A young girl survives a yellow fever
epidemic in historic Philadelphia

In 1793 Philadelphia was the capital city of the newly formed United States of America. The nation's founding fathers, including George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, were managing the national government from there. Toward the end of a long, hot summer, the people of Philadelphia start dying off from a terrible disease. It was a yellow fever epidemic. Doctors of those days didn't know what caused it or how to treat it.

People who had enough money to do so fled from the city in panic. Those left behind watched as one in ten of the city's population died from the fever. Before cold weather came to stop the spread of disease, the city ran short of food and water. The bravest of the survivors had to see to burying the dead, nursing the sick, and caring for the many orphaned children.

In "Fever 1793" fourteen-year-old Mattie Cook tells her story and how she survived the outbreak of yellow fever in her home city. We learn that her widowed mother ran a popular coffee shop where some of the founding fathers came to meet and discuss the politics of the day. Mattie helps out in the coffee shop and is leading a fairly normal life until the yellow fever epidemic appears and starts to cause her life to unravel.

If you like your history as told through the experiences and adventures of life-like characters, you will enjoy "Fever 1793." You will find out about an important part of our nation's early history that most of today's Americans do not know about.

 

Skellig - a strange name for a book
and for a strange creature

A lot seems to be happening at once in ten-year-old Michael's life. With his Mom and Dad, he has just moved into what is a new home for them. But it's an old house with a falling down garage and a weed-tangled garden. His parents, especially his dad, are excited about fixing it up for their growing family. A new baby sister arrives just as they have moved in. She is not home very long before they find out there is something wrong with her health. She has to be put back into the hospital where it is not certain that she can even be kept alive.

Amid all this commotion in his life, Michael wanders into the old garage. He is not supposed to go in it because the garage is ready to collapse. To his astonishment there is a strange creature lying there in the trash and spider webs. The creature looks almost human and even talks like a human being. But he's bony and skinny and pale as death. And he appears to eat spiders and bugs and, even, mice. Yeach!

While his mother is at the hospital with the baby, Michael and his dad are surviving on Chinese take-out food. Michael discovers that the creature, who calls himself "Skellig", really loves Chinese take-out also. He had become accustomed to eating it since the prior owner of the house had ordered out from the same Chinese eatery. With Michael bringing him food, the creature seems to be getting more lively and talkative. When Michael brings his new friend, Mina, a girl in the neighborhood, to visit Skellig, she helps Michael move him to a secret location that's safer than the old garage.

As the story progresses, Skellig comes to play an increasingly important part in the life of Michael's family. Yet nobody but Michael and Mina ever see Skellig or are even aware of his existence. Is Skellig real or only the product of two kids' vivid imaginations? You have to read the book and make up your own mind. Be prepared for a really different reading experience.

 

To help conquer her fears, a
thirteen-year-old goes to sea

As an orphan in New England, Sophie had longed to be part of a family. Now, she had a family, and was trying to erase the bad memories of that earlier time in her life. Three of her uncles and two male cousins from her adopted mother's family are planning to sail to England on a 45-foot sailboat called "The Wanderer". They want to visit Bompie, the family's 72-year-old father and grandfather, who had returned to his British homeland just a few years earlier. Sophie insisted on going along. She felt like she knew Bompie very well even though she had never really met him.

Sophie begins to have some qualms about trying to sail across the Atlantic Ocean when she sees the bad condition the sailboat is in. But along with her five relatives, she pitches in to help get the boat ready for the voyage. After a couple of trial runs up and down the coast, the six crewmembers set out for England. The story of their voyage is told in the words of Sophie and her slightly older and seemingly irresponsible cousin, Cody. Each of them kept a journal. We are able to read of their adventure from their two differing points of view.

The real test of courage and seamanship comes when a violent storm threatens to end their voyage and leave them all at the bottom of the sea. Sophie and Cody have to take charge when the uncles (one of them Cody's father) for various reasons cannot cope with the aftermath of the terrible storm. We learn how crossing the ocean is a voyage of personal discovery for each member of the crew, whether adult or teenager. The book has enough adventure and surprises for anyone.

 

A late summer family camping trip
turns into a night of terror

Imagine this. As a twelve-year-old you go on a camping trip to a small island with your parents and your little sister. While hiking to the campsite, your mom falls and breaks her leg. Your dad has to carry her a mile back to the car and get your mom to a hospital emergency room. Because your little sister is crippled, you need to stay with her so you dad can get your mom quickly back to town. There is one bridge to the island and your dad should be able to get back to you and your sister within three or four hours. After your parents have been gone a couple of hours, an earthquake occurs and trees come crashing down all around you. You find that your camping equipment and food are inaccessible. The bridge to the town has collapsed. To your horror, water is rising around you. In a short time the island is going to be totally flooded and nightfall is coming.

Jonathan Palmer and his sister, Abby, find themselves in the situation just described. As a companion, they have the big family dog, Moose, with them. Jonathan realizes that he has to figure out how to save all three of them from drowning, as the water starts to come up around them.

If that plot sounds exciting enough for you, then "Earthquake Terror" is a paperback you won't want to miss. Does it have a happy ending? You'll have to read it to find out.