Genre: Historical FictionAwards: The New York Public Library "Best 2001 Books for the Teenager, 2001 Teacher's Choice Award from the International Reading Association, Starred Review from Bank Street College of Education's "The Best Children's Books of 2001", American Library Associaiton Best Book for Young Adults, Junior Library Guild Selection, Children's Book-of-the-Month Club Selection, American Bookseller "Pick of the Lists", Parent's Guide to Children's Media Award
Summary: The historical-fiction novel, Fever, 1793, is a riveting, well-researched book based on an actual epidemic of yellow fever that hit Philadelphia in 1793, killing 5,000 people (10 percent of the city's population) in just three months. During the summer of 1793 the dreaded yellow fever spread like wildfire, killing people overnight. Grave diggers pulled carts through the streets of town calling out for people to bring their dead to the streets while the wealthy fled the city to live in the country, adandoning the city to looters, corpses, and frightened survivors.
Reaction: I absolutely was absorbed by this book. I savored every page of the story and hoped for something positive to happen. The book was sometimes dark and depressing but so well written that it was compelling reading. When I gave it to a friend who likes to read, he said that it was the most depressing book he's ever read.
Recommended to: I think that boys would love this book. Good sixth-grade readers, through junior-high level students would be great targets for this book by Laurie Halse Anderson.
Book Hook: Do you like to read about death and destruction? Are you a fan of obscure parts of United States history? You will love this book if you answered either question affirmatively.
3 comments:
A boy book! I hadn't thought of that aspect but you may well be right.
This sounds like it would be a good book to pair with a nonfiction title on the same subject.
I love to read about history as well as teach it and that book sounds great-I will have to read it over the summer-early American History is so interesting to me. I think students who need to better understand history might like this book as well because it seems they will be better able to visualize it.
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