RATING: 🟢 Recommended
REVIEWER: Kelly Garwood
REVIEW METHODOLOGY: Louise Derman-Spark's Guide for Selecting Anti-Bias Children's Books
“Thousands dead. I saw Grandfather’s empty eyes. No food.
I saw Mother order me to leave her. No hope.” -- Laurie Halse Anderson
Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson is the coming-of-age story of teenager Matilda Cook, who navigates the loss of friends and family while living through the 1793 Yellow Fever Epidemic in Philadelphia. This epidemic was responsible for approximately 5,000 deaths in the city between August and November 1793, and Maddie’s character watches as thousands of people flee the city while those who do not have the means are forced to stay. In this unexpectedly relatable story, readers watch Maddie learn and grow as the epidemic runs its course.
Although published in 2000, this book is surprisingly relevant to those of us who experienced the COVID pandemic . Historically, little was known about how the Yellow Fever spread, who could be affected, and how to treat those afflicted. This type of confusion is very reminiscent of the early days of the pandemic in 2020. Beyond a relationship to this more recent pandemic, the book illustrates wonderfully how race and class intersect, particularly when it comes to health outcomes. In the book, the narrator and Maddie herself comment on the upper socioeconomic class fleeing the city and the epidemic, while those of lower socioeconomic class are forced to stay behind. Unfortunately, but historically accurate, Black people, in particular, faced disproportionately negative health outcomes.
This book is recommended, not only for the relatability and potential for discussion but also for the way intersections among race, class, and public health are explored. Anderson writes beautifully and keeps readers interested as we read about the epidemic unfolding. Having lived through the recent pandemic as a Public Health major, I found this book surprisingly eye-opening in terms of how little we have traveled in socioeconomic and racial equality when it comes to health care.
ABOUT THE REVIEWER
REVIEWER BIO: Kelly Garwood was a student Portland State University and took Zapoura Newton-Calvert's Social Justice in K12 Education course. Their volunteer work was a partnership with Reading Is Resistance and the Social Justice Books Project from Teaching for Change.
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