Not on Fifth Street by Kathy Cannon Wiechman
2017; Johns Hopkins University Press; Volume: 71; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1353/bcc.2017.0903
ISSN1558-6766
Autores ResumoReviewed by: Not on Fifth Street by Kathy Cannon Wiechman Elizabeth Bush Wiechman, Kathy Cannon Not on Fifth Street. Calkins Creek, 2017 [264p] Trade ed. ISBN 978-1-62979-804-2 $17.95 E-book ed. ISBN 978-1-62979-922-3 $9.99 Reviewed from galleys R Gr. 4-7 In 1937, the Ohio River flooded with a fury surpassing all floods on record, rising to levels that left river cities unprepared for the extent of damage the disaster delivered. In this fast-paced historical novel, Pete Brinkmeyer is left to protect the family and their house as the waters rise, and Mr. Brinkmeyer takes his older son Gus along to fill sandbags to help the vulnerable area of the community. The brothers part on bad terms, with Pete having inadvertently outed Gus for dating a Protestant girl—a taboo in their Catholic family. Pete, certainly the handier of the two, feels the sting of being left behind by his father; however, he comes to realize that Dad was not devaluing him but actually trusting him to manage their home in a time of crisis. [End Page 181] He does just that with sense, skill, and resourcefulness, right up to the decision to evacuate when the unthinkable happens and their house is inundated. Gus, on the other hand, struggles mightily with the physical hardships of his tasks, but he seizes the opportunity to assert his own style of heroism, taking off across the river to his girlfriend's house in Kentucky and bringing her to safety. The dual stories of the brothers provide plenty of drama, while the flood itself refuses to be upstaged by the human actors. A photo-illustrated author's note offers additional information on the 1937 flood and the author's family stories that inspire the novel. EB Copyright © 2017 Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois
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