This is the story of Ellen who with her twin sister went through the 1889 Johnstown flood. Ellen does not know what happened to her sister, but has feeling she lived. At 104, she tells the story to a reporter of her survival on the anniversary of the flood. The reporter and his girlfriend work with Ellen to find out what happened to her twin sister. ( )

As the Great Johnstown Flood approaches its centennial in 1989, reporter Ben Bragdon interviews the last survivor of that night—103-year-old Ellen Emerson. Ellen is the sole survivor of her family, but she’s always believed that her twin, Mary, also survived.

Ben’s burgeoning romance with Nina, a reporter who’s trying to see if Ellen’s twin is still alive, is set against his disintegrating marriage and the life stories of Ellen and another elderly Pittsburgh woman, Anna, who led the sort of forward-thinking lives most women admire.

The Johnstown Girls is Kathleen George’s first non-mystery—she’s the author of the Richard Christie series—and is an emotionally charged roller-coaster ride that highlights the resilience of the working people of Johnstown.

Reviewed on Lit/Rant: http://litrant.tumblr.com/post/85808767478/lost-in-the-flood-the-johnstown-girls... ( )

The story started out slowly, but soon picked up pace and did not loose steam through the very end. I thoroughly enjoyed the tosses and turns the lives of the characters go through. The one question I was left with was, "What happened with Ben and Amanda?". Maybe that conclusion was implied but I missed it. Over all, a heart wrenching story that left me with tears of joy in the end. I recommend.

*I received this free of charge in exchange for a review* ( )

Having read David McCullough’s book on the Johnstown Flood, I had some background on the catastrophe. This novel humanizes the terrible flood by adding fictional characters with well developed backstories. The result provides a narrative on endurance, surviving tragedy, family ties and aging. Four different characters tell the story; two young journalists with a complicated relationship and two centenarians who survived the Jamestown Flood. The backdrop is the flood’s centennial celebration taking place in 1989 (itself a time that seems long past). As the journalists delve into these older ladies past, it brings up memories and tragedies of a long-lived life. The best parts of this novel are the meditations on old age and memory. At times the relationship issues between Nina and Ben seemed superfluous to the story but overall this is a wonderful novel full of interesting characters and a fascinating plot. I received this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. ( )