Laurie Halse Anderson is a great name to know in the realm of YA lit. Her novel Fever, 1793 tells the story of 14-year-old Mattie Cook. She, her mother, and grandfather live in Philadelphia where they run a thriving coffeeshop. Mattie has great plans to someday expand the shop and eventually travel to Paris, but spends much of her time disagreeing with her more practical mother. Tragedy strikes in the title year, however, when yellow fever spreads throughout the city. Mattie's mother falls ill early on, and Mattie and her grandfather are sent to the countryside to stay with friends in the hopes that they will be able to avoid the epidemic. The two fall sick along the way, however, and are left to rely on the kindness of strangers to nurse them back to health. When Mattie recovers and returns to Philadelphia, she finds her beloved city greatly changed. The fever rages on, many have fled and only the poorest and worst of society remain, her home has been ransacked by looters, and her mother is nowhere to be found. Now it is up to Mattie to find strength within herself to find what she needs to survive.This is a great historical adventure. Anderson has clearly done her research about this time period and about the yellow fever epidemic in particular, and many historical notes can be found at the end of the book for those interested in learning more. The supporting characters are engaging and are certainly key for helping Mattie get back on her feet, but it is definitely her own strength that sees her though. The supporting characters are also an incredibly diverse bunch, which helps to show readers how people of different social classes and situations were affected by this terrible epidemic. I'd definitely recommend this book for anyone in the middle school crowd and up interested in historical fiction and/or survival and adventure stories.
Overall Grade: A+
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