A mesmerizing, macabre account that will make readers happy they live in the 21st century. The yellow fever epidemic of 1793 snuck up on the people of Philadelphia during the hot summer; by the end of the year, some 10 percent of the city’s population lay dead. Drawing heavily on primary sources, Murphy (Inside the Alamo, p. 393, etc.) takes readers through the epidemic, moving methodically from its detection by the medical community; through its symptoms, treatment, and mortality; its effects on the populace, and what Philadelphia did to counter it. Individual chapters recount the efforts of the heroes of the epidemic: the quasi-legal committee of 12 who took over the running of the city government; the country’s preeminent physician, Dr. Benjamin Rush; and the Free African Society, whose members toiled valiantly to ease the victims’ pain and to dispose of the dead. Powerful, evocative prose carries along the compelling subject matter. Even as the narrative places readers in the moment with quotations, the design aids and abets this, beginning each chapter with reproductions from contemporary newspapers and other materials, as well as placing period illustrations appropriately throughout the text. The account of Philadelphia’s recovery wraps up with a fascinating discussion of historiography, detailing the war of words between Matthew Carey, one of the committee of 12, and Absalom Jones and Richard Allen, the leaders of the Free African Society—interesting in itself, it is also a valuable lesson in reading and writing history. Stellar. (bibliography, illustration credits, index) (Nonfiction. 10+)
Pub Date: April 21, 2003
ISBN: 0-395-77608-2
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2003
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
IN THE NEWS
A beautiful, powerful reflection on a tragic history.
In spare verse, Lowry reflects on moments in her childhood, including the bombings of Pearl Harbor and Hiroshima.
When she was a child, Lowry played at Waikiki Beach with her grandmother while her father filmed. In the old home movie, the USS Arizona appears through the mist on the horizon. Looking back at her childhood in Hawaii and then Japan, Lowry reflects on the bombings that began and ended a war and how they affected and connected everyone involved. In Part 1, she shares the lives and actions of sailors at Pearl Harbor. Part 2 is stories of civilians in Hiroshima affected by the bombing. Part 3 presents her own experience as an American in Japan shortly after the war ended. The poems bring the haunting human scale of war to the forefront, like the Christmas cards a sailor sent days before he died or the 4-year-old who was buried with his red tricycle after Hiroshima. All the personal stories—of sailors, civilians, and Lowry herself—are grounding. There is heartbreak and hope, reminding readers to reflect on the past to create a more peaceful future. Lowry uses a variety of poetry styles, identifying some, such as triolet and haiku. Pak’s graphite illustrations are like still shots of history, adding to the emotion and somber feeling. He includes some sailors of color among the mostly white U.S. forces; Lowry is white.
A beautiful, powerful reflection on a tragic history. (author’s note, bibliography) (Memoir/poetry. 10-14)Pub Date: April 7, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-358-12940-0
Page Count: 80
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 11, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2020
PROFILES
Heartwarming, insightful, and surprisingly funny.
A middle schooler tries to survive his worst day ever.
Seventh grader Andrew Yaeger has a lot on his mind. Money is tight, his beloved grandmother is suffering from Alzheimer’s, and the biggest bully in school is after him. To make matters worse, it’s picture day, and Andrew’s mom desperately wants one good photo of him. But after taking a basketball to the face in gym class, getting knocked into a trophy case by his bully, and getting sprayed with grape juice thanks to a friend’s explosive sneeze, Andrew’s anxiety starts to simmer. When he gets a call from his mom saying that his grandma has gone missing, his anxiety escalates from simmering to boiling—and he starts to wonder whether he can withstand the pressure. One bright spot is the presence of Aisha “Jonesy” Jones, his lifelong best friend—although their friendship is shifting as she spends more time with her basketball friends. Harrell’s conversational tone, snappy pacing, and realistic dialogue make each chapter eminently readable. The accompanying black-and-white doodles, notes, and comics lend humor to some serious situations. Harrell does a fantastic job of explaining the symptoms accompanying anxiety and panic attacks in simple terms, with Andrew feeling “like I’m in hot oil and I might pop” or “there’s a blue whale…crushing my chest.” Readers will also appreciate the accurate depictions of talk therapy and of the tics that accompany Andrew’s OCD. Andrew is white; Jonesy is Black.
Heartwarming, insightful, and surprisingly funny. (author’s note, resources) (Fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2024
ISBN: 9780593697924
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: June 26, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2024
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