Fever 1793
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Fever 1793 description
On the heels of her acclaimed contemporary teen novel Speak, Laurie Halse Anderson surprises her fans with a riveting and well-researched historical fiction. Fever 1793 is based on an actual epidemic of yellow fever in Philadelphia that wiped out 5,000 people--or 10 percent of the city's population--in three months. At the close of the 18th century, Philadelphia was the bustling capital of the United States, with Washington and Jefferson in residence. During the hot mosquito-infested summer of 1793, the dreaded yellow fever spread like wildfire, killing people overnight. Like specters from the Middle Ages, gravediggers drew carts through the streets crying "Bring out your dead!" The rich fled to the country, abandoning the city to looters, forsaken corpses, and frightened survivors. In the foreground of this story is 16-year-old Mattie Cook, whose mother and grandfather own a popular coffee house on High Street. Mattie's comfortable and interesting life is shattered by the epidemic, as her mother is felled and the girl and her grandfather must flee for their lives. Later, after much hardship and terror, they return to the deserted town to find their former cook, a freed slave, working with the African Free Society, an actual group who undertook to visit and assist the sick and saved many lives. As first frost arrives and the epidemic ends, Mattie's sufferings have changed her from a willful child to a strong, capable young woman able to manage her family's business on her own. (Ages 12 and older) --Patty Campbell |
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Fever 1793 Customer Reviews
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♥♥♥♥♥
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Page Turner!
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"We were in the center of a dying city." Mattie Cook says this on page 118 of Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson, a book that has become one of my favorites! It tells the tale of Mattie, a girl in Philadelphia in 1793 who is forced into adulthood as yellow fever strikes her town. She notices the change in herself, as she says (page 175), "'I'm not a little girl. I can take care of myself." I loved seeing her be dynamic throughout the novel.
Also, I liked seeing the different reactions to the fever. On page 206, Mattie says, "It was never going to stop. We would suffer endlessly, with no time to rest, no time to sleep." On the other hand, Nathaniel says (page 228), "The important things haven't changed at all." The broad look and different views at this catastrophe made my opinions sway several times.
Fever 1793 is a great book for 6th graders and above. The word choice in it was extraordinary with words like lingered, desperately, and stench. I enjoyed reading this historical fiction novel and would recommend it to anyone looking for a quick and good read! |
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