Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson is an historical fiction novel about the yellow fever that rages through Philadelphia in 1793 causing many families to either flee or fight for their lives. Mattie Cook is a young girl who works in a coffee shop with her family during this time. Lives will change and strength will be tested as everyone struggles not only to make enough enough money to get by, but simply to continue living.Based on the setting of the story I believe that Mattie is going to go through many struggles involving her family and friends in the area of Philadelphia. Considering that she is a teenager I believe that she is going to be forced to go through all of the troubles of a teenager and be forced to have to deal with the raging fever as well. I think that the fever is going to be an epidemic that continues for a long time considering that the time period is 1793. The medicine and research for causes of this fever were not as advanced and I believe that some rash or quick decisions may be made in the midst of all of the panic that may occur in the novel.
I have high hopes that this will be an enjoyable novel and I have chosen it because I thought that the concept seemed intriguing. I believe that there is a lot of action and twists and turns that could be thrown into the novel based on the topic that it is covering. The New York Times Book Review also states on the front cover, "The plot rages like the epidemic itself." This made me believe that this novel would be one to most likely keep my attention. I also chose this novel because I related to the age of Mattie Cook, the main character. Being a teenage girl living in the Philadelphia area I thought that I would be able to closely relate to some or many of the issues that she will be faced with.
The reading schedule that I have created for this blog includes reading 60 pages for each blog which evenly divides the book into four parts. These blogs will be posted by March 6, March 13, March 20, and March 27 in chronological order. This will enable this blog to lay out in very efficient yet understandable terms so that any reader can fully contemplate the meaning of the book and the symbolism or connections to which I shall refer to throughout.
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