What do you think?
Rate this book
Winnie's War
A debut novel set against the backdrop of the Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918.
Life in Winnie's sleepy town of Coward Creek, Texas, is just fine for her. Although her troubled mother's distant behavior has always worried Winnie, she's plenty busy caring for her younger sisters, going to school, playing chess with Mr. Levy, and avoiding her testy grandmother. Plus, her sweetheart Nolan is always there to make her smile when she's feeling low. But when the Spanish Influenza claims its first victim, lives are suddenly at stake, and Winnie has never felt so helpless. She must find a way to save the people she loves most, even if doing so means putting her own life at risk.
Winnie's take-charge attitude will empower and inspire readers, as Jenny Moss's lyrical writing beautifully captures the big-time worries of a small-town girl.
Life in Winnie's sleepy town of Coward Creek, Texas, is just fine for her. Although her troubled mother's distant behavior has always worried Winnie, she's plenty busy caring for her younger sisters, going to school, playing chess with Mr. Levy, and avoiding her testy grandmother. Plus, her sweetheart Nolan is always there to make her smile when she's feeling low. But when the Spanish Influenza claims its first victim, lives are suddenly at stake, and Winnie has never felt so helpless. She must find a way to save the people she loves most, even if doing so means putting her own life at risk.
Winnie's take-charge attitude will empower and inspire readers, as Jenny Moss's lyrical writing beautifully captures the big-time worries of a small-town girl.
192 pages, Hardcover
First published February 3, 2009
About the author
Jenny Moss
12 books146 followersJenny Moss lives in Texas and writes.
She is the author of SHADOW (Scholastic Press) and WINNIE'S WAR and TAKING OFF (Walker/Bloomsbury). She also writes under her birth name, Jennifer McKissack (the YA Gothic SANCTUARY, Scholastic Press).
She is the author of SHADOW (Scholastic Press) and WINNIE'S WAR and TAKING OFF (Walker/Bloomsbury). She also writes under her birth name, Jennifer McKissack (the YA Gothic SANCTUARY, Scholastic Press).
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews
November 18, 2012
Reviewed by Joan Stradling for TeensReadToo.com
During the Spanish Influenza epidemic of 1918, Winnie struggles to keep her family and friends safe. But how can she fight something she can't see?
In this time of illness, Winnie learns tough lessons about life, death, and a mother and grandmother she never fully understood.
WINNIE'S WAR kept me reading as I suffered with and cheered Winnie on. With such likeable and relatable characters, Moss pulled me effortlessly into Coward Creek, Texas, in the fall of 1918. I emotionally connected with Winnie and grew with her as she lived through a terrible time in history.
Through her beautiful prose, Moss brings this little known epidemic out of the past and shares the poignant story of Winnie's life.
I will definitely recommend this book to others (including a few history teachers I know), and I look forward to reading future books by Jenny Moss.
During the Spanish Influenza epidemic of 1918, Winnie struggles to keep her family and friends safe. But how can she fight something she can't see?
In this time of illness, Winnie learns tough lessons about life, death, and a mother and grandmother she never fully understood.
WINNIE'S WAR kept me reading as I suffered with and cheered Winnie on. With such likeable and relatable characters, Moss pulled me effortlessly into Coward Creek, Texas, in the fall of 1918. I emotionally connected with Winnie and grew with her as she lived through a terrible time in history.
Through her beautiful prose, Moss brings this little known epidemic out of the past and shares the poignant story of Winnie's life.
I will definitely recommend this book to others (including a few history teachers I know), and I look forward to reading future books by Jenny Moss.
April 15, 2009
I had the good fortune to read an ARC of Winnie's War and was swept away by Jenny Moss's story of a small-town Texas girl standing up to try and protect her family from the 1918 influenza epidemic. This is the very best kind of historical fiction - full of rich characters, vividly detailed history, the suspense of a threatening pandemic, and even a touch of romance, in the form of a first-kiss scene that made me smile for weeks after I read it. Teachers, in particular, will want to snatch this one up for their classrooms and school libraries.
August 16, 2009
Grades 4-6
Life in Winnie’s small town outside of Galveston, Texas is predictable in 1918—until the residents start feeling the effects of the influenza pandemic that is sweeping the country. Suddenly, healthy adults and children are being struck down in a matter of days, and there is no known cure. Twelve-year-old Winnie feels that she must take matters into her own hands to protect her family: her emotionally frail mother cannot guard Winnie’s two younger sisters, and her grandmother refuses to be distracted from her efforts to be accepted among the social elite of the town. When her friend Nolan decides to break into the general store to obtain some Vicks VapoRub, advertised as a preventative against the flu, Winnie accompanies him, but they are unsuccessful in their attempts. Winnie and her grandmother manage to avoid being infected, but they must nurse the rest of the family, and Winnie loses first her mother, then her best friend, to the illness. Moss attempts to introduce middle-grade students to a period in our history about which little has been written. Her efforts are only partially successful: there is too much going on in this brief novel for the reader to ever really engage with Winnie. Less can be better, but in this case, so little is done to develop the characters that they come across as two-dimensional and unsympathetic. Moss’s end notes about this flu that killed more than 20 million people worldwide are informative, but many readers will not have the patience to make it to the end of the book. An additional purchase.
Life in Winnie’s small town outside of Galveston, Texas is predictable in 1918—until the residents start feeling the effects of the influenza pandemic that is sweeping the country. Suddenly, healthy adults and children are being struck down in a matter of days, and there is no known cure. Twelve-year-old Winnie feels that she must take matters into her own hands to protect her family: her emotionally frail mother cannot guard Winnie’s two younger sisters, and her grandmother refuses to be distracted from her efforts to be accepted among the social elite of the town. When her friend Nolan decides to break into the general store to obtain some Vicks VapoRub, advertised as a preventative against the flu, Winnie accompanies him, but they are unsuccessful in their attempts. Winnie and her grandmother manage to avoid being infected, but they must nurse the rest of the family, and Winnie loses first her mother, then her best friend, to the illness. Moss attempts to introduce middle-grade students to a period in our history about which little has been written. Her efforts are only partially successful: there is too much going on in this brief novel for the reader to ever really engage with Winnie. Less can be better, but in this case, so little is done to develop the characters that they come across as two-dimensional and unsympathetic. Moss’s end notes about this flu that killed more than 20 million people worldwide are informative, but many readers will not have the patience to make it to the end of the book. An additional purchase.
February 9, 2009
The novel, Winnie's War, is set in 1918 during the epidemic or outbreak of the Spanish influenza. Winnie lives with her family--mother, father, grandmother, and her younger sisters--in a small-town in Texas. Her mother is emotionally scarred and a bit unresponsive--having survived the great Galveston hurricane of 1900. The novel is about many things--life, death, survival, risk, fear, love, loss, hope, friends, and family--but above all else it is a novel about growing up and trying to hold onto hope. But is that possible? To have hope when you fear for the well being of your family, of your friends, of life as you've always known it? Does having hope make a difference? Can it protect you? save you? What does having hope teach you about yourself and about the world around you? If Winnie could, she'd stop the influenza from coming into her town, her neighborhood. If she could, she'd stop death from claiming the lives of those she loves--even if that love is without understanding at times. But Winnie's just a girl, a girl with heart and soul that you may come to love as you turn the pages of the book.
© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews
© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews
August 9, 2009
I've wanted to read this book for a while, because the author of this book is actually one of my really close friends' moms. It's another young adult novel, but I quite enjoyed it. It was well-researched on the Spanish influenza, a topic that isn't discussed often. It's also based around where I live, so it hit home in a number of ways. Ms. Moss (sorry...I just can't refer to my friend's mom by her first name :P) develops a story about a family with very distinct personalities holding themselves together in a time of crisis. Very straightforward, and she caught the personality of a very mature twelve year-old child well.
Read
December 5, 2008An intriguing look at a moment in time: not just the 1918 influenza epidemic that serves as the backdrop, but the changes wrought in the life of narrator Winnie. I enjoyed how this book provided a window into both the macro and the micro. We see how the fear of the epidemic spreads even ahead of the disease itself, while at the same time exploring Winnie's relationship with her troubled mother.
March 12, 2009
A detailed, carefully crafted historical that takes place during the 1918 influenza epidemic. Winnie struggles with a distant mama and caring for her family as the flu strikes her town.
Beautifully written!
Beautifully written!
July 25, 2009
This book gave me nightmares, since it is about the 1918 flu epidemic and we are all looking at a pandamic again. That being said, the fact that is scared me so much menas it was well-written Multi-faceted characters and a Texas setting by a Texas author.
June 12, 2009
Great voice!
You won't forget Winnie, or her family, or her story.
You won't forget Winnie, or her family, or her story.
Read
July 17, 2009This beautifully written story proves why middle-grade historical needs to be published!
December 27, 2025
I read this book when it came out in 2009 and have spent years searching for it. I remember being incredibly haunted by the deaths in this book, and the way that single page chapters are used to convey the absolute absence in the wake of these deaths.
I think the most suprising thing about this book is how relevant it is in the wake of 2020. While this is a book about a young girl trying to connect with a traumatized mother, this book is also about a young girl desperate to protect her town from Influenza, and the absolute apathy this town has towards such a terrible disease. We get everything from misinformation to incorrect solutions to cures. Closing schools but parties are still going on. This book aged like a fine wine, and I think that a lot people who were kids during the pandemic would find this wish fulfillment book comforting, because they can see a child trying to do something about influenza.
I think the most suprising thing about this book is how relevant it is in the wake of 2020. While this is a book about a young girl trying to connect with a traumatized mother, this book is also about a young girl desperate to protect her town from Influenza, and the absolute apathy this town has towards such a terrible disease. We get everything from misinformation to incorrect solutions to cures. Closing schools but parties are still going on. This book aged like a fine wine, and I think that a lot people who were kids during the pandemic would find this wish fulfillment book comforting, because they can see a child trying to do something about influenza.
May 23, 2021
In 1918 twelve-year-old Winnie lives next to a cemetery in Texas. Her father builds coffins, her mother is unlike other mothers, and her pesky grandmother is always assigning her another task. Winnie’s only escapes are school, playing chess with Mr. Levy, and slipping off to the creek to be with her sweetheart Nolan. As fall begins to settle over Coward Creek so to does the Spanish influenza and Winnie is determined to keep her family safe. Moss’s first novel if filled with easily read short chapters and plenty of characters. The plot is slow moving but compelling.
March 5, 2021
Timely Book
I found this fictionalized account of the Spanish flu a very timely read as our country is now suffering from the effects of co-vid 19.
People wore masks to prevent contagion just like now. The one big difference was that young and old died from the Spanish flu.. Some of Winnie's insights about the people around her and the virus seemed profound. Winnie's War is a worthwhile read.
I found this fictionalized account of the Spanish flu a very timely read as our country is now suffering from the effects of co-vid 19.
People wore masks to prevent contagion just like now. The one big difference was that young and old died from the Spanish flu.. Some of Winnie's insights about the people around her and the virus seemed profound. Winnie's War is a worthwhile read.
January 27, 2021
This glimpse of life in early twentieth century southeast Texas is sweet but clouded by broad characterizations and family troubles. There are certainly better ways to learn about how the Spanish flu impacted rural Americans.
November 11, 2022
Winnie's War Moss, Jenny 3 Jr.Hist.F Hist.WWI WWI Spanish flu comes back to small town with returning soldiers- Young girls help fight family survive & learn respect Understanding of one another & dealing w/ death 2015 3/25/2015
May 22, 2009
Winnie’s small town of Coward Creek, Texas, is just outside Galveston, decimated by the great 1900 hurricane. Almost two decades later, there’s another looming disaster: the Spanish influenza. When Winnie’s father brings her along on a carpentry job to measure a deceased neighbor for a coffin, Winnie knows that the flu has come to Coward Creek. She will try anything she can to protect her family and keep them from catching the flu, even though she knows that the home remedies are all but useless. In addition to protecting everyone from illness, Winnie is coping with her withdrawn mother, a best friend who suddenly wants nothing to do with her, and a grandmother who finds fault in Winnie’s every action.
This is not so much about the Spanish flu epidemic of 1918, but rather it’s a quiet, character-driven story. While Winnie and her grandmother are well drawn, though, many others blend into an amalgam of Townspeople (and there are a lot of them). The pandemic is more a background detail than a plot—it’s something that’s happening while Winnie is navigating the individual relationships with her friends and family members. There’s a lot going on here and it’s hard to determine what the central element is. The facts are meticulously researched, but Winnie’s voice is colored with only a flat, low-level worry. With the Galveston area hit so mildly by this flu (especially as compared to cities like Boston and New York), there’s no sense of fear like there is in Laurie Halse Anderson’s Fever 1793 (for example).
Overall, this didn’t hold my interest (despite my curiosity about pandemics and how people dealt with them). For teen fiction dealing with pandemics, I’d recommend instead Fever 1793 as referenced above; for adult fiction, Myla Goldberg’s Wickett’s Remedy.
This is not so much about the Spanish flu epidemic of 1918, but rather it’s a quiet, character-driven story. While Winnie and her grandmother are well drawn, though, many others blend into an amalgam of Townspeople (and there are a lot of them). The pandemic is more a background detail than a plot—it’s something that’s happening while Winnie is navigating the individual relationships with her friends and family members. There’s a lot going on here and it’s hard to determine what the central element is. The facts are meticulously researched, but Winnie’s voice is colored with only a flat, low-level worry. With the Galveston area hit so mildly by this flu (especially as compared to cities like Boston and New York), there’s no sense of fear like there is in Laurie Halse Anderson’s Fever 1793 (for example).
Overall, this didn’t hold my interest (despite my curiosity about pandemics and how people dealt with them). For teen fiction dealing with pandemics, I’d recommend instead Fever 1793 as referenced above; for adult fiction, Myla Goldberg’s Wickett’s Remedy.
January 2, 2010
Although this book is putatively about the great influenza epidemic that swept America and Europe during and after World War I, it is in fact a tale of growing up after the turn of the century in a small town. Winnie is an unusually thoughtful 12-year-old girl growing up in the Texas town of Coward Creek (great name), who inevitably has issues with her parents (particularly her remote mother), her grandmother, her best friend, and various other townspeople. In the course of the book, as the flu threatens those around her, Winnie frets about the danger, uncovers secrets from the past, receives her first kiss (through a handmade burlap mask), tends her sick family, experiences grief, and comes to terms with her life in a way that is realistic, touching and tender. Echoes of To kill a Mockingbird and a Northern light float into mind. The book deliberately stays away from screeching drama, preferring to focus on the growth of one person during a particularly difficult summer. It is a beautifully rendered portrait of a small town where you can imagine the dry Texas streets, the little cemetery, the smell of the woods, the chickens clucking in the back yard. Winnie's grandmother has social aspirations, and one of the scenes involves a tea party she throws to beg acceptance into a ladies' club -- you can visualize the desperate gentility of the old china on the scrubbed tabletops, the fresh baked lemon cookies that the kids are not allowed to eat because they're only for guests.
A mood poem that captures a precarious moment in a time and place gone by.
A mood poem that captures a precarious moment in a time and place gone by.
January 28, 2012
"Winnie's War" is a beautifully-written "life time" story that seemingly promises to be exciting and perhaps something like "Aftershocks," but instead is a pretty laidback day-to-day tale that has no sudden, breath-stealing moments. Just like the disease this story concerns, things slip by quietly and end just as quietly. So don't expect there to be any action, not even on a mild level. It reads more like a Dear America - and Winnie is definitely as good a narrator as those long-dead voices of the girls in that series. The Reader sympathizes with her, feels incredibly sorry for her when, despite her best efforts, the influenza strikes her family - and hard. And while the town of Coward Creek is not real, it feels genuine, and several times I forgot that it doesn't really exist.
What I really wish this book had focused on a bit more is Winnie's decision to study medicine. I realize that this is a decision brought on by her witnessing the devastation of influenza in her community, but this is a book that could very well have been a lot longer, and it would have been nice of the Author had chosen to write a second part into it that covers some of Winnie's future life, as she trains to become a doctor. It would have made for a very fascinating and entertaining read.
Nevertheless, this was a good "life time" story - one of the better ones I've read, actually, and I liked it enough to buy.
What I really wish this book had focused on a bit more is Winnie's decision to study medicine. I realize that this is a decision brought on by her witnessing the devastation of influenza in her community, but this is a book that could very well have been a lot longer, and it would have been nice of the Author had chosen to write a second part into it that covers some of Winnie's future life, as she trains to become a doctor. It would have made for a very fascinating and entertaining read.
Nevertheless, this was a good "life time" story - one of the better ones I've read, actually, and I liked it enough to buy.
August 22, 2011
Life in Winnie’s 1918 small town outside of Galveston, Texas is just fine by her but a place her best friend, Tillie, wants to leave, eventually, to become a Hollywood movie star. Then things take a turn and the influeza pandemic has spread from the soldiers coming back from the Great War over there to Winnie's town, Coward Creek, Texas, over here. Since Winnie's mother is emotionally unstable and her bossy grandmother is more interested in being accepted by the social elite, Winnie takes charge to protect her family. Winnie even goes with her sweetheart to break into the general store to steal Vicks VaporRub, which is supposed to prevent the flu, according to its advertisements. When Winnie learns about her mother's past she also learns she and her grandmother are more alike than she dreamed possible, in that they are take-charge people in a town called Coward. Winnie also learns about hope, despite the realities of death that surround her.
May 5, 2012
I liked the blurb on Goodreads.com, so I'm just copying it: Life in Winnie’s sleepy town of Coward Creek, Texas, is just fine for her. Although her troubled mother’s distant behavior has always worried Winnie, she’s plenty busy caring for her younger sisters, going to school, playing chess with Mr. Levy, and avoiding her testy grandmother. Plus, her sweetheart Nolan is always there to make her smile when she’s feeling low. But when the Spanish Influenza claims its first victim, lives are suddenly at stake, and Winnie has never felt so helpless. She must find a way to save the people she loves most, even if doing so means putting her own life at risk. Winnie’s take-charge attitude will empower and inspire readers, as Jenny Moss’s lyrical writing beautifully captures the big-time worries of a small-town girl.
January 15, 2013
This is the story of a young vulnerable girl living in Texas during WWI and the Spanish influenza epidemic. Winnie’s mother is emotionally remote and her maternal grandmother runs the household with an iron fist. Winnie is rebellious and intentionally tests her grandmother as much as possible. Winnie keep a lot inside and struggles with worry that the flu with take one of her sisters away. She is extremely curious about the origin of her mother’s problems but no one wants to tell her anything.
This is a very well written young adult novel that deals with serious material in a very admirable way. You will love Winnie as a heroine and understand her growth and clearer understanding of both her parents and her strong grandmother. Great story.
This is a very well written young adult novel that deals with serious material in a very admirable way. You will love Winnie as a heroine and understand her growth and clearer understanding of both her parents and her strong grandmother. Great story.
June 4, 2013
I liked this book! I would actually give it 3.5 stars. It is a nice short story with an interesting plot.
The author basis the story from true events in the early 1900's when the Spanish flu hit major cities in the United States.
Winnie is a young girl, who lives with her parents, sisters and a mean grandmother, with determination and a heart of gold. Winnie and her grandmother don't seem to get along very well and Winnie often feels picked on.
As the flu starts to spread through Winnie's small town she begins to worry about what will happen to her friends and family. I won't spoil the story, but Winnie's strength of character is stalwart as she faces her most awful fears.
No sex and no swearing.
The author basis the story from true events in the early 1900's when the Spanish flu hit major cities in the United States.
Winnie is a young girl, who lives with her parents, sisters and a mean grandmother, with determination and a heart of gold. Winnie and her grandmother don't seem to get along very well and Winnie often feels picked on.
As the flu starts to spread through Winnie's small town she begins to worry about what will happen to her friends and family. I won't spoil the story, but Winnie's strength of character is stalwart as she faces her most awful fears.
No sex and no swearing.
September 7, 2018
(Four stars). I was debating between three or four stars, and finally decided on four. I liked a good portion of the book.
And.
Yes.
I have a soft spot for historical fiction. =)
Anyway. I enjoyed this book. It made me feel kind of empty after I finished it.
But in a good, sad, way. I cannot describe it, other then saying it was a sorrowful, happy, final, feeling.
I loved Winnie. I wanted to give her a hug.
I thought that Winnie and Nolan's friendship was so sweet. Plus, I thought that the "romantic" portion of their relationship was written pretty tactfully. Winnie's saying they were "destined to be married" made me laugh.
All in all, I enjoyed the book, character's, and most of this book. :)
November 1, 2009
The year is 1918 and the influenza pandemic is rushing through Coward Creek, Texas. This is the name of the town where Winnie lives. her father builds coffins for the towns people. he has been kept busy for qute some time. Winnie worries about all of the people who are getting the flu. Winnie has to learn to stay strong as the flu hits her own family and her friends. This was a slow book for me. I did enjoy the character development. I saw Winnie as a rambunctious child and then saw the underlying strength. Since I know so little about the Spanish Influenza the book has made me hungry to learn more.
February 20, 2010
Really I chose it for the name ... not all that common and the name of a little one near and dear to me. Lo and behold there's ANOTHER fairly uncommon name (Clara) in there of another slightly older near and dear one.
But then it turned out to be a lovely little story as well.
Set in a fictional Texas town during the season of the Spanish flu epidemic, the characters make this story more even than the applicable plot. Winnie. Clara. Nolan. Mr. Levy. Tillie. Winnie's parents and sisters. All of them add a different facet to the scared ... but waiting to rise triumphrant ... little town.
But then it turned out to be a lovely little story as well.
Set in a fictional Texas town during the season of the Spanish flu epidemic, the characters make this story more even than the applicable plot. Winnie. Clara. Nolan. Mr. Levy. Tillie. Winnie's parents and sisters. All of them add a different facet to the scared ... but waiting to rise triumphrant ... little town.
January 7, 2010
Set in 1918 in a small Texan town at the time of the Spanish Influenza, Winnie is a spirited, feisty young girl who lives with two younger sisters, a gentle carpenter father, a sad and distant mother, and a grandmother who drives Winnie crazy. Despite the world being at war and young soldiers getting killed, Winnie feels safe playing chess with her elderly friend Mr. Levy and going fishing with her romantic interest Nolan, until the Spanish Influenza hits the town. Winnie is determined to keep her family safe.
December 20, 2012
This is "younger" adult than I've read in a long time but it was $2 on Amazon and the storyline is interesting - historical fiction Spanish Influenza in small town Texas during WWI. Good story - touches less on history and more on fairly deep family/small town issues: including death, multigenerational conflicts, friendship, young love, society clubs, and even anti-semitism. Doesn't touch on any one of those very deeply - perhaps that is a product of the audience. A sweet book with a strong young heroine and probably very good for a mature tween girl.
May 13, 2009
This book didn't really do much for me. I felt like it took a while to really get going, and that the majority of real action happened toward the end. I would have liked a higher sense of tension, rather than just seeing that Winnie is worried. I felt like the emotion was a bit flat.
That said, I think this would be a good book for a young reader. I liked that it took a look at a slice of time at the end of WWI when a massive flu pandemic was rampant.
That said, I think this would be a good book for a young reader. I liked that it took a look at a slice of time at the end of WWI when a massive flu pandemic was rampant.
November 30, 2012
I think this book just came at the perfect moment for me. The Spanish Flu epidemic has long been a curiosity of mine, and then a few months ago I learned that both of my grandmother's parents died of it, which drove me to pick up this book. While the beginning was a little rough, the ending just got better and better. It had me laughing then crying and finally ending with a smile.
May 17, 2015
Recommended Ages: grades 4 and up
Winnie lives in Coward Creek, Texas with her mother, father, two younger sisters and her mean grandmother, Clara. When the Spanish Flu hits this small town in 1918, Winnie worries that it would affect her family, and she tries to do what she can to keep her family safe.
Winnie lives in Coward Creek, Texas with her mother, father, two younger sisters and her mean grandmother, Clara. When the Spanish Flu hits this small town in 1918, Winnie worries that it would affect her family, and she tries to do what she can to keep her family safe.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews