Reviewed by Stella, Alexander Adaire School Fit Fish reporter
Fever 1793
By Laurie Halse Anderson
This novel is about a 14-year-old girl named Mattie Cook, who runs a coffee shop with her family in the year 1793. But as summer comes and Philadelphia gets hotter, a disease called yellow fever spreads along the side of the river, but no one thinks much of it yet. Soon, Mattie is forced to grow up quickly and escape the city with her grandfather. She faces the loss of family members and the responsibility of caring for the sick.
Yellow fever is a virus carried by mosquitos that causes fever and if not treated properly, liver failure and death, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Philadelphia had a terrible yellow fever epidemic in 1793. In the year 2025, people can get a vaccine that can prevent infection, but there are still some places in the world where people become sick with yellow fever.
My opinion of this novel is that the book is 50 percent good and 50 percent iffy. Personally, I loved it because it included a young girl who was forced to grow up too soon, due to a tragedy which was very interesting to read about. However, it was also very hard to read the description of what yellow fever had done to the people. It almost horrified me at how horrible this time was. But since Mattie (the main character) had hope during the hardest time3s, it helped her get through this tragedy, including 5,000 deaths of people in the Philadelphia area, along with some of her family members. So I did like the book itself, but it scared me a little, considering this was a historical fiction novel.
I suggest this novel for people 11 and up, because of how harsh the content is. I definitely suggest it because after reading, I am much more grateful for the “normal” things I have, which are simple things like water, food, hand sanitizer, and masks. I think the book could have this impact on others. After reading the book, I also feel I take care to be cleaner, like washing my hands more often and using a mask if I am going into a crowded place. In general, it is an incredibly interesting book, because it gives you a glance at what things were like in the seventeenth century, and shows that if you have hope, you can get through nearly anything.
—Reviewed by Stella, sixth grade, Alexander Adaire School, Fit Fish
