Listening for Lions, Gloria Whelan

My sixth-grade son and I began reading Listening for Lions not long after our state had begun observing a stay-at-home order. Needless to say, we felt the irony of reading this book – set in 1919 amidst the devastating influenza pandemic – when the world was just embarking on a modern-day battle with COVID-19.  

The main character, Rachel Sheridan, has lived all of her 13 years in British East Africa where her parents are missionaries and run a small hospital. When influenza spreads throughout their village it takes the lives of many, including both of Rachel’s parents. Suddenly an orphan, Rachel finds herself under the care of the greedy Pritchards who just lost their daughter, Valerie, and whom she resembles. Left with few choices, Rachel is coerced into impersonating Valerie on a mission to visit ailing well-to-do Grandfather Pritchard in England. She is to gain his trust and ultimately trick him into willing his estate to his estranged son, Valerie’s father.

Rachel settles into the grandfather’s massive estate and her journey as “Valerie” begins. As the days go by, she unknowingly lets a bit of her true self shine through and unexpectedly develops a friendship with Valerie’s grandfather that changes the course of her life.