When her father pulls her out of high school to care for her invalid mother and little brother, sixteen-year-old Magda is devastated—but the greater challenge is saving her family in the face of a war and pandemic. This tale covers the critical years of 1916 to 1919 in Pittsburgh, in the lead-up to and during America’s World War I effort. Magda’s immigrant family members face hostility for their German heritage, suffer casualties when they volunteer to serve in the war, and like many Americans, experience losses in the influenza pandemic of 1918. Magda, with ingenuity and determination, pursues her dream of finishing school, and finds both meaningful work and romance. Magda, Standing tells the story of a young woman’s self-discovery as she resists the pressures of societal traditions and faces the crises of her times. The story is a reminder that the strength to confront setbacks must come from within, and that we can derive strength from family.