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What Members Thought
This book should have been a tear-jerker, but wasn't. Maybe it was just my mood today - am I too happy to be crushed on this nice summer afternoon? - but though I liked the characters and the plot was compelling, my heart never tore like it should have for a book set agains the backdrop of such terrible loss as the Johnstown flood. Also, everything worked out with happy endings for each of the characters, so I never really felt the loss that I knew was supposed to come. Real life never gives eve
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Fantastic read! I didn't know anything about the Johnstown flood, so it was interesting to learn about it. And I googled it after I finished the book to find out more. I love that the class differences are seen in here, and I love that it's written as poetry; however, don't let the poetry scare you away. It made the book that much better, and it doesn't take an English degree to read it. It's very easy to follow, and a very quick read. I loved looking at things from different points of view as w
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To be honest, I picked this up because of the cover, which somehow didn't really match the story. But the story is a good one, a fairly well known tragedy, intertwined with a tale of social class and prejudice. Makes sense as the Johnstown Flood was in and of itself a statement about American class warfare in the 1800's. I enjoyed that the story was told from many perspectives rather than just the two main characters, and there was a twist or two to keep me interested, although the ending was a
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This was an interesting perspective on a historical event. The author's purpose was to create an account that did not solely focus on the actual event but rather integrated it into her story line. While I immensely enjoyed the book, it was not what I originally expected.
Richards created a book that was beautifully written and smoothly transitioned from one person to the next. I also found it to be a very quick read and I had a hard time putting it down, but the book only received four stars for ...more
Richards created a book that was beautifully written and smoothly transitioned from one person to the next. I also found it to be a very quick read and I had a hard time putting it down, but the book only received four stars for ...more
Unusually compelling fictionalized historical event recounted in free verse. The "Great Flood" of 1889 in Johnstown, PA. I wondered, at first, if I would be drawn into the story. But I was pleasantly surprised by my growing affinity for several characters and their relationships. A fast read that I couldn't quite put down. And when I had to (eating, sleeping, skiing), I found myself thinking about it. Beautifully written
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This is written in verse and the author did an amazing job telling a fictional account of what it may have been like for some during the Johnstown Flooding. At the end the author stresses that this story uses the Johnstown Flooding as a backdrop to her story more than anything else. I now also want to read the book on the Johnstown flood by McCollough
Historical fiction AND written in verse...destined to be a hard sell to junior high kids. I didn't care for this at first- I felt like I was reading "Dirty Dancing, The 1890's version". Then I got further into it and realized we were dealing with a different movie comaprison all together: Titanic. Upper-class/ Lower-class star-crossed lovers and a historical disaster: check. I like the multiple voices, but I would have preferred hearing more from the others besides Celstia and Peter. The pace re
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In Dreamy, spare poems Jame Richards tells the tragic story of the Johnstown Flood (Pennsylvania). She focuses on the people of the time fleshing out real events with fictional characters specifically pointing out class and station in her poems.
the writing is tight, powerful and affecting. Great for romantic history buffs.
the writing is tight, powerful and affecting. Great for romantic history buffs.
I'm listening to this one. Jury's out so far. It won a 2011 YA award but I'm not convinced why. As ever, my response is heavily dependent(sp?) on the reader. This one has multiple readers.
Love story mixed with the history of the Johnstown flood. I'm not giving this a star rating since I listened to it and wasn't convinced but when I opened the book and discovered it was a novel written in poems, it made way more sense to me. I'll go back and read it on paper before I give it a score.
I finished ...more
Love story mixed with the history of the Johnstown flood. I'm not giving this a star rating since I listened to it and wasn't convinced but when I opened the book and discovered it was a novel written in poems, it made way more sense to me. I'll go back and read it on paper before I give it a score.
I finished ...more
I didn't know anything about the great flood in Johnstown, PA, in the late 1800s. This novel-in-verse story left me wanting to learn more about it. It also left me wanting more of a story. This one was good, but thin on character development and details.
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This book is told in verse and the chapters change point of view among about 5 characters - the audio book version has a different reader for each character which really helps the "reader" to connect to the different stories and characters.
Related historical photos collected by the author:
http://youtu.be/y-Guc8NJ6KM ...more
Related historical photos collected by the author:
http://youtu.be/y-Guc8NJ6KM ...more
A story told in multiple perspectives of the 1899 Johnstown, PA flood. High society girl, local boy, as well as 3 other characters, mostly fictional but based on real events. Beautiful language, interesting characters.
Maybe it is because I was born and raised in Johnstown that I loved this book. I loved the style, the alternating voices, and the depth of the characters. I highly recommend this book.
Interesting history, nice romance, and the writing in verse didn't annoy me as much as it usually does.
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The 1889 Johnston flood provides the backdrop for this cross-class love story. A work of narrative poetry with multiple narrators, I felt some voices were stronger than others. In particular, I felt a connection to Maura, the young mother, desperate to save her small children from the approaching flood. A powerful look at the hubris of Man in his attempt to control Nature.
A novel written in verse set against the backdrop of the 1889 Johnstown Flood. Based on true events. I really liked this book. You are swept (no pun intended) into the lives of the characters and you can't help but hope for their survival. (I also may be a little biased b/c a lot of my family is from Johnstown, PA)
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Strong historical fiction, novel in verse. Strong voices, could have focused some more on some of the other characters, there was not a balance in their views.
Apr 16, 2010
Caroline Rose
added it
Beautiful!
Mar 16, 2010
Dana
marked it as to-read
Apr 05, 2013
Beth
marked it as ya-to-read
Jun 23, 2013
Teresa Garrett
marked it as to-read
