meissner

In 1918, Philadelphia was a city teeming with promise. Even as its young men went off to fight in the Great War, there were opportunities for a fresh start on its cobblestone streets. Into this bustling town, came Pauline Bright and her husband, filled with hope that they could now give their three daughters--Evelyn, Maggie, and Willa--a chance at a better life.

But just months after they arrive, the Spanish Flu reaches the shores of America. As the pandemic claims more than twelve thousand victims in their adopted city, they find their lives left with a world that looks nothing like the one they knew. But even as they lose loved ones, they take in a baby orphaned by the disease who becomes their single source of hope. Amidst the tragedy and challenges, they learn what they cannot live without--and what they are willing to do about it.

As Bright as Heaven is the compelling story of a mother and her daughters who find themselves in a harsh world, not of their making, which will either crush their resolve to survive or purify it.


  Opening line:
"Morning light shimmers on the apricot horizon as I stand at the place where my baby boy rests."

AS BRIGHT AS HEAVEN is a story of family, love and death set during WWI. I became fascinated by WWI and the Spanish Flu a few years ago and I will be adding this book to my growing WWI shelf.
Told from the different perspectives of the Bright women, we get a unique view from different ages and personalities into their lives and what it was like to live through the worse pandemic in history.
An uncle in Philadelphia has no children, no heirs, and wants to leave everything to Mr. Bright. He is an undertaker and wants to teach him the business and pass it on. He takes the family from country life and introduces them to city life.
Pauline is the mother and fiercely protective of her daughters, especially after having lost a baby son.
Evie is the oldest and the pragmatic one.
Maggie is sensitive, wants answers but leads with her heart.
Willa is the youngest and is headstrong and lets her emotions out.
There are so many intriguing threads that weave together nicely, and sometimes a little tangled, in this story. The story setting, the characters, the POVs kept me reading all day, wanting to know what would happen to this family.
The story also teaches there is more than one way to be a family--being needed is one of them. The neighbors, the orphaned baby, even speakeasy owners can all become family..

Ten swear words (damn and hell); one scene where an unmarried woman and married man had sex but I wasn't totally sure and had to reread the passage a couple of times. It's very subtle and vague. War, death, sickness is talked about and seen throughout the book.

Thanks to netgalley for the read!