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10th out of 534 books
—
1,393 voters
Fever 1793
by
Laurie Halse Anderson (Goodreads Author)
It's late summer 1793, and the streets of Philadelphia are abuzz with mosquitoes and rumors of fever. Down near the docks, many have taken ill, and the fatalities are mounting. Now they include Polly, the serving girl at the Cook Coffeehouse. But fourteen-year-old Mattie Cook doesn't get a moment to mourn the passing of her childhood playmate. New customers have overrun he...more
Paperback, 272 pages
Published
September 1st 2000
by Aladdin
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Fever 1793 is based on the actual yellow fever epidemic that hit Philadelphia and wiped out some five thousand people. One of those people affected by the fever is Mattie Cook. Mattie’s mother and grandfather own a coffeehouse in Philadelphia and that is where Mattie spends most of her days.
She has plans of her own for the coffeehouse someday and often day dreams of what it would be like when she ran the establishment. Mattie’s day dreams are shattered when the epidemic hits.
Mattie’s mother fall...more
She has plans of her own for the coffeehouse someday and often day dreams of what it would be like when she ran the establishment. Mattie’s day dreams are shattered when the epidemic hits.
Mattie’s mother fall...more
Feb 23, 2008
Ana
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
all the people who love sadness mix with a little bit of love
Recommended to Ana by:
carolina
Fever
Laurie Anderson is the author of this wonderful book, witch has a outstanding content. The author uses a romantic technique of writing witch is bonded to the fearful story of the fever in 1793, an example of this romantic writing is the following "I threw my arms around Nathaniel and planted a big kiss on his cheek." (Anderson 232). The story begins in Philadelphia when we get introduced to a girl with such a life. The author gives us an excellent use of language witch describes the book...more
Laurie Anderson is the author of this wonderful book, witch has a outstanding content. The author uses a romantic technique of writing witch is bonded to the fearful story of the fever in 1793, an example of this romantic writing is the following "I threw my arms around Nathaniel and planted a big kiss on his cheek." (Anderson 232). The story begins in Philadelphia when we get introduced to a girl with such a life. The author gives us an excellent use of language witch describes the book...more
January 9, 2013
I'm now reading chapter five and page twenty nine of the book Fever 1793, by Laurie Halse Anderson. Fever 1793 is a huge attention grabber! It's sad, but full of happy moments! I'm just in the beginning, so I haven't got through a lot of the book yet, but what I have read is perfect for a reader that loves suspenseful books. Fever 1793 is Historical Fiction, so if you like Historical Fiction- I've got a good book for you! Historical Fiction is one of my favorite genres, so this is...more
I'm now reading chapter five and page twenty nine of the book Fever 1793, by Laurie Halse Anderson. Fever 1793 is a huge attention grabber! It's sad, but full of happy moments! I'm just in the beginning, so I haven't got through a lot of the book yet, but what I have read is perfect for a reader that loves suspenseful books. Fever 1793 is Historical Fiction, so if you like Historical Fiction- I've got a good book for you! Historical Fiction is one of my favorite genres, so this is...more
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6 likes · like · see review
When I first found out that I had to read this book, I was not excited about it, because usually school books are boring and have no interest for me in it. When I first started to read this book I thought here we go again another boring book, why are doing this to me? I got more into the book as time went by, and wound up actually liking it. This book had become interesting and it was like no other book that I had read before, which was a good thing. In the next few paragraphs, I will tell you...more
Fever 1793 is one of the rare children's novels that I will recommend to adults to read.
As a middle school English teacher, reading children's and young adult fiction is part of the job. Often it is enjoyable, and often I am annoyed because I would rather be reading something else. Usually, after a spree of YA literature I must read Faulkner or a chapter from Ulysses to come out even. YA books are often formulaic. The formula includes a protagonist that is generally angst-ridden, complaining...more
As a middle school English teacher, reading children's and young adult fiction is part of the job. Often it is enjoyable, and often I am annoyed because I would rather be reading something else. Usually, after a spree of YA literature I must read Faulkner or a chapter from Ulysses to come out even. YA books are often formulaic. The formula includes a protagonist that is generally angst-ridden, complaining...more
7 likes · like · see review
In 1793, Philadelphia had a malaria outbreak that killed a large portion of the population and almost wiped out the town. We follow Mattie Cook’s journey into adulthood, surviving the fever and witnessing the horrors of malaria. The book is very graphic and vivid describing people dying and feverish. Anderson spared no details. This book also has historic information lost from most school textbooks. We learn about the roles of free African Americans in the beginning of our country. Recommended f...more
3 likes · like · see review
Have you ever read a story and it was so good. So good you didn't want to put the book down. So good you read it from day to night. So good you read it almost four times. Well that was the case with the book "Fever 1793". This book has history, happiness, and heartache. this book is one to remember.
The story "Fever 1793" takes place in historic Philadelphia in the year 1793. The setting makes the story really stand out. By the story being in Philadelphia it really makes the conflicts of the stor...more
The story "Fever 1793" takes place in historic Philadelphia in the year 1793. The setting makes the story really stand out. By the story being in Philadelphia it really makes the conflicts of the stor...more
The fever of 1973 was the first high school book that was assigned for me to read over the summer. I would do what every other student does and trash the book or try to talk about all the good things that they liked in the book but shockingly I not only liked but enjoyed the book. I liked the plot of the book, I liked the main character Maddy and I also liked the the different places and views that the book took place in.
I said I liked the main character Maddy because of her building character....more
I said I liked the main character Maddy because of her building character....more
Anderson's _Fever_ is a painfully researched novelization of a young girl's experience in Philadelphia's 1793 yellow fever epidemic. The epidemic, which claimed the lives of perhaps a fifth of America's then capital, is barely remembered today, but surely must have seemed like a 9/11 magnitude catastrophe at the time.
Anderson's writing is convincing and flows effectively. I look forward to reading more of Anderson's American historical fiction.
Anderson's writing is convincing and flows effectively. I look forward to reading more of Anderson's American historical fiction.
What an amazing book! A great story with a great heroine. This book gives great insight into a fascinating event in U.S. history, while at the same time tells a compelling story of survival in the almost post-apocalyptic world that was Philadelphia in the summer of 1793. There's humor, romance, action, tragedy, cruelty, compassion, heroism, and of course the amazing personal growth of a fourteen-year-old girl named Mattie Cook as she experiences each one of these things and more. It's little won...more
The novel Fever is an appropriate book for middle school students about the Yellow Fever epidemic that took place in Philadelphia in the late 18th century.
Mattie Cook is a sixteen-year-old girl with a funny sense of humor. This story is very historically accurate. The disease devastates the area that was at one time very prosperous. In the end, George Washington returns to Philadelphia (the Capitol)to symbolize the end of the the fever. The people knew that if Washington came to town that the fe...more
Mattie Cook is a sixteen-year-old girl with a funny sense of humor. This story is very historically accurate. The disease devastates the area that was at one time very prosperous. In the end, George Washington returns to Philadelphia (the Capitol)to symbolize the end of the the fever. The people knew that if Washington came to town that the fe...more
1 like · like · see review
There is nothing much I can say about this book except that it is just an OK read. I know Laurie Halse Anderson for her great contemporary YA novels - "Wintergirls," "Catalyst," "Twisted," and "Speak." "Fever 1793" is nothing like these fabulous books. This is Anderson's first historical fiction book which describes the worst epidemic of yellow fever in America. The story is definitely written for pre-teen children, not young adults. There is just not enough character development or conflict to...more
4 likes · like · see review
This booked was a quick read with an okay storyline. I enjoyed learning some detailes about the fever, but there was a lack of interesting characters. The character development was weak and at some points I found the events to be far fetched. The romantic storyline between Matilda and Nathanial was weak and seemed unnatural.
FINALLY!!! A Laurie Halse Anderson book that was completely likeable with no reservations!!! I loved the research and thought that was put into the story. I loved the characters. In a way it was depressing, but all ended well. I learned quite a bit about the plague of 1793 in Philadelphia (how did I not know about this Mr. Smart???) and couldn't put it down. It was emotional, beautiful, and left something with me that I can't forget. The writing was so amazing that I felt like I should be readin...more
Matilda Cook, "Mattie", is just a normal teenage girl in 1793. Similar to teenage girls today, Mattie spends her time avoiding chores, disliking the boy her mother wants her to marry, and crushing on a boy no one approves of. Mattie spends the majority of her time working in her widowed mother's coffee shop and being teased by her grandfather. Mattie dreams of turning the small coffee shop into Philadelphia's finest establishment, but her dreams are put on hold when Yellow Fever breaks out affec...more
Feb 18, 2009
Melissa
added it
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“Fever 1793” is historical fiction, set in the capital city of Philadelphia during the yellow fever epidemic. Matilda is fourteen years old and lives with her mother and grandfather. Her father had fallen from a ladder and died unexpectedly, leaving his widow to run their home and business, the coffeehouse. Matilda has dreams to restructure the coffeehouse into a prominent business, but the summer heat and mosquitoes soon make mere survival her primary concern. She is sent to the country...more
“Fever 1793” is historical fiction, set in the capital city of Philadelphia during the yellow fever epidemic. Matilda is fourteen years old and lives with her mother and grandfather. Her father had fallen from a ladder and died unexpectedly, leaving his widow to run their home and business, the coffeehouse. Matilda has dreams to restructure the coffeehouse into a prominent business, but the summer heat and mosquitoes soon make mere survival her primary concern. She is sent to the country...more
Book Review of Fever
I love the book, Fever, because is it so interesting! I read the book nonstop! I chose this book because it is fiction and I love fiction books. Before I read this book I was skimming the summary and I thought this seemed like a good book so I decided to read it. I rate this book 10 from a scale of 1-10 (1 being hated and 10 being loved). This is a book about a girl named Mattie who has a mom that gets the fever, which is the worst sickness you can have in the book. Her mothe...more
I love the book, Fever, because is it so interesting! I read the book nonstop! I chose this book because it is fiction and I love fiction books. Before I read this book I was skimming the summary and I thought this seemed like a good book so I decided to read it. I rate this book 10 from a scale of 1-10 (1 being hated and 10 being loved). This is a book about a girl named Mattie who has a mom that gets the fever, which is the worst sickness you can have in the book. Her mothe...more
Remember that scene in the movie It's A Wonderful Life when the miserly Mr. Potter tells George Bailey that his impassioned plea not to foreclose on the bank is "sentimental hogwash?" The phrase crossed my mind several times as I read this book - and yet I loved every page of it. It just seems impossible to keep the patinated bloom of revisionist history off of the past, and as good as Anderson's book is, she is guilty of letting modern mores get the better of her. The 14 year-old heroine, thoro...more
Laurie Anderson's novel, "Fever 1793", was an entertaining book to read. The author described the story and the characters so well that I could picture every moment in my head. The characters had good developed personalities and very relatable for the most part; Matilda "Mattie" Cook, is a very typical teenage girl. Daydreaming and having a crush, lazy and frustrated when she is ordered to help her mother, Lucille, around their Coffeehouse. She realizes she is not much of a use around the house...more
For me, Laurie Halse Anderson's books are a hit-and-miss experience. Some are great, some are good, and some are just plain awful (such as Prom), but I think that Fever is one of her best works. That is, I think that it will appeal to a wider age range than some of her other books.
Mattie is a young woman living in Philadelphia with her mother and grandfather in 1793. However, without warning, a deadly fever sweeps the city. With death running rampant, Mattie and her grandfather flee to escape t...more
Mattie is a young woman living in Philadelphia with her mother and grandfather in 1793. However, without warning, a deadly fever sweeps the city. With death running rampant, Mattie and her grandfather flee to escape t...more
Name: Michelle Muro
Citation: Anderson, L.H. (2000). Fever, 1793. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.
Genre: Historical Fiction
Format: Print
Selection Process: YALSA website
Review:
In August of 1793, fourteen-year-old Mattie Cook is living in Philadelphia, the capital of the United States. Rumors begin spreading of a horrible fever near the waterfront. While many are frightened, some are skeptical. However, soon everyone realizes the danger as yellow fever spreads from the waterfront to the rest of...more
Citation: Anderson, L.H. (2000). Fever, 1793. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.
Genre: Historical Fiction
Format: Print
Selection Process: YALSA website
Review:
In August of 1793, fourteen-year-old Mattie Cook is living in Philadelphia, the capital of the United States. Rumors begin spreading of a horrible fever near the waterfront. While many are frightened, some are skeptical. However, soon everyone realizes the danger as yellow fever spreads from the waterfront to the rest of...more
Annotation:
This book is about a fourteen year old girl name Matilda Cook, Mattie for short. Mattie lives in Philadelphia above a coffee shop with her mom, grandpa, a parrot (George) and an orange cat (Silas). As shown in the title this book is about the Fever of 1793 and once Mattie’s friend Polly doesn’t show up to work at the coffee shop Mattie realizes her life is going to change very drastically. The epidemic begins to explode and she finds out about more and more cases throughout her town....more
This book is about a fourteen year old girl name Matilda Cook, Mattie for short. Mattie lives in Philadelphia above a coffee shop with her mom, grandpa, a parrot (George) and an orange cat (Silas). As shown in the title this book is about the Fever of 1793 and once Mattie’s friend Polly doesn’t show up to work at the coffee shop Mattie realizes her life is going to change very drastically. The epidemic begins to explode and she finds out about more and more cases throughout her town....more
This book was kind of meh for me. While the history was certainly fascinating, I really didn't get into the characters (aside from the Grandfather) in this book. Admittedly, I read this for book club and I tend to shy away from YA historical fiction...but even still this didn't cut it for me.
Fever 1793 follows Matilda, a young "tween" (I think) who lives through the Yellow Fever epidemic in Philadelphia in 1793. The history itself is fascinating, as most plague stories are. I truthfully can say...more
Fever 1793 follows Matilda, a young "tween" (I think) who lives through the Yellow Fever epidemic in Philadelphia in 1793. The history itself is fascinating, as most plague stories are. I truthfully can say...more
Week 12: Historical Fiction
Everyday, more and more people are becoming sick with Malaria. This is an increasing concern for Mattie Cook, her mother, and grandfather, who all continue to hear rumors of death. Mattie's family runs the local coffee shop in Philadelphia. To avoid the Yellow Fever, Mattie and her grandfather flee to the country, away from the water and shores that act as a breeding ground for the mosquitos. When they return, their world is not the same. Her strict, overbearing mother...more
Everyday, more and more people are becoming sick with Malaria. This is an increasing concern for Mattie Cook, her mother, and grandfather, who all continue to hear rumors of death. Mattie's family runs the local coffee shop in Philadelphia. To avoid the Yellow Fever, Mattie and her grandfather flee to the country, away from the water and shores that act as a breeding ground for the mosquitos. When they return, their world is not the same. Her strict, overbearing mother...more
I thought this book was alright for a historical fiction novel! I'm not a big history fan because it tends to bore me but I did enjoy this book fairly well. I have read novels by Laurie Halse Anderson before so it was nice to know an author on the list of historical fiction novels we could read. One thing I did enjoy about this book was that it centered around yellow fever, which is a sickness from the past that I haven't learned much about. The quotes at the beginning of the chapters really hel...more
My overall first impression of this book was similar to reading any other book regarding mass epidemics or plagues… depressing and dark. When studying the Black Plague that destroyed Europe in my history class I got a similar sense (Also, reading about mass Ebola epidemics in modern Africa gave me the same impression). This book is an outline of how disease psychologically unravels a society from the inside out beyond a body count, but from a fictional perspective. Though it is based on true eve...more
I have some mixed feelings about this book. For about the first 100 pages or so, the book really lagged. The author explained a lot of background knowledge before introducing the "yellow fever". While the author did a good job at introducing Mattie, her mother, Eliza and Grandfather, the beginning was a little bit dry. It was hard for me to form a connection with Mattie's character early on. The only character I really enjoyed in the beginning was the Grandfather. His character reminds me of my...more
I liked this novel for the most part, but I was bothered by the slow plot development at the beginning of the novel. I understand that authors have to build up the plot and the characters, so that readers will be more attached to the story line and the characters. However, I do not believe that there needs to be as much back story as was provided in this novel. Aside from this factor, I enjoyed reading this book for personal and educational reasons.
I loved the characters in the book especially...more
I loved the characters in the book especially...more
I am usually not into historical fiction texts. However, Fever 1793 definitely changed my view on this type of writing. At first I thought that it might be difficult to read or understand because of the language and time period, but it was a surprisingly fast and easy read for me. The plot was interesting and Mattie’s character was very well written. Even through serious times her personal humor showed through the writing very well.
Something I especially enjoyed about this novel was its descr...more
Something I especially enjoyed about this novel was its descr...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What's your emotions to this book? | 2 | 7 | May 19, 2013 09:00pm | |
| fever 1793 | 2 | 12 | May 18, 2013 08:32pm | |
| What I Liked About The Book | 17 | 49 | Apr 16, 2013 04:14pm | |
| Mrs. Gallagher's ...: Valeska's Book Review | 1 | 4 | Jan 18, 2013 06:34pm | |
| Fever | 2 | 13 | Oct 11, 2012 04:47pm |
Laurie Halse Anderson is the New York Times-bestselling author who writes for kids of all ages. Known for tackling tough subjects with humor and sensitivity, her work has earned numerous ALA and state awards. Two of her books, Speak and Chains, were National Book Award finalists.
Mother of four and wife of one, Laurie lives in Northern New York, where she likes to watch the snow fall as she writes....more
More about Laurie Halse Anderson...
Mother of four and wife of one, Laurie lives in Northern New York, where she likes to watch the snow fall as she writes....more
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“It had been a good day, all things considered. I had managed rather well on my own. I opened Grandfather's Bible. This is what it would be like when I had my own shop, or when I traveled abroad. I would always read before sleeping. One day, I'd be so rich I would have a library full of novel to choose from. But I would always end the evening with a Bible passage.”
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9 people liked it
“No. Absolutely not. I forbid it. You'll have nightmares."
"She was my friend! You must allow me. Why are you so horrid?"
As soon as the angry words were out of my mouth, I knew I had gone too far.
"Matilda!" Mother rose from her chair. "You are forbidden to pseak to me in that tone! Apologize at once.”
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5 people liked it
More quotes…
"She was my friend! You must allow me. Why are you so horrid?"
As soon as the angry words were out of my mouth, I knew I had gone too far.
"Matilda!" Mother rose from her chair. "You are forbidden to pseak to me in that tone! Apologize at once.”
Mar 01, 2013 08:16am