Fever 1793

Welcome back to the season where the book trailers cover books that have also been made into movies.
Book: Fever 1793
Written by Laurie Halse Anderson
Description: Story of a child's journey to survive through an epidemic. 
Recommended for ages 12+ (And Parent Discretion)
Music: Fluvialbius (composed by Yajat Gupta and Atharv Gopulani, and performed by Yajat Gupta on the piano.)
SOAR Logo by Ritu Jindal
To leave feedback /requests please connect with SOAR at Facebook or Youtube
https://www.facebook.com/Soar-Initiative-102175058097745/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBARPFjwtCkn91RQ3dJN3CQ/videos
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/soar-spread-of-active-reading/id1503413788?uo=4
https://podcasts.google.com/?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5idXp6c3Byb3V0LmNvbS85NDEzMTQucnNz
https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/43a5965e-e2f1-441b-a0ab-51d550c07187/SOARSpread-of-Active-Reading
https://www.pandora.com/podcast/description/soarspread-of-active-reading/PC:35986
https://open.spotify.com/show/0DkaHpXOKOlPUjfaWBeYkb

Transcript

Hey everyone, I hope you are doing well. Welcome back to another SOAR episode with the theme of books that also exist as movies. If you didn’t check out the bonus episode season finale last Wednesday, please do so, and know that bonus episodes will be taking a break for a while. Remember, SOAR is an initiative whose mission is to increase global reading rates through the use of audiobook trailers, and its initial goal was actually to benefit the visually impaired. Thank you very much to all of SOAR’s listeners who support this goal, and I would like to encourage you to continue listening to more episodes and spreading the word about this podcast. Remember that if you leave a review with an idea for the next bonus episode season, your idea may be chosen and you will be given a shoutout in the subsequent SOAR episode. Today’s book is one that is commonly reviewed in school, a classic, Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson. The protagonist of the novel is a 14-year-old girl named Matilda Cook. She lives with her mother, grandfather, parrot, and cat. A free African American woman named Eliza is their cook, and one day, the waitress of the coffeehouse that they live in does not show up because of illness. Later, she dies following a brutal fever that she acquired. More cases of this lethal fever begin to show, until Matilda’s own mother, Lucille, also gets it. Due to the primitive medical practices of the time, the doctors begin draining her blood to try to cure her. Lucille demands that Matilda travels to the Countryside to avoid obtaining the illness. Matilda and her Grandfather leave for the Country, hitching a ride with a farmer and his family. They are stopped by guards, mistaken to be fever patients, and kicked off the wagon. Matilda tries to care for her ill grandfather, though his illness is not derived from the fever. In the process, Matilda gets the fever herself, and then everything blacks out. When she wakes up, she is in a French hospital in which the doctors do not believe in bleeding outpatients to cure illness. They allow her to rest and enjoy food, and slowly but surely, Matilda begins to recover. They return to the city and to their coffeehouse, which has been thoroughly ransacked by robbers. One night, robbers enter the coffeehouse and attack Matilda! Her grandfather saves her life, though he dies in the process? What will happen now? Where will Matilda go? Who else will die? When will the epidemic subside? Read to find out and join this journey of a teenage girl living through a crisis. 

For me, I enjoyed reading this book immensely, and especially today can relate to it. It’s important to remember that no matter how difficult Covid has gotten for so many people, that we retain our humanity and help each other, not profit at the expense of others. This book was one I couldn’t stop reading, and one that I have read more than once. This book is full of suspense, action, terror, sadness, fear, escape, hope, friendship, family, love, and is truly a book that I would recommend. Thank you for listening! I implore you to SOAR!