phoenixrising

__Phoenix Rising__ by Karen Hesse ISBN: 0-590-61966-7 c1994 182 pages R.L. 5.1 Points-7

Good sections to read aloud: -bottom of page 13 through the middle of page 15

Summary: Nyle Sumner, the main character in the book, has a lot of unresolved problems. For starters, she is an orphan, left by her father, and ultimately, “left” by her mother when she passed away, though she does with a relative, her grandmother. Secondly, there has been an explosion at a nearby nuclear plant, leaving the community in which she lives in in an uproar. Nothing is safe to eat or drink without being checked for radiation first. It’s not safe to go outside without a mask on, and school is a nightmare not knowing who is infected so you stay away from them. Finally, the worst part, as far as Nyle is concerned, is that her grandmother tells her that the will be allowing a mother and her son to come and stay with them while the boy tries to recover from severe radiation poisoning. Nyle is furious that her grandmother would expose them to this, but can’t do anything but hope that this boy doesn’t die in the same room her mother did all those years ago.

YA Fiction--teen issue; radiation; death

©Jennifer Lang - WDMS - 2002