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Streams of Babel #1
Streams of Babel
Whatever you do, don’t drink the water.
When Cora Holman’s mother dies, she assumes the that her mother overdosed on the painkillers she’d been taking for years. So she’s shocked to learn that her mother and a neighbor both died of a brain aneurysm the same night. When Cora and other neighborhood teens become ill with a mysterious flu, and government-type strangers arrive in her small town, they all fear the unthinkable - a terrorist attack.
Meanwhile, a world away in Pakistan, a 16-year-old computer genius named Shahzad is working as a virtual spy. He’s alarmed to see an influx of chatter about a sub-stance called Red Vinegar that will, as he reads, “lead to many deaths in Colony One.”
Can Shahzad sift through the babble of the chat room, find the location of the attack, and warn the victims in time? And if so, at what cost to him?
A Printz Honor Award winner and two-time Edgar Allan Poe Award finalist, Carol Plum-Ucci explores disturbing new terrain in this riveting novel that examines the heroes and victims involved in a terrifying act of bioterrorism.
Carol Plum-Ucci is the author of numerous novels for teens, including The Body of Christopher Creed, a Michael L. Printz Award Honor Book that was also nominated for the Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Young Adult Mystery. She lives in southern New Jersey.
When Cora Holman’s mother dies, she assumes the that her mother overdosed on the painkillers she’d been taking for years. So she’s shocked to learn that her mother and a neighbor both died of a brain aneurysm the same night. When Cora and other neighborhood teens become ill with a mysterious flu, and government-type strangers arrive in her small town, they all fear the unthinkable - a terrorist attack.
Meanwhile, a world away in Pakistan, a 16-year-old computer genius named Shahzad is working as a virtual spy. He’s alarmed to see an influx of chatter about a sub-stance called Red Vinegar that will, as he reads, “lead to many deaths in Colony One.”
Can Shahzad sift through the babble of the chat room, find the location of the attack, and warn the victims in time? And if so, at what cost to him?
A Printz Honor Award winner and two-time Edgar Allan Poe Award finalist, Carol Plum-Ucci explores disturbing new terrain in this riveting novel that examines the heroes and victims involved in a terrifying act of bioterrorism.
Carol Plum-Ucci is the author of numerous novels for teens, including The Body of Christopher Creed, a Michael L. Printz Award Honor Book that was also nominated for the Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Young Adult Mystery. She lives in southern New Jersey.
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First published February 29, 2000
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About the author
Carol Plum-Ucci
11 books181 followersCarol Plum-Ucci is a young adult novelist and essayist. Plum-Ucci’s most famous work to date is The Body of Christopher Creed, for which she won a Michael L. Printz Award in 2002 and was named a finalist to the Edgar Allan Poe Award. Describing her subjects as "the most common, timeless, and most heart-felt teenagers," Plum-Ucci is widely recognized for her use of the South Jersey shore to set scenes for engaging characters embracing suspense themes.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 154 reviews
November 12, 2008
For me, Carol Plum-Ucci is one of the unsung greats of young adult novelists. She excels at creating suspenseful stories with strong characters in New Jersey settings that place whole communities on edge. In many cases, the readers is not always completely sure what has happened since there may or may not be a supernatural aspect to the story.
Her newest novel seems to be drawn from the fears of terrorism that seem to swirl about us at the back of our minds. It all starts when Cora's mother becomes very ill and dies. She has a mysterious background that took her all over the world, but recently she returned home after receiving bad injuries and falling into drug addiction. Her death seems to be due to an aneurism that was accompanied by flu-like symptoms. Cora is left feeling totally alone since she has no other family.
It is through the good-will of a neighboring family that someone notices that she too seems to be ill. Unfortunately, the troubles do not end there as another woman in the neighborhood dies a similar death. It does not take long for it to become clear that there is something amiss in this little town in New Jersey.
At the same time, readers get to join a 16 year old named Shazad Hamdani, growing up in Pakistan. He is actually working for the American government as a virtual spy, who uses his computer skills to draw all sorts of information about people of interest in the terrorist community. In fact, he is the first to identify there might be a danger from Red Poison, which is an engineer illness that was set in Colony One in at the end of December. Shazad is also the only one who believes Colony is in America.
In fact, he believes that it is within 3 hours of New York City based on evidence that he has come across, though his American tenders seem to think that might be unlikely.
It is at this time that it is decided that Shazad needs to be brought to America, something that will bring him directly into the horrible things that are happening with the bioterrorist threat as more people in the neighborhood, including Cora become sick. The question is whether a solution can be found before more people die.
The novel is masterfully crafted as the story is told from the perspective of five teens. Cora and Shazad provide interesting perspectives as outsiders, while the other three perspectives are those of teens that would be considered more popular. One is a paramedic, who is the first to start making a connection about a possible bio-threat in the neighborhood and its source. Another is a classmate of Cora. The final is a young man who ends up being a classmate of Shazad, whose family also has mysterious ties to terrorism.
Plum-Ucci does a great job of not feeding into stereotypes as she creates her cast of characters, both good and bad. In fact, all of the characters are well-developed, giving them subplots that enrich the tale. This gives it a greater feeling of reality. All of the protagonists' voices are honest and true to their age.
Her newest novel seems to be drawn from the fears of terrorism that seem to swirl about us at the back of our minds. It all starts when Cora's mother becomes very ill and dies. She has a mysterious background that took her all over the world, but recently she returned home after receiving bad injuries and falling into drug addiction. Her death seems to be due to an aneurism that was accompanied by flu-like symptoms. Cora is left feeling totally alone since she has no other family.
It is through the good-will of a neighboring family that someone notices that she too seems to be ill. Unfortunately, the troubles do not end there as another woman in the neighborhood dies a similar death. It does not take long for it to become clear that there is something amiss in this little town in New Jersey.
At the same time, readers get to join a 16 year old named Shazad Hamdani, growing up in Pakistan. He is actually working for the American government as a virtual spy, who uses his computer skills to draw all sorts of information about people of interest in the terrorist community. In fact, he is the first to identify there might be a danger from Red Poison, which is an engineer illness that was set in Colony One in at the end of December. Shazad is also the only one who believes Colony is in America.
In fact, he believes that it is within 3 hours of New York City based on evidence that he has come across, though his American tenders seem to think that might be unlikely.
It is at this time that it is decided that Shazad needs to be brought to America, something that will bring him directly into the horrible things that are happening with the bioterrorist threat as more people in the neighborhood, including Cora become sick. The question is whether a solution can be found before more people die.
The novel is masterfully crafted as the story is told from the perspective of five teens. Cora and Shazad provide interesting perspectives as outsiders, while the other three perspectives are those of teens that would be considered more popular. One is a paramedic, who is the first to start making a connection about a possible bio-threat in the neighborhood and its source. Another is a classmate of Cora. The final is a young man who ends up being a classmate of Shazad, whose family also has mysterious ties to terrorism.
Plum-Ucci does a great job of not feeding into stereotypes as she creates her cast of characters, both good and bad. In fact, all of the characters are well-developed, giving them subplots that enrich the tale. This gives it a greater feeling of reality. All of the protagonists' voices are honest and true to their age.
April 30, 2009
I started this book in a "now" mind-set and as such it seemed especially timely given the current swine flu concerns. It took me a little while to pay attention to the date headings on each chapter and realize that it is set in 2002, just a few months after the Towers fell. It is a 2008 release, and I wonder if the author started it in 2002 but it has taken this long to be released or if it was a conscious decision to set it in the recent past, when concerns about terrorism were still fresh and raw.
In a suburban town in New Jersey called Trinity Hills, two women living on the same street die of brain aneurysms within a 24 hour period. Their teen-aged children along with another neighbor display symptoms that seem like the flu and yet are not the flu. Halfway across the world, a teenage computer genius working in his uncle's internet cafe eavesdrops on terrorists in chat rooms and reports to US Intelligence what he learns--that someone has mutated a virus into something undetectable and incurable, and it has been released into the water supply in such a way as to affect only a five-block section of a place code-named Colony One.
The story is told from multiple POVs, through the voices of the six teenagers caught up in events far beyond them. This is a very effective way to tell the story, since no one character has the whole story--something that Shahzad finds increasingly frustrating and causes him to take serious risks. I really liked this narration technique in the first half of the book as you get to know the four neighbors through their own eyes and as others see them. Cora is ashamed of her morphine-addicted mother who abandoned her as a child and only came home a few years ago. Believing herself unloved, she has kept to herself, rigid against any hurt. The others, especially the boys, see her as beautiful but aloof, somehow above them all. Owen thinks of himself as selfish and moody; his mother and brother see him as selfless, giving, and possibly destined for a religious life. Scott, as a paramedic, sees their growing illness and tries to isolate them from the healthy which allows them, the ill, to come together and form the bonds of friendship.
Are teenaged computer geniuses in danger of becoming a cliche? I'm thinking of some recent books I've read--Little Brother by Cory Doctorow, Icecore by Matt Whyman, Rash by Peter Hautman--and they all feature computer geniuses/hackers. This book has two--Shahzad and Tyler. They worked well in this story, and I loved the line (repeated a few times) "Computers have blurred the line between child and adult, because in the land of computers, children are the men, and the men are the children." Who hasn't felt that way sometimes?
In a suburban town in New Jersey called Trinity Hills, two women living on the same street die of brain aneurysms within a 24 hour period. Their teen-aged children along with another neighbor display symptoms that seem like the flu and yet are not the flu. Halfway across the world, a teenage computer genius working in his uncle's internet cafe eavesdrops on terrorists in chat rooms and reports to US Intelligence what he learns--that someone has mutated a virus into something undetectable and incurable, and it has been released into the water supply in such a way as to affect only a five-block section of a place code-named Colony One.
The story is told from multiple POVs, through the voices of the six teenagers caught up in events far beyond them. This is a very effective way to tell the story, since no one character has the whole story--something that Shahzad finds increasingly frustrating and causes him to take serious risks. I really liked this narration technique in the first half of the book as you get to know the four neighbors through their own eyes and as others see them. Cora is ashamed of her morphine-addicted mother who abandoned her as a child and only came home a few years ago. Believing herself unloved, she has kept to herself, rigid against any hurt. The others, especially the boys, see her as beautiful but aloof, somehow above them all. Owen thinks of himself as selfish and moody; his mother and brother see him as selfless, giving, and possibly destined for a religious life. Scott, as a paramedic, sees their growing illness and tries to isolate them from the healthy which allows them, the ill, to come together and form the bonds of friendship.
Are teenaged computer geniuses in danger of becoming a cliche? I'm thinking of some recent books I've read--Little Brother by Cory Doctorow, Icecore by Matt Whyman, Rash by Peter Hautman--and they all feature computer geniuses/hackers. This book has two--Shahzad and Tyler. They worked well in this story, and I loved the line (repeated a few times) "Computers have blurred the line between child and adult, because in the land of computers, children are the men, and the men are the children." Who hasn't felt that way sometimes?
April 9, 2019
Slow, repetitious, & eventually boring even though the premise seems pretty good. I stuck with this to the halfway point since it was well narrated, but finally had enough. I even tried taking a break with another short book to see if that would help. Nope.
The idea of a slow acting disease inserted into the water supply & the idea that it would be hard to discover was a good one. The characters were pretty good & I liked the shifting point of view between them. It would have been OK, if the same points weren't redone multiple times. They were the focus & didn't advance the story. That led to every possible flaw being exposed, even highlighted.
I tried since I'd heard good things about the author, but if this is indicative of her style, I'll avoid her from now on.
The idea of a slow acting disease inserted into the water supply & the idea that it would be hard to discover was a good one. The characters were pretty good & I liked the shifting point of view between them. It would have been OK, if the same points weren't redone multiple times. They were the focus & didn't advance the story. That led to every possible flaw being exposed, even highlighted.
I tried since I'd heard good things about the author, but if this is indicative of her style, I'll avoid her from now on.
March 23, 2009
This was a great book! It had a few swear words, and there was blood, but it was still a great book!
May 14, 2025
This is one of my favorite books of all time.
2/9 still amazing :'-)
2/24 still amazing
05/25 ha ha ha. again!
2/9 still amazing :'-)
2/24 still amazing
05/25 ha ha ha. again!
December 12, 2022
Stream of Babel by Carol Plum-Ucci is for me an interesting but boring and confusing book. In the beginning of this book, it is taking place in a town in New Jersey. The mother of the Cora Holman passes away of what she thinks was an overdose of morphine she has been consuming for years. She shockingly discovers that her mother and also her neighbor passed away at the same time of brain aneurysm. A little while after this incident, Cora's neighborhood mysteriously is becoming very ill with an unknown disease. The government now suspects that a terrorist cell has released a deadly biochemical agent. The water they drink is now poisoned. While all this is happening, a 16-year old boy who is a computer genius located in Pakistan named Shahzad is working as a virtual spy for the United States. He sees that there is a lot of chatter about a substance called Red Vinegar that will lead to many deaths in Colony One. While reading this book I noticed some similes and also hyperboles. THe author used these elements in a very good way. Also I encountered some anaphoras in some parts of this book and they were used very well. The thing I did not like about this book was the jumping from back and forth between characters. That threw me off and it made my reading a bit difficult and also not understanding what is happening throughout the story. It did not really grab my attention. It takes a while to unwrap the rising action in my opinion. There are also some parts of the book that contain repetitions of phrases and words. It also contains some invective language like cussing and stuff like that. I feel that it helps by adding the suspension and for imagination. Overall the story is good but I think it was not for me. It is interesting that it tells the aftermath of 9/11 from these teens perspectives but it was not what I thought it would be about.
May 13, 2025
I really enjoyed the characters and their evolution throughout the book, and that's without even touching on the page-turner plot. On top of it all, it was steeped in little details that anchored the story really effectively in the early 2000s. It brings up some interesting points about patriotism and principles which I'll probably be digesting for a bit, as well as character dynamics that give me the warm fuzzies.
December 15, 2019
Trigger warnings: death, death of a parent, drug addiction, drug abuse, medical crisis, illness, terrorism, Islamophobia, bioterrorism, 9/11.
This had been sitting on my shelves unread for over a year before I finally picked it up and read it. And it's possible I would have enjoyed this more if I hadn't left it sitting there so long, but WHO KNOWS.
Basically, this is a medical thriller of sorts in which a group of teenagers in New Jersey are struck down with a mysterious illness and it seems like the only person capable of finding out what's wrong is a Pakistani teenager working as a cyberspy for the US government. All of which is a pretty fabulous concept.
Unfortunately this jumped between so many perspectives with so many similarly voiced narrators that I had something of a difficult time keeping track of what was going on. Add in an abrupt ending and this was...fine but nothing special.
This had been sitting on my shelves unread for over a year before I finally picked it up and read it. And it's possible I would have enjoyed this more if I hadn't left it sitting there so long, but WHO KNOWS.
Basically, this is a medical thriller of sorts in which a group of teenagers in New Jersey are struck down with a mysterious illness and it seems like the only person capable of finding out what's wrong is a Pakistani teenager working as a cyberspy for the US government. All of which is a pretty fabulous concept.
Unfortunately this jumped between so many perspectives with so many similarly voiced narrators that I had something of a difficult time keeping track of what was going on. Add in an abrupt ending and this was...fine but nothing special.
August 15, 2011
Oh dear, my to-review list is starting to build up. Better get to it.
Well, luckily for me I don't have a ton to say about Streams of Babel. I'm sorry to say, I found it rather disappointing. I'd been looking forward to reading it, and had been meaning to read it for so long, and then I didn't find it particularly compelling. The reason I wanted to read it so badly is because I loved Carol Plum-Ucci's book What Happened to Lani Garver. So, if you're going to read anything by Plum-Ucci, I recommend that one. It's very powerful. This ... not as much.
To be honest, I lost interest in this book pretty fast. Maybe it just wasn't my thing. I feel like, after reading it, all I got out of it was, BIOTERRORISM IS SCARY. IT MAKES BLOOD GUSH OUT YOUR NOSE AND EARS.
AAHHHHH!
Yeah, that's about it. Besides the creeped-and-grossed-out factor, I didn't have much of an emotional reaction to this. My main problem with it was that there were ... five perspectives, I believe. Possibly more. And all in first person. Understandably, it was difficult to connect with any of the characters when the author was constantly switching points of view, and none of them are particularly distinctive.
I don't have anything else to say, really. I kind of skimmed the second half of this book because, frankly, I got bored with it. I totally respect Ms. Plum-Ucci; she's a good writer, and What Happened to Lani Garver was a brilliant book, but Streams of Babel just did not do it for me.
Well, luckily for me I don't have a ton to say about Streams of Babel. I'm sorry to say, I found it rather disappointing. I'd been looking forward to reading it, and had been meaning to read it for so long, and then I didn't find it particularly compelling. The reason I wanted to read it so badly is because I loved Carol Plum-Ucci's book What Happened to Lani Garver. So, if you're going to read anything by Plum-Ucci, I recommend that one. It's very powerful. This ... not as much.
To be honest, I lost interest in this book pretty fast. Maybe it just wasn't my thing. I feel like, after reading it, all I got out of it was, BIOTERRORISM IS SCARY. IT MAKES BLOOD GUSH OUT YOUR NOSE AND EARS.
AAHHHHH!
Yeah, that's about it. Besides the creeped-and-grossed-out factor, I didn't have much of an emotional reaction to this. My main problem with it was that there were ... five perspectives, I believe. Possibly more. And all in first person. Understandably, it was difficult to connect with any of the characters when the author was constantly switching points of view, and none of them are particularly distinctive.
I don't have anything else to say, really. I kind of skimmed the second half of this book because, frankly, I got bored with it. I totally respect Ms. Plum-Ucci; she's a good writer, and What Happened to Lani Garver was a brilliant book, but Streams of Babel just did not do it for me.
October 31, 2012
I read the book "Steams of Babel" by Carol Plum-Ucci. I found this book very interesting at times but very dull and boring during others. In this story it puts you in the perspective of a few different characters and showing you how they see the world. Since this book changes characters every chapter there is not a main character. The characters in the story that are focused on are Cora Holman, Shahzad Hamidani, Scott Eberman, Rain Steckerman, Owen Eberman, and Tyler Ping. Cora Holman was kind of an outcast in high school. Scott, Owen, and Rain were all very popular.
Cora, Rain, and Owen got sick and they all stayed together to keep each other company. They got along fine and became friends from this experience, the only conflict they had was that Cora was trying to be too nice to them she was way too generous even though she was sick and should've been resting she was up and trying to make everyone welcome in her home.
This book is unlike every other book I have ever read. I thought this book was decent, it was really good at some parts and really boring at others. I found myself liking certain characters way more than others like I didn't want to read chapters about characters I didn't like but loved reading chapters about ones I did. For example my least favorite character was Shahzad, he was my least favorite because it was just boring I thought. I was thinking yeah I get that your a computer hacker and know all these languages but they kept repeating it. My favorite character was probably Cora Holman because her life is difficult but interesting to read about. I'd give this book 3 stars because I liked it but it just jumped around to much and I didn't like a few characters.
Cora, Rain, and Owen got sick and they all stayed together to keep each other company. They got along fine and became friends from this experience, the only conflict they had was that Cora was trying to be too nice to them she was way too generous even though she was sick and should've been resting she was up and trying to make everyone welcome in her home.
This book is unlike every other book I have ever read. I thought this book was decent, it was really good at some parts and really boring at others. I found myself liking certain characters way more than others like I didn't want to read chapters about characters I didn't like but loved reading chapters about ones I did. For example my least favorite character was Shahzad, he was my least favorite because it was just boring I thought. I was thinking yeah I get that your a computer hacker and know all these languages but they kept repeating it. My favorite character was probably Cora Holman because her life is difficult but interesting to read about. I'd give this book 3 stars because I liked it but it just jumped around to much and I didn't like a few characters.
May 18, 2014
My expectations prior to reading this book were definitely exceeded by its end. I had anticipated a Jersey version of the Dustin Hoffman film Outbreak. Only it would be terrorist and not some constantly irate disease ridden monkey spreading the sickness. What I read instead was something that took a far more focused approach. By limiting the exposure to only a handful of people the author was able to make the characters' experiences and relationships the focus not the brutality of the illness. I thought the pace of the book was good as well. Once events started progressing they really took off and had me eagerly flipping page after page.
I had only minor qualms with this book. The first being that terrorist smart enough to engineer modified biological agents probably aren't going to overlook America's obsession with bottled water. Secondly it is highly unlikely that a terrorist group would risk capture or show there hand to run a small scale test attack of this nature. It's generally go big or go home for them in real life. I will admit though my thought process is probably a result of my career field.
Regardless though this was a good and I was entertained through out. I thought one of the best qualities of the book was that it didn't have some neat ending. As in real life sometimes the bad guys don't get captured and the good guys are left permanently scarred with no miracle zero hour cure. That's life and I appreciate the author for ending it how she did.
So if you're looking for a fast paced and interesting story about bio-terrorism this is the book for you.
I had only minor qualms with this book. The first being that terrorist smart enough to engineer modified biological agents probably aren't going to overlook America's obsession with bottled water. Secondly it is highly unlikely that a terrorist group would risk capture or show there hand to run a small scale test attack of this nature. It's generally go big or go home for them in real life. I will admit though my thought process is probably a result of my career field.
Regardless though this was a good and I was entertained through out. I thought one of the best qualities of the book was that it didn't have some neat ending. As in real life sometimes the bad guys don't get captured and the good guys are left permanently scarred with no miracle zero hour cure. That's life and I appreciate the author for ending it how she did.
So if you're looking for a fast paced and interesting story about bio-terrorism this is the book for you.
April 16, 2010
I loved this book. It really keeps you on your toes. The story is told through multiple characters, though I liked Shahzad's voice the best. He is funny in his naive, deadpan way, and he is really, really smart. The switching between characters every chapter kept the pace racing along and kept me at the edge of my seat.
This story is almost plausible and I like that Plum-Ucci wrote about a topic that doesn’t get much coverage in the teen world. This book fills that niche with aplomb. I think Plum-Ucci is a very skillful writer and I look forward to reading her other books.
Fire Will Fall is the second book in this series.
This story is almost plausible and I like that Plum-Ucci wrote about a topic that doesn’t get much coverage in the teen world. This book fills that niche with aplomb. I think Plum-Ucci is a very skillful writer and I look forward to reading her other books.
Fire Will Fall is the second book in this series.
June 8, 2008
This exciting ya novel concerns bioterrorism when the water supply is poisoned in one neighborhood of a small town. The villains are testing their technique and are foiled by two brilliant teen computer experts. It's a real page turner with interesting characters and subplots.
December 14, 2020
This is another book that's been on my shelf for over a decade that I'm finally reading. It's always interesting reading books from the perspective of teenagers after 9/11, because I get a different look at the world I grew up in. At the time this book takes place (March of 2002), I was seven and a half years old, turning eight in July. I was in first grade and more concerned with learning to tell time and count by fives and tens and reading rings around my classmates. I don't remember 9/11 at all, much less the terror and paranoia that came after it. In that sense, this book was an eye-opener.
In other respects, though, this book was fine. Nothing spectacular, nothing awful; it was just fine. Shazad, Tyler, and Owen were the most interesting characters. Shazad's narration was vaguely poetic; Tyler's narration was just self-destructive enough to be interesting; and I loved Owen's compassionate, thoughtful nature. The other three characters were not nearly as interesting. Cora especially drove me nuts. Even though she had a reason for being aloof and boring, that didn't make her interesting. Her narrative voice blended together with Scott's and it was hard to tell them apart, which is a problem with first-person narration.
Some of the slang really made me cringe. "Kewl"? "Arouses our puke factor"? You're telling me that people actually talked like that in 2002? God. I know that slang changes very quickly, and expressions that I'm saying now will eventually make me cringe, but this just made me glad that I wasn't a teenager in 2002.
I'm going to read the sequel, mostly because I hate leaving a duology unfinished, but also because I am curious about Shazad and Owen and Tyler. Who knows? Maybe I'll like the writing more in the second book.
In other respects, though, this book was fine. Nothing spectacular, nothing awful; it was just fine. Shazad, Tyler, and Owen were the most interesting characters. Shazad's narration was vaguely poetic; Tyler's narration was just self-destructive enough to be interesting; and I loved Owen's compassionate, thoughtful nature. The other three characters were not nearly as interesting. Cora especially drove me nuts. Even though she had a reason for being aloof and boring, that didn't make her interesting. Her narrative voice blended together with Scott's and it was hard to tell them apart, which is a problem with first-person narration.
Some of the slang really made me cringe. "Kewl"? "Arouses our puke factor"? You're telling me that people actually talked like that in 2002? God. I know that slang changes very quickly, and expressions that I'm saying now will eventually make me cringe, but this just made me glad that I wasn't a teenager in 2002.
I'm going to read the sequel, mostly because I hate leaving a duology unfinished, but also because I am curious about Shazad and Owen and Tyler. Who knows? Maybe I'll like the writing more in the second book.
May 1, 2022
How different would a book be if it was written in 2022 rather than shortly after 9/11? My goodness, quite a lot different.
On the one hand, this is a teen medical thriller - a terrorist cel poisons the water supply of one street in a NJ town. Across the planet, a teenage hacker is spying on the terrorists. The worlds collide.
On the other hand, USA! USA! and stereotypical terrorists. People's head would explode if this book was published today.
From a totally "neutral" viewpoint - it's was a little long and could have used some tightening.
On the one hand, this is a teen medical thriller - a terrorist cel poisons the water supply of one street in a NJ town. Across the planet, a teenage hacker is spying on the terrorists. The worlds collide.
On the other hand, USA! USA! and stereotypical terrorists. People's head would explode if this book was published today.
From a totally "neutral" viewpoint - it's was a little long and could have used some tightening.
February 19, 2021
I was worried about how this author would handle her portrayal of Muslim peoples in the aftermath of 9/11. I was pleasantly surprised.
This book was a compelling thriller that dealt with the emerging evils of terrorism and sleeper cells with none of the anti-Muslim rhetoric and stereotypical Middle-Eastern portrayals that have become so prevalent in the past 20 years.
This book was a compelling thriller that dealt with the emerging evils of terrorism and sleeper cells with none of the anti-Muslim rhetoric and stereotypical Middle-Eastern portrayals that have become so prevalent in the past 20 years.
October 30, 2021
At first when I started this book I was hesitant. However as I continued to listen it became clear what the title of the book and the story became clear. The writing style was also different from the norm. I recommend this book to young readers. It may change the hearts of many as to what it truly means to an American and hopeful for a better future.
August 1, 2017
This was a tough finish for me. I put it down for over a year and picked it back up because I hate to leave books unfinished. I thought the plot was a great idea I just didn't care for the writing style. I found myself skipping whole paragraphs.
March 9, 2022
The terrible book jumps back and forth between characters. It is so hard just to understand what has happened so far in the book. On top of that, they add a new character every 3 pages. Don't waste your time on this book. No climax is ever reached. Not worth it.
January 17, 2018
Really enjoyable and also a thought provoking book. Thoroughly enjoyed her writing style as well.
April 19, 2020
You have to extend your imagination to believe the things in this novel would actually occur the way they do, but if you do have that reach, it is an excellent read. Remember it is fiction.
March 18, 2022
Told from a few perspectives on a very bad situation. The ending seems to have not been an ending, but I see now that it is the first in a series.
Read
January 4, 2023One of the few books from my childhood that I still think about as an adult.
April 17, 2025
Read it for class. Slow in the beginning and it changes between different characters POVs often so I got confused but I grew to like the characters.
November 23, 2017
Streams of Babel is a young adult adventure/thriller novel taking place in early 2002, right after the 9-11 terrorist attack. The book straddles between two main viewpoints. One focuses on the lives of a few teenagers living in the small town of Trinity, New Jersey where mysterious deaths due to brain aneurysms and a suspicious disease have suddenly began occurring. At the same time, miles away in Karachi, Pakistan, sixteen-year old Shahzad Hamdini, a computer genius, is working as a virtual spy for the United States, trying to capture an influx of chatter from extremists talking about a new substance called Red Vinegar which they say will soon lead to many deaths in Colony One. Shahzad and the U.S. are trying to figure out where this “Colony One” is and how to stop the damage that this mysterious Red Vinegar has caused before it is too late.
To me, Streams of Babel had a mildly interesting plot line and is fairly well written, but it never really captured my attention. Only towards the very end did it start to get fast-paced and did I really want to read more. The idea for the book was great, but it seemed that it was obvious from the very start which place was Colony One and who was infected. We just had to bear with the author as she slowly made each character realize this. Also, from the beginning, the characters were pretty calm and unmoved about this whole mysterious, unrecognizable virus suddenly appearing in a town only hours away from New York, where the Twin Towers had been destroyed in a terrorist attack less than 6 months before!! It’s a bit unrealistic that the characters aren’t completely freaked-out about this virus.
To add to that, Plum-Ucci writes in a first person narrative, switching between 6+ characters. This makes it hard for the reader to connect with the personality of one character in specific and also gave the feeling that there were just too many characters who were all only partly developed. The characters were pretty similar and it all seemed sort of one dimensional.
Of course to some people, this book may fascinate them! I’ve read many 4 and 5 star reviews about this book and how fast-paced and thrilling the plot was. Many people commented on how realistic it was and I must admit, all of the computer jargon and virtual-spying information was pretty interesting... but overall, I wouldn’t really recommend this book unless you really have nothing else to read.
Finally, I heard that there is a sequel to this book, which is a little odd considering how neatly it was wrapped up in the end. But who knows, maybe the sequel will be an outstanding book!
(I wrote this review as I finished the book. For 8th grade my friend and I had a book review blog and I wrote this for the blog. It is also worth noting that I did not read the sequel and probably will never end up reading it)
To me, Streams of Babel had a mildly interesting plot line and is fairly well written, but it never really captured my attention. Only towards the very end did it start to get fast-paced and did I really want to read more. The idea for the book was great, but it seemed that it was obvious from the very start which place was Colony One and who was infected. We just had to bear with the author as she slowly made each character realize this. Also, from the beginning, the characters were pretty calm and unmoved about this whole mysterious, unrecognizable virus suddenly appearing in a town only hours away from New York, where the Twin Towers had been destroyed in a terrorist attack less than 6 months before!! It’s a bit unrealistic that the characters aren’t completely freaked-out about this virus.
To add to that, Plum-Ucci writes in a first person narrative, switching between 6+ characters. This makes it hard for the reader to connect with the personality of one character in specific and also gave the feeling that there were just too many characters who were all only partly developed. The characters were pretty similar and it all seemed sort of one dimensional.
Of course to some people, this book may fascinate them! I’ve read many 4 and 5 star reviews about this book and how fast-paced and thrilling the plot was. Many people commented on how realistic it was and I must admit, all of the computer jargon and virtual-spying information was pretty interesting... but overall, I wouldn’t really recommend this book unless you really have nothing else to read.
Finally, I heard that there is a sequel to this book, which is a little odd considering how neatly it was wrapped up in the end. But who knows, maybe the sequel will be an outstanding book!
(I wrote this review as I finished the book. For 8th grade my friend and I had a book review blog and I wrote this for the blog. It is also worth noting that I did not read the sequel and probably will never end up reading it)
January 23, 2009
I picked up Carol Plum-Ucci’s Streams of Babel hoping to find something as gripping as The Night My Sister Went Missing, albeit on a larger scale. What I found was something rather different, but just as interesting.
Streams of Babel is about bioterrorism. A group of terrorists target a city through their drinking water, a slow-acting plan that will leave their victims confused as to its source. The book centers around four teens—Cora, Owen, Sam, and Rain—who are infected, as well as Shahzad, a Pakistani boy working for the Americans by tricking the terrorists’ online sessions. Later, another computer genius, Tyler, is introduced, who provides a somewhat amoral counterbalance to Shahzad.
I expected to get to know the characters intricacies quickly, and with great detail, since this seems to be one of Plum-Ucci’s strengths. I did, in the case of Cora, Sam, and Shahzad, become very familiar with their lives and why they acted as they did. With the other characters, however, there seemed to be only a semblance of depth. This was slightly confusing, especially on the part of Owen, since he seemed like a very intellectual, quiet thinker, I was just never sure why.
The story is told through alternating voices, which always has the possibility of becoming confusing. Not so with this book. Alternating voices worked wonderfully to tie together each character’s individual story. Even the late introduction of Tyler was not confusing. It was very easy to flow from one storyteller to the next to see the full picture of the event.
Though it focuses on individuals, this book was more about how the events influenced the character’s actions than how the characters influenced events. It is riveting, moved ahead by the question of whether any of the characters will survive. Even Shahzad and Tyler, relatively safe in their web of American bureaucracy, strike out on their own when the agents stop listening to them. The plot is suitable—revolving around the teens’ increasing symptoms and the efforts of various people to determine what is causing them. I did manage to predict one plot twist, but that did not lessen my enjoyment of seeing the events played out.
Overall, I very much enjoyed the book. It shows the larger struggle of terrorism and how best to fight it, as well as focusing on the people involved—on both sides. It points out stereotypes held about Americans and by Americans. It challenges the reader to ask him or herself hard questions about what makes the United States great—or not so great.
Streams of Babel is about bioterrorism. A group of terrorists target a city through their drinking water, a slow-acting plan that will leave their victims confused as to its source. The book centers around four teens—Cora, Owen, Sam, and Rain—who are infected, as well as Shahzad, a Pakistani boy working for the Americans by tricking the terrorists’ online sessions. Later, another computer genius, Tyler, is introduced, who provides a somewhat amoral counterbalance to Shahzad.
I expected to get to know the characters intricacies quickly, and with great detail, since this seems to be one of Plum-Ucci’s strengths. I did, in the case of Cora, Sam, and Shahzad, become very familiar with their lives and why they acted as they did. With the other characters, however, there seemed to be only a semblance of depth. This was slightly confusing, especially on the part of Owen, since he seemed like a very intellectual, quiet thinker, I was just never sure why.
The story is told through alternating voices, which always has the possibility of becoming confusing. Not so with this book. Alternating voices worked wonderfully to tie together each character’s individual story. Even the late introduction of Tyler was not confusing. It was very easy to flow from one storyteller to the next to see the full picture of the event.
Though it focuses on individuals, this book was more about how the events influenced the character’s actions than how the characters influenced events. It is riveting, moved ahead by the question of whether any of the characters will survive. Even Shahzad and Tyler, relatively safe in their web of American bureaucracy, strike out on their own when the agents stop listening to them. The plot is suitable—revolving around the teens’ increasing symptoms and the efforts of various people to determine what is causing them. I did manage to predict one plot twist, but that did not lessen my enjoyment of seeing the events played out.
Overall, I very much enjoyed the book. It shows the larger struggle of terrorism and how best to fight it, as well as focusing on the people involved—on both sides. It points out stereotypes held about Americans and by Americans. It challenges the reader to ask him or herself hard questions about what makes the United States great—or not so great.
July 2, 2008
When Cora Holman’s mother dies, she attributes it to an inevitable drug overdose. But when another neighborhood woman dies the same night, also of an aneurysm, Cora begins to suspect that something is very wrong.
Meanwhile, halfway across the world in Pakistan, Shahzad is, at 16, a talented v-spy for the American government. While working in his uncle’s internet café, he spies on terrorists and extremists who are making terrible plans. When he begins to read chatter about Red Vinegar in Colony One, he begins to suspect that somewhere, terrorists are poisoning the water supply.
Streams of Babel is a believable, terrifying horror novel for the modern age. It feels like the kind of thing that could happen anywhere, at any time, and there would be no way to know until it was too late. It’s altogether chilling and believable, and parts of it move on at nail-biting speed.
But. Being that you know from the first that the Red Vinegar is already in their system from the first page of the book, it takes some of the urgency out of things. They’re not trying to stop a terrorist attack—they’re trying to figure out one that has already, quietly happened. That takes a little bit of the urgency out of things.
And Cora, one of the primary POVs of the book, is a little too Mary-Sueish for my tastes. Some of her reactions are spot-on—her desperate desire for no one to realize just how pathetically alone she is, for one—but so much else just feels exaggerated and silly. When we see from everyone else’s perspective that she’s stunningly beautiful, but reserved, that she’s the little miss perfect that everyone loves once they get to know—it just feels clichéd. When, at a later point in the book, Cora comments miserably that she has no friends, and her new posse of cool friends chime in with a “What about us? We’re your friends!” that feels like too easy wish fulfillment, and a little silly.
I enjoyed the chapters from Scott, Owen and Shahzad’s POVs, and I felt like Tyler was far underused, and his storyline should have been both given more depth and a better resolution.
All in all, not a bad book at all, though it does drag in places. But there are just a few glaring issues that jumped out at me while I was reading and pulled me out of the book.
Meanwhile, halfway across the world in Pakistan, Shahzad is, at 16, a talented v-spy for the American government. While working in his uncle’s internet café, he spies on terrorists and extremists who are making terrible plans. When he begins to read chatter about Red Vinegar in Colony One, he begins to suspect that somewhere, terrorists are poisoning the water supply.
Streams of Babel is a believable, terrifying horror novel for the modern age. It feels like the kind of thing that could happen anywhere, at any time, and there would be no way to know until it was too late. It’s altogether chilling and believable, and parts of it move on at nail-biting speed.
But. Being that you know from the first that the Red Vinegar is already in their system from the first page of the book, it takes some of the urgency out of things. They’re not trying to stop a terrorist attack—they’re trying to figure out one that has already, quietly happened. That takes a little bit of the urgency out of things.
And Cora, one of the primary POVs of the book, is a little too Mary-Sueish for my tastes. Some of her reactions are spot-on—her desperate desire for no one to realize just how pathetically alone she is, for one—but so much else just feels exaggerated and silly. When we see from everyone else’s perspective that she’s stunningly beautiful, but reserved, that she’s the little miss perfect that everyone loves once they get to know—it just feels clichéd. When, at a later point in the book, Cora comments miserably that she has no friends, and her new posse of cool friends chime in with a “What about us? We’re your friends!” that feels like too easy wish fulfillment, and a little silly.
I enjoyed the chapters from Scott, Owen and Shahzad’s POVs, and I felt like Tyler was far underused, and his storyline should have been both given more depth and a better resolution.
All in all, not a bad book at all, though it does drag in places. But there are just a few glaring issues that jumped out at me while I was reading and pulled me out of the book.
October 15, 2014
The two most recent books I have read are Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen, and
Streams of Babel by Carol Plum-Ucci. I haven't read Streams of Babel before, and it is the most recent book I've finished, so it most fresh in my mind.
Streams of Babel is a book in modern day, in a small town in New Jersey. Four teenagers find themselves the victims of a terrorist attack after the water supply on their street was contaminated by a new mutation of a virus. Each chapter features the viewpoint of another character, including a teen hacker who works for the U.S government. The book isn't as dark s it seems, but I also didn't think it was very good. The plot seems to be from the miscommunication of the characters, which I personally don't like. For example, if no one kept secrets from each other about what they saw, experienced, etc., the book would have been much shorter. The sickness that ends up plaguing the kids first takes the lives of two women, the mothers of three of the characters. In this exert from the first chapter, one of the teenagers, Cora, is talking to the paramedics after she finds her mother, Aleese, dead:
"She . . . had a strange flu," I admitted loudly. "I have it, too! It was making her nose bleed. It started bleeding about half an hour ago. She suddenly . . . stopped breathing. I tried CPR, but I’ve only seen it done on TV." I trailed off quickly, wanting only to forget how my pushing on Aleese’s chest did little more than send small gushes of blood out her nose.
This paragraph shows the overall feel and idea of the book. Cora is immediately assuming its a flu, which is appropriate at this point, but it is also what happens even after evidence suggests something different. It also shows how the characters withhold information, not necessarily on purpose, but just that they maybe don't find it worth saying.
I would give this book a 2.5 out of 5 stars, because it is exactly the middle. Not really good, and not really bad. I would have stopped reading it, but I try not to abandon books very often, in case it gets better at the very end. This book didn't, and although I personally didn't like it, the writing is strong and someone else may find it worthy of 5 stars.
Streams of Babel by Carol Plum-Ucci. I haven't read Streams of Babel before, and it is the most recent book I've finished, so it most fresh in my mind.
Streams of Babel is a book in modern day, in a small town in New Jersey. Four teenagers find themselves the victims of a terrorist attack after the water supply on their street was contaminated by a new mutation of a virus. Each chapter features the viewpoint of another character, including a teen hacker who works for the U.S government. The book isn't as dark s it seems, but I also didn't think it was very good. The plot seems to be from the miscommunication of the characters, which I personally don't like. For example, if no one kept secrets from each other about what they saw, experienced, etc., the book would have been much shorter. The sickness that ends up plaguing the kids first takes the lives of two women, the mothers of three of the characters. In this exert from the first chapter, one of the teenagers, Cora, is talking to the paramedics after she finds her mother, Aleese, dead:
"She . . . had a strange flu," I admitted loudly. "I have it, too! It was making her nose bleed. It started bleeding about half an hour ago. She suddenly . . . stopped breathing. I tried CPR, but I’ve only seen it done on TV." I trailed off quickly, wanting only to forget how my pushing on Aleese’s chest did little more than send small gushes of blood out her nose.
This paragraph shows the overall feel and idea of the book. Cora is immediately assuming its a flu, which is appropriate at this point, but it is also what happens even after evidence suggests something different. It also shows how the characters withhold information, not necessarily on purpose, but just that they maybe don't find it worth saying.
I would give this book a 2.5 out of 5 stars, because it is exactly the middle. Not really good, and not really bad. I would have stopped reading it, but I try not to abandon books very often, in case it gets better at the very end. This book didn't, and although I personally didn't like it, the writing is strong and someone else may find it worthy of 5 stars.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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January 24, 2014 Cora Holman has lived a pretty normal life, living with her grandma for most of it, until her mother shows up whens she’s 13. That’s all Cora had wanted her whole childhood was her mother, but then she realized her mother wasn’t a caring, loving mother that she had wanted. Cora’s mother was a morphine addict and there was no way Cora was ever to call Aleese mother, Cora was just a little brat to her. Still, that didn’t stop her from caring when out of nowhere Aleese has a brain aneurysm and dies. After her mother dies she should be able to mourn, but its hard when she starts to get a fever, with symptoms just like her mother.
Scott Eberman, a paramedic that takes his job very seriously, and the brother of Owen Eberman. Scott was a popular kid through high school, a jock, but also really intelligent, and he has a good sense of what people are feeling and thinking. Owen also was a popular kid in school, but he enjoys being alone most of the time. Everything is perfect for them until their mother dies of the same thing as Cora Holman’s mother, and she lives right down the street.
Shahzad Hamadani has lived in Pakistan with his uncle ever since the rest of his family moved to America. They left him to work in the internet cafe with his uncle, to keep v-spying for USIC (United States Intelligence Coalition). Shahzad is only 16, but is a complete brainiac when it comes to computers. He has been following a chat site where a few men have been talking about something called ‘red vinegar.’ These people have said that red vinegar is to kill hundreds of people. Shahzad’s only wish is to stop whoever Omar is before its too late, before anyone is killed, but its already to late, two women are already dead.
Scott, Owen, and Cora along with a few others have been contaminated with the same thing that has killed their parents. They most find out what red vinegar actually is and treat these patients before it is too late for them too. It’s only a matter of time before the bacteria starts spreading farther and killing others. Shahzad and USIC must find whoever Omar is and get him before he can hurt anyone else.
Scott Eberman, a paramedic that takes his job very seriously, and the brother of Owen Eberman. Scott was a popular kid through high school, a jock, but also really intelligent, and he has a good sense of what people are feeling and thinking. Owen also was a popular kid in school, but he enjoys being alone most of the time. Everything is perfect for them until their mother dies of the same thing as Cora Holman’s mother, and she lives right down the street.
Shahzad Hamadani has lived in Pakistan with his uncle ever since the rest of his family moved to America. They left him to work in the internet cafe with his uncle, to keep v-spying for USIC (United States Intelligence Coalition). Shahzad is only 16, but is a complete brainiac when it comes to computers. He has been following a chat site where a few men have been talking about something called ‘red vinegar.’ These people have said that red vinegar is to kill hundreds of people. Shahzad’s only wish is to stop whoever Omar is before its too late, before anyone is killed, but its already to late, two women are already dead.
Scott, Owen, and Cora along with a few others have been contaminated with the same thing that has killed their parents. They most find out what red vinegar actually is and treat these patients before it is too late for them too. It’s only a matter of time before the bacteria starts spreading farther and killing others. Shahzad and USIC must find whoever Omar is and get him before he can hurt anyone else.
March 6, 2012
Half a world away a 16-year-old boy sits in an Internet cafe near Karachi, Pakistan. A brilliant computer programmer, Shahzad works as a v-spy for the United States government. He's picked up some Internet chatter about a substance called Red Vinegar: "Waters will run red in Colony One...Waters will run red three hours from Home Base in December...They will drink in December and die like mangy dogs in April."
It's March in Trinity Falls, New Jersey. On the same day, on the same street, two women die of brain aneurysms. One a lawyer who gives more than she takes. The other a morphine-addicted ex-photojournalist. Both leave behind teenagers who are exhibiting flu-like symptoms. Coincidence? Or could this be Colony One?
Paramedic Scott Eberman just lost his mother. His brother, Owen, and Owen's classmates and neighbors, Rain and Cora, are all exhibiting flu-like symptoms similar to those of Mrs. Eberman before she died of an aneurysm. Scott is frantically searching for answers, but can he find them before it's too late? Meanwhile, the U.S. Intelligence Coalition (USIC) is also involved, trying to discover if these are the first cases of Red Vinegar. And in Pakistan, Shahzad desperately tries to obtain the recipe and plans for Red Vinegar by v-spying on the bioterrorists.
This plot is ripped from our nightmares. What if bioterrorists concentrated their efforts on poisoning our water supply with something our doctors, scientists and government had never encountered? Who would be targeted? How long would it take to identify? How many would die before a cure was found? This complex novel delves deep into our fears and tells the story from five points of view, each with a unique perspective. Surprisingly, this doesn't get confusing, but instead adds to the overall tension and intrigue of the plot. If you enjoy thrillers, this book is for you.
It's March in Trinity Falls, New Jersey. On the same day, on the same street, two women die of brain aneurysms. One a lawyer who gives more than she takes. The other a morphine-addicted ex-photojournalist. Both leave behind teenagers who are exhibiting flu-like symptoms. Coincidence? Or could this be Colony One?
Paramedic Scott Eberman just lost his mother. His brother, Owen, and Owen's classmates and neighbors, Rain and Cora, are all exhibiting flu-like symptoms similar to those of Mrs. Eberman before she died of an aneurysm. Scott is frantically searching for answers, but can he find them before it's too late? Meanwhile, the U.S. Intelligence Coalition (USIC) is also involved, trying to discover if these are the first cases of Red Vinegar. And in Pakistan, Shahzad desperately tries to obtain the recipe and plans for Red Vinegar by v-spying on the bioterrorists.
This plot is ripped from our nightmares. What if bioterrorists concentrated their efforts on poisoning our water supply with something our doctors, scientists and government had never encountered? Who would be targeted? How long would it take to identify? How many would die before a cure was found? This complex novel delves deep into our fears and tells the story from five points of view, each with a unique perspective. Surprisingly, this doesn't get confusing, but instead adds to the overall tension and intrigue of the plot. If you enjoy thrillers, this book is for you.
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