Fever 1793

by Laurie Halse Anderson

Book Overview

An epidemic of fever sweeps through the streets of 1793 Philadelphia in this novel from Laurie Halse Anderson where "the plot rages like the epidemic itself" ( The New York Times Book Review ). During the summer of 1793, Mattie Cook lives above the family coffee shop with her widowed mother and grandfather. Mattie spends her days avoiding chores and making plans to turn the family business into the finest Philadelphia has ever seen. But then the fever...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0689848919
• Release Date: March 2002
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 7.6" x 0.8" x 5.1"

Customer Reviews

Great for a discussion on our recent pandemic

A wonderful young adult novel about the yellow fever pandemic in Philadelphia in 1793. Historical fiction at its best. Great for a discussion on far we have come with science on our recent pandemic.

A fully enjoyable read - well worth the investment of time

Well written and an educational peek into life during the epidemic at this time. Very well researched and realistic. Plus a happy ending.

Riveting.

This story follows the journey of a young adult through a yellow fever plague. For those of us who survived the Covid pandemic, the stories of confused doctors, raging fears, and heroes will ring true. It is a page turner.

Fever 1973

Author of Speak, Laurie Halse Anderson writes her amazing historical fiction book, Fever 1793 about a teenage girl named Matilda a.k.a. Mattie who faces difficulty and fights for her life. The story is written really well and Laurie Halse Anderson does a good job making Matilda sound like a girl in the 18th century. In Fever 1793 the bonds of friendship and love is written really well. 16 year-old Matilda Cook's mother and grandfather owns a popular coffee shop on High Street. Mattie was a lazy girl with a comfortable and plain life. Her whole life changes when the yellow fever epidemic arrives in Philadelphia. Her mother caught the fever and sends Matilda and her grandfather away to be safe. They leave Philadelphia and on their way both Matilda and her grandfather catches yellow fever. So much happens like the death of Mattie's grandfather and her mother goes missing. The epidemic kills thousands of people. When winter comes the epidemic ends. The fever might have ended but the bad memories are still there. The epidemic caused Mattie to change a lot. She was a lazy girl in the beginning of the book but then she became more responsible and strong. The character shift that Laurie Halse Anderson did was really good. I had read her other book Speak and thought it was an ok book. But Fever 1973 is one of the best books I've ever read. This book was written I such a way that it is hard to put down. Anderson makes you want to keep reading. I read this book in 3 days and couldn't put it down. I never knew historical fiction could be so fun to read. Fever 1793 is written so well. I couldn't find any downside besides the fact that I thought the beginning was boring, other than that it was perfect. This book really gives you a picture of the 18th century. This book was not only fun to read but it also was educational. These are two qualities that make the book great.

A real flip turner

Fever is a book, which takes place in 1793, just after the American Revolution. Yellow Fever spreads throughout the cities, including Philadelphia, where Mattie Cook lives. Mattie and her grandfather flee the city, and try to escape into the country where the air is clean. They are stranded in the country after being thrown out of a wagon, and have to survive with the conditions they are living in. This book includes many thrilling, and frightening obstacles that Mattie has to overcome. It also made me think about how far we have come with medicine, and cures. Back in 1793 they thought that bleeding people was the right way to cure people of sicknesses. It turns out that bleeding people eventually kills them. We are very lucky to have the intelligence we have now.I also like this book because helped me understand what it would have been like in a 14 year olds mind when all of the chaos was happening. The book expresses Mattie's feelings and helps you understand what kind of things she was going through.I would definitly recommend this book to people 10 and older, or anyone who wants to read a book that is adventurous but factual at the same time.

History comes to Life

Fever, 1793 brings the sorrowful time in Philadelphia when Yellow Fever devastated the city, to life in a compelling manner. You see the sights of the ravished market,docks, and shops, smell the stench of the dead and dying, feel the despair of those waiting and watching and struggle right along with Mattie as she copes with the loss of her grandfather, the fear that her missing mother may be dead,and her determination to reach out to others and survive.Mattie's spirit brings hope and joy in a terrible time. I could not put this book down. A librarian from Bucks County

A girl fights to survive in the 1793 yellow fever epidemic.

It's the late summer of 1793 in Philadelphia, and fourteen-year-old Mattie Cook helps her widowed mother and her grandfather run a coffehouse. Mattie resents her strict mother and dreams of expanding the coffeehouse and becoming wealthy. But her mother seems determined to find a wealthy young man to marry Mattie off to. But all of Mattie's concerns soon seem petty when an epidemic of yellow fever begins to spread throughout the city. Mattie's own mother falls ill and sends Mattie and her grandfather to stay on a farm in the countryside, where she hopes they will be safe. But they are turned away and forced to return to Philadelphia when a doctor mistakes her grandfather's cough for yellow fever. Mattie comes down with the fever and nearly dies, but is nursed back to health in a temporary hospital. But she and her grandfather return to the coffeehouse to find that Mattie's mother has vanished. They try to settle back into a normal routine, but a sudden tragedy soon leaves Mattie on her own. Now, in a world turned upside down, in a ghost city a shadow of its former self, Mattie must keep herself alive and care for a little girl orphaned by the epidemic. This was an excellant historical novel that brought to life the epidemic. Through Mattie's first-person narration, I became immersed in the daily events of her life and her fight for survival. Highly reccomended.