Emma Donoghue’s latest, The Pull of the Stars, was riveting from the first page. It’s the story of Nurse Julia Powers who is on a maternity/flu ward in Dublin during the height of the Great Flu in 1918. Boy, does it feel timely. I really enjoy Donoghue (Akin, Frog Music, and Room) and historical fiction. This latest of hers was no exception – I blazed through it in a day. Grab it, even though it’s a bit dark and the ending, in my opinion, is a little too quick and too perfect.