More of my Tween Tuesday posts.
Release Date: February 22, 2011
Publisher: Atheneum/Simon & Schuster
Pages: 288
Received: ARC from publisher and
won an ARC from The Book Scout
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads Page
Summary
Product description:
If Prudence Galewski is ever going to get out of Mrs. Browning’s esteemed School for Girls, she must demonstrate her refinement and charm by securing a job appropriate for a young lady. But Prudence isn’t like the other girls. She is fascinated by how the human body works and why it fails.
With a stroke of luck, she lands a position in a laboratory, where she is swept into an investigation of the fever bound to change medical history. Prudence quickly learns that an inquiry of this proportion is not confined to the lab. From ritzy mansions to shady bars and rundown tenements, she explores every potential cause of the disease. But there’s no answer in sight—until the volatile Mary Mallon emerges. Dubbed “Typhoid Mary” by the press, Mary is an Irish immigrant who has worked as a cook in every home the fever has ravaged. Strangely, though, she hasn’t been sick a day in her life. Is the accusation against her an act of discrimination? Or is she the first clue in a new scientific discovery?
Prudence is determined to find out. In a time when science is for men, she’ll have to prove to the city, and to herself, that she can help solve one of the greatest medical mysteries of the twentieth century.
Review
Let me just start out by saying I am so disappointed with this book! (Can you hear my foot stomping in petulant frustration?) This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2011 and when I got an ARC I was beyond excited. And then, argh, I didn’t love it. How crappy is that feeling of book disappointment, right?
Ok, ok, you don’t want to hear me sob. I know you want to know why I was so disappointed. Here’s why, and most of it is my own fault. Part of the reason I enjoy historical fiction so much is because it’s a fun way to learn about history. I also have a strange fascination with learning about diseases. I was hoping this book would teach me a bunch of facts about typhoid and the early discoveries about the disease, but that didn’t happen.
We do learn about typhoid a little, and so I guess if a person really knows very little about the disease then they would learn a bit. But me, I guess I knew too much already because I learned nothing new. There was also very little about the disease itself: the symptoms and progression, how many people died, etc. You know, the gory details.
That turned out to not really be the focus of the book though, so you can chalk up my disappointment here more to my false expectations than any failing on the author’s part. Instead, the focus of this book was on the social and moral implications of quarantining an unwilling person. The question of where you draw the line between an individual’s freedom and the safety of the population at large was explored sensitively and in a way that really did make me think.
My second complaint is, again, not the author’s fault. Deadly is categorized as a YA book, but I think it really should be MG/juvenile. Prudence is a YA in age, but in voice she struck me as much younger. Her thoughts were simple and there was a certain immaturity to her voice. I found myself unable to really connect with her because of this.
The writing is simple with short chapters, a very straightforward plot, and subject matter suitable for a younger reader. I think this might have been a more enjoyable story if it had been written in the third person instead of journal entries (usually I enjoy journal entries). Part of this is because Prudence speaks in a very clinical, detached voice and that also made it difficult for me to connect to her.
I actually think the perfect audience for this book would be girls who adored the American Girl series but have recently outgrown them. There’s just something about the writing style, Prudence’s voice, her dilemma, and the little drawings that accompany her journal that reminded me of the American Girl books. If this book had been categorized as a MG/juvenile title I would have given it a higher rating (probably a solid four). As it stands, the book just doesn’t have the weight or depth of some other YA historical fiction novels (like Cate of the Lost Colony).
We do learn about typhoid a little, and so I guess if a person really knows very little about the disease then they would learn a bit. But me, I guess I knew too much already because I learned nothing new. There was also very little about the disease itself: the symptoms and progression, how many people died, etc. You know, the gory details.
That turned out to not really be the focus of the book though, so you can chalk up my disappointment here more to my false expectations than any failing on the author’s part. Instead, the focus of this book was on the social and moral implications of quarantining an unwilling person. The question of where you draw the line between an individual’s freedom and the safety of the population at large was explored sensitively and in a way that really did make me think.
My second complaint is, again, not the author’s fault. Deadly is categorized as a YA book, but I think it really should be MG/juvenile. Prudence is a YA in age, but in voice she struck me as much younger. Her thoughts were simple and there was a certain immaturity to her voice. I found myself unable to really connect with her because of this.
The writing is simple with short chapters, a very straightforward plot, and subject matter suitable for a younger reader. I think this might have been a more enjoyable story if it had been written in the third person instead of journal entries (usually I enjoy journal entries). Part of this is because Prudence speaks in a very clinical, detached voice and that also made it difficult for me to connect to her.
I actually think the perfect audience for this book would be girls who adored the American Girl series but have recently outgrown them. There’s just something about the writing style, Prudence’s voice, her dilemma, and the little drawings that accompany her journal that reminded me of the American Girl books. If this book had been categorized as a MG/juvenile title I would have given it a higher rating (probably a solid four). As it stands, the book just doesn’t have the weight or depth of some other YA historical fiction novels (like Cate of the Lost Colony).
I do recommend this book to people who know very little about typhoid and don’t mind the younger tone. I think this book would also be a hit among MG/juvenile girls who enjoy the Dear America series, The Royal Diaries series, or the Lady Grace Mysteries.
Explanation of rating system: Star Rating Key
Review Comparison is a new feature I'm trying out where I am pulling out the pros and cons of the featured book mentioned in my review and other bloggers' reviews. Please let me know how you like this new feature and if you have any suggestions on how to make it better. I'm still playing around with the format.
Looking for something similar? You might like:
Assassin (The Grace Mysteries #1), by Lady Grace Cavendish (aka Patricia Finney)
Challenges this book satisfies:
Review Comparison: Deadly
Review Comparison is a new feature I'm trying out where I am pulling out the pros and cons of the featured book mentioned in my review and other bloggers' reviews. Please let me know how you like this new feature and if you have any suggestions on how to make it better. I'm still playing around with the format.
The following bloggers kindly allowed me to include their reviews in this feature:
Please click on the links to read their full reviews.
It looks like readers who had less knowledge of typhoid and Typhoid Mary enjoyed the book a lot more. Most reviewers liked the main character very much.
~Conclusions~
It looks like readers who had less knowledge of typhoid and Typhoid Mary enjoyed the book a lot more. Most reviewers liked the main character very much.
·
~Historical details~
o “The book felt real” (The Little Bookworm)
o The facts surrounding typhoid were eye opening, interesting, and well-researched (The Book Scout)
o Didn’t learn anything new (Small Review)
o Lacks weight and depth when compared to similar books (Small Review)
~Characters~
o Difficult to connect with main character due to detached voice and “younger” age (Small Review)
o “Emotions were very genuine” (The Little Bookworm)
o Prudence was a “great character” (The Little Bookworm)
o Prudence was a refreshing character (Fragments of Life)
o Very strong, determined, and likable main character (The Book Scout)
~Plot~
o Wish there was more romance (Fragments of Life)
o Mary Mallon’s story was fascinating (The Little Bookworm)
o Engrossing (Fragments of Life)
o Reading about the mystery made [me] “anxious and eager” (Fragments of Life)
o Moral issues explored sensitively (Small Review)
o Thought-provoking (Small Review)
Looking for something similar? You might like:
Assassin (The Grace Mysteries #1), by Lady Grace Cavendish (aka Patricia Finney)
