Joshua’s Song by Joan Hiatt Harlow.
Youth Fiction - Lower Level - HARLOW
Joshua Harper has always lived a privileged life in a nice neighborhood of Boston. However it’s 1919, his father has passed away from the terrible influenza epidemic, and now Josh must find a job to help support his family.
Josh does find a job as a newsie (a newspaper delivery boy), but he fears his mother’s disdain for such a mediocre job. Furthermore, Josh has to answer to a young bully known as Charlestown Charlie because he controls much of the newspaper delivery within the neighborhoods of Boston. On top of all of that, Josh cannot find solace in singing for the Boston Boys’ Choir anymore because his voice has changed. Can life get anymore difficult? When tragedy strikes the poor neighborhoods of Boston, Joshua finds the strength from within to carry on and realizes that tribulation builds character.
A short historical fiction novel for the elementary and middle school grades, Joshua’s Song by Joan Hiatt Harlow is a quick and enjoyable read. It is also historically accurate in its description of the “Great Molasses Flood” of Boston in January of 1919.