Title: Fever 1793
Author: Laurie Halse Anderson
Major Themes: Yellow Fever, Disease, Epidemic, Pennsylvania
Synopsis: When Yellow Fever struck the city of Philadelphia, Mattie’s life was turned upside down.
I have loved historical fiction books as long as I can remember. I love learning about history through stories. For that reason, I was delighted to get to read Fever 1793 to my daughter recently. Several years ago, we read a different book about the 1793 Yellow Fever outbreak in Philadelphia, but that book is hard to find, so it was nice to find one that is easy to source.
Publisher’s description:
During the summer of 1793, Mattie Cook lives above the family coffee shop with her widowed mother and grandfather. Mattie spends her days avoiding chores and making plans to turn the family business into the finest Philadelphia has ever seen. But then the fever breaks out.
Disease sweeps the streets, destroying everything in its path and turning Mattie’s world upside down. At her feverish mother’s insistence, Mattie flees the city with her grandfather. But she soon discovers that the sickness is everywhere, and Mattie must learn quickly how to survive in a city turned frantic with disease.
My thoughts:
To be honest, I didn’t like Fever 1793 as well as the other one we read—which I can’t remember the title of. There were attitudes I didn’t appreciate in this one; Mattie wasn’t always respectful to her mother, and she was crazy about a boy. However, those attitudes turned around towards the end of the book as she endured a lot of hard times and learned some valuable life lessons.
We did enjoy this story overall. There was enough tension throughout the story, as we wondered if Mattie and her family would survive, to keep us going. The author did a great job of making us feel the fear of the people of Philadelphia when faced with a disease they didn’t understand. Knowing what we know now about how Yellow Fever was transmitted, it is amazing to see how they reacted. This is a good book for those who like a strong, realistic female protagonist in a historical setting.
WARNING: Chapter 5: Boy/girl friendship, not too healthy. Chapter 10: Damned fool. Chapter 19: Fight, injuries, man dies. Chapter 20: Many dead people, thoughts about death.
Age levels:
Listening Level—Ages 10 – 12
Reading Independently—Ages 10 – 12, 12 – 15
Links to buy this book:
Amazon: Paperback | Kindle | Hardcover | Audible Audiobook (unabridged)
AbeBooks: View Choices on AbeBooks.com
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