EDUCATION EXTRA.Byline: The Register Guard BOOK PICKS Into the Firestorm: A Novel of San Francisco San Francisco (săn frănsĭs`kō), city (1990 pop. 723,959), coextensive with San Francisco co., W Calif., on the tip of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, which are connected by the strait known as the Golden , 1906 By Deborah Hopkinson Random House Children's Books, 2006 Ages 8 to 12 A Corvallis author of many acclaimed children's books, Deborah Hopkinson has written a compelling adventure. Told in the span of a few days, this historical novel breathes new life into the famous San Francisco earthquake San Francisco earthquake disaster claiming many lives and most of city (1906). [Am. Hist.: Jameson, 443–444] See : Disaster of 1906. Readers will be caught up from the first page when 11-year-old orphan Nick Dray runs away from a county poor farm in Texas to the fabled city of San Francisco
adj. Variant of likable. Adj. 1. likeable - (of characters in literature or drama) evoking empathic or sympathetic feelings; "the sympathetic characters in the play" likable, appealing, sympathetic characters and nonstop action. The book is based on the true story of a boy named Charles Nicholas Dray; the characters of Pat Patterson For the Florida politician, see . For the Louisiana college coach, see . Pierre Clemont (born January 19, 1941 in Montreal, Quebec) better known by his ring name Pat Patterson, is a Canadian former professional wrestler. and Tommy are also drawn from historic records. Although Nick was orphaned, the love of his family sustains him as he follows his dream, alone, from Texas into the Golden City. "Into the Firestorm" is not only a glimpse into life as it was a century ago, but into the heart of a boy who never gives up. Nick's confidence and resilience win him a small job in a book shop shortly after his arrival. Shop owner Pat Patterson has a big, beautiful "golden dog" any boy would love, and Nick can't believe his good fortune. Nick also befriends Tommy, a Chinese-American teen from Chinatown. They learn they have much in common: Both have suffered ostracism ostracism (ŏs`trəsĭz'əm), ancient Athenian method of banishing a public figure. It was introduced after the fall of the family of Pisistratus. and prejudice, and both are working hard for better lives. But on Nick's first afternoon working alone in the book shop, a devastating dev·as·tate tr.v. dev·as·tat·ed, dev·as·tat·ing, dev·as·tates 1. To lay waste; destroy. 2. To overwhelm; confound; stun: was devastated by the rude remark. earthquake strikes, followed by raging firestorms across the city. His new life turns upside down. The earthquake destroyed 28,000 structures and killed 3,000 people. The dangers and heroics may remind readers of recent disasters as they learn why Nick Dray's story was recorded by history. - Debra Bogart, youth services librarian, Eugene Public Library |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion