"Fever: 1793" by Laurie Halse Anderson

256 pages

Fourteen-year-old Mattie Cook helps her mother and grandfather run a coffeehouse in Philadelphia in 1793. In the late summer, a yellow fever epidemic suddenly breaks out. Her friend Polly is one of the first to succumb to the disease, but Mattie barely has time to mourn. Immediately she and her family have to make life-and-death decisions: Stay in the city or flee for the countryside? Trust the blood-letting Dr. Rush or adopt the unfamiliar medical advice of the French? In the few months that the yellow fever rages, Mattie is forced to grow up quickly and prove that she is mature enough to handle adult situations as she fights to save herself and her loved ones.

I didn't know much about the Philadelphia yellow fever epidemic before I read "Fever: 1793." This book does a great job of telling an engaging story with charming characters while at the same time educating readers on a historical event that isn't often discussed. There's also a really handy appendix that includes info about the actual event and the people who appear in the story who really lived. I also think it does a good job of portraying daily life for Americans during the 1700s. The pace of the story moves quickly and there's a balance between tragedy and hope, which I think is a good combination for introducing historical events to young readers.