THE MEANS THAT MAKE US STRANGERS: A YA Debut Novel Review and a Giveaway- Part I

Here is my criteria for loving a book: I don't want it to end so I drag out reading the last few chapters. That was the case with my most recent read, The Means that Make Us Strangers, Christine Kindberg's debut novel. 

The book caught my attention when a friend tweeted that it had won the 2020 Christie Award and Honorable mention for the Selah Award. 

Here is the book's description from the author's website:

Adelaide has lived her whole life in rural Ethiopia as the white American daughter of an anthropologist. Then her family moves to South Carolina, in 1964.

Adelaide vows to find her way back to Ethiopia, marry Maicaah, and become part of the village for real. But until she turns eighteen, Adelaide must adjust to this strange, white place that everyone tells her is home. Then Adelaide becomes friends with Wendy and the four other African-American students who sued for admission into the white high school. Even as she navigates her family's expectations and her mother's depression, Adelaide starts to enjoy her new friendships, the chance to learn new things, and the time she spends with a blond football player. Life in Greenville becomes interesting, and home becomes a much more complex equation.

Adelaide must finally choose where she belongs: the Ethiopian village where she grew up, to which she promised to return? Or this place where she's become part of something bigger than herself?

I knew this book, with its hint of racial overtones and set in the civil rights period in the South, would become another mentor text for Half-Truths. What I didn't realize, is that it would also also provide vivid examples of deep first person point of view (POV)--something I'm working on while I polish my book.

REVIEW

You may be wondering now that I've told you what this book is about, what is left for my review?

Plenty.

Try this for an opening which demands that you read further:

A tangle of arms reaching toward the fig tree. Among the thicket of deep-black arms stretching toward the fruit, two arms stood out, pale as a moon.

I remember thinking how different those arms looked, while waiting for fruit to drop as Maicaah shook the branch. A fig hit the white hands and fell to the ground, and it was with shock that I felt the pain in my hands. (p.1)

Do you see the sensory information conveyed through this beautiful language? The tangle of arms, pale as a moon, and the shock of pain. These marvelous descriptions prepare the reader to be immersed in Adelaide's deep POV.  

That section ends with the children chasing after an ostrich.

We never caught an ostrich, despite the number of times we tried. We sometimes got close, but never close enough to touch, not even the dirty-white tail feathers.  (p.3)

There is something hauntingly poignant about that last sentence that shows the reader how Adelaide feels--without once using the word "feel."

Here's a later example, after she has moved in with her grandmother and aunt in South Carolina. Here, the author uses the word "feeling" but in a unique way. This comes after her aunt reprimands Adelaide for not saying "Yes, ma'am or No, ma'am."

I bunched my anger into a fist, feeling pride for the way I kept it in check. Marmee [her sister] would laugh with me about it later, and the edges of my anger slowly smothered and hardened as I held on to it. (p. 29)

See what I mean about deep POV? 

At school, Adelaide feels acutely that she doesn't fit in with other whites. When she sees a black girl, she assumes the girl must be from the Oromo ethnic group that she knew in Ethiopia. She tries speaking to her in Ormiffa but the girl and her friends misunderstand her friendly advances and tell her to seek her own kind. 

I turned my back to them and sat on the bottom steps, huddled against the railing. I didn't want to cry... This girl had looked so familiar, it had been like a taste of home. But the reality was that no one here knew what my life was like. No one had any idea where I'd come from. (p.41)

Later in the book, she walks home after school and spends her pent-up emotions in a deserted cornfield. By the time she comes home, her face is covered with dirt and tears. She goes to the bathroom to wash up before dinner.

There was a line on my neck showing where I hadn't yet washed. For a second, I stared at the line. Which was my real skin color: the speckled brown-and-tan or the smooth white? Which was the layer I was washing away? I blinked and the illusion was gone. I bent to continue washing, turning myself white again. (p. 83)

I could go on and on, but I'll end with a quote from one of her black friends, Nathan. The group of friends has come through a horrendous riot in which several whites ganged up on the black boys. A white girl, Emily Rose, invited the other girls to her house for a sleep over. One of the black girls thinks they'd just be asking for trouble. 

Emily Rose shook her head. "This is exactly the right time," she said quietly. "Besides it's just having friends over to my house for a party. Why shouldn't I?"

It's being together in the simple, common things that's most radical," said Nathan. He didn't look up from his sandwich. It was the first time he'd spoken all day.

"What does that mean? said Wendy. "It sounds like a quote."

"It means that basic, everyday things are the last barrier. When it's not strange for us to eat lunch together or spend the night at each other's houses or get married--then we'll really see each other as people, over and beyond our differences."  (p. 239-40)

Obviously, I love this book. Even though it's considered young adult, I recommend it for middle graders through adults. Anyone who wants to read a well-written book about segregation in the south--this is for you. The book is by far the best self-published book I've ever read. I can see why it won an Honorable Mention in Writer's Digest self-published books.

On Monday, come back to my blog for Part II when Christine talks about her inspiration for The Means that Makes Us Stranger, her path to publication, what she's working on next, and a funny way in which Christine and I are connected.

GIVEAWAY

Leave a comment (with your name and email address if you are new) and I will enter your name once. You'll have another chance next week to win a personally autographed copy of the book. If you are new to my blog or share this on social media, I'll give you an extra chance. Winner's name will be drawn on Thanksgiving Day!

                                                ******

Macduff                        See who comes here.

Malcom           My countryman; but yet I know him not.

Macduff           My ever gentle cousin, welcome hither.

Malcom           I know him now. Good God betimes remove

                         The means that makes us strangers.

                                (MACBETH, ACT IV, SCENE 3)

You Heard it Here First: Kathy Wiechman's Path to the Grateful American Book Prize- Part II

Congratulations to Monica O' Quinn who won A Handful of Stars by Cynthia Lord. Thanks to so many of you for entering; this was a popular giveaway. And here's another!

Last week you heard how Ohio author Kathy Wiechman, the self-proclaimed "poster child for perseverance" attended workshops and critique groups for years before stepping into the "I'm a published author!" box. Today you'll hear more details about the workshops she's attended, the people who have helped her along the way, and the Grateful American Book Prize.

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CAROL: Can you tell us more about the Highlights workshops that helped further your career?

KATHY: Shortly after I attended Chautauqua in 1999, the Highlights Foundation began offering smaller, less expensive, workshops at their Boyds Mills location. I told my family not to give me birthday or Christmas gifts anymore, just donate money toward a workshop. My first one was Joy Cowley’s Writing from the Heart in 2001. I was hooked. I went from going every other year to every year to twice a year. I learned about Voice from Patti Gauch, promoting a book from Peter Jacobi, and about the publishing business from numerous experts. I even learned how to load and fire a muzzleloader, when I was researching LIKE A RIVER.

CAROL: Who helped you the most?

KATHY: I took more than half a dozen workshops with Rich Wallace. Not only was he encouraging, but he always seemed to spot what my writing was missing, and I came away with what I needed to move forward. Carolyn Yoder (Calkins Creek Press) saw the early chapters of LIKE A RIVER at a retreat in 2012. She encouraged me to keep going, told me things I could improve, and requested I send it to her when it was finished. I did, and she has been my editor ever since.

CAROL: What were some of Carolyn's suggestions?

KATHY: Make Leander more likable, flesh out the characters of Crawford and Morgan a bit, and give the two halves of the book more balance.

CAROL: Why have you chosen not to be agented?

KATHY: When I first began, very few children’s writers had agents. But times have changed, and it can be extremely difficult to get a manuscript in an editor’s hands without an agent. I was researching possible agents at the time I was offered my first contract with Boyds Mills Press. I had an agent friend look over the contract before I signed it, but have never sought one to represent me. I am very fortunate to have been published by Boyds Mills Press, who still accepts unagented manuscripts. If I were a younger writer, I might seek an agent, but for the time being, I don’t feel it necessary.

CAROL: What advice do you wish someone had given you when you first started writing?

KATHY: I wish someone had warned me how long the road to publication can be. I would have traveled it anyway, but it would have been good to know. I wish someone had said, "Don't take rejection personally. Think of it as not being chosen yet." (I heard that after I was already published, but it would have been good to hear during all those struggle years.) I wish someone had said, "Don't be afraid to break the rules of grammar and sentence structure. Have a good reason for breaking them, but don't let them hold you back."

CAROL: Tell us about your experience winning the Grateful American Book Prize. How many books did you compete against? How did you find out about the contest?

KATHY: I was told there were "more than 140" books competing for the Prize. Last spring, one of the marketing people at Boyds Mills Press told me they were planning to submit LIKE A RIVER for the prize and asked me to write about my research methodology for the submission form. I am incredibly grateful for the support I have gotten from the folks at Boyds Mills Press.

I never dreamed of winning an award. The Grateful American Book Prize is a new award, the brainchild of David Bruce Smith and Dr. Bruce Cole. This inaugural award was for writing about the past in a way that engages young readers in American history, something I have always tried to do with my historical fiction. The judges for the award are people who honored me just by reading LIKE A RIVER; deciding to award me the prize was beyond words. I received the award (an exquisite medal, a fantastic cash prize, and a lifetime membership to the New York Historical Society) at a cocktail party and dinner at Lincoln’s Cottage in Washington, DC.

Kathy receiving the Grateful American Book Medal from David Bruce Smith

I have always been a devotee of the sixteenth president, and LIKE A RIVER is a Civil War story, so the setting was perfect. Tours of the Cottage are available, and I tried to take one the afternoon of the award ceremony, but I was told the afternoon tours had been cancelled to allow for setting up for “a big event” that evening. My big event! After dinner, I was taken on a personal tour, which ended in the room where Lincoln wrote the Emancipation Proclamation. Heaven indeed for a Lincoln fan and history buff like me! 

CAROL: What’s next?

KATHY: My second novel, EMPTYPLACES, is due out in April, 2016. It takes place during the Great Depression in Harlan County, Kentucky, and has a few elements inspired by my husband's family. I am also working on new novels, writing and researching. I waited a long time to reach this stage of my career, and now I am busier than ever, but I enjoy it all, especially meeting with and hearing from the readers who like my book.

As I promised a week ago, Boyds Mills Press is providing a copy of LIKE A RIVER to one fortunate blog readers. Leave me a comment (make sure you leave your email address if you're new to my blog) and I'll add your name to the list of entries from last week. (If you left me a comment last week, you can enter twice.) Winner will be drawn on Thursday, December 10 so that you will receive your book in time for the holidays.

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Thanks, Kathy, for sharing your journey and wonderful news with us. 

The Nine Pound Hammer: An Interview with John Bemis and a Giveaway

Congratulations to Linda Andersen for winning a copy of Two Girls Staring at the Ceiling. 

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When I recently completed reading John Bemis' first book in the Clockwork Dark Trilogy, The Nine Pound Hammer, I considered reviewing it here. But then I found this excellent review and figured I couldn't do any better. Instead, John agreed to answer questions about how he created this award-winning middle grade steampunk fantasy. When I took a writing workshop with John last year at Table Rock I had seen some of his writing process. I asked him to share bits and pieces of that also.

CAROL: How did you get the ideas for The Nine Pound Hammer? How did your ideas evolve?

JOHN: The Nine Pound Hammer grew out of several other (now discarded) stories I had been writing. They were more traditional fantasies. But at a certain point, I began to reflect on “what was the story I really wanted to read,” not just the story I wanted to write. I’ve always been fascinated by Southern music and folklore. This interest led me to consider how I could create an epic fantasy based on our American mythology. So many other countries have their own national legends—King Arthur in England, the Trojan War in Greece, etc. How could I create something along these lines with American history and myth? This was my goal: to create an American fantasy epic.

Rather than focusing on character and plot, I often begin novels by listing words I find fascinating. Words that can ultimately become the set-pieces for the story. I call these my “magnetic nouns” because these are the things my imagination is drawn to. 

As you can see here, I brainstormed all sorts of words that seemed to have that connection to American myth. Not all of these initial ideas made their way into the story. But creating a list primes my imagination for the next step in figuring out who the characters are, what their journeys will be, what arc the story will take.

I filled 4 notebooks exploring what I wanted the story to be. This, in a way, is my first-draft. The process for every book is different, but for The Nine Pound Hammer, I did a lot of pre-planning. Months and months of planning! Some pages were filled with questions and ideas about the characters. 

Others were notes on settings or how the magic in the world worked or research on historical aspects. More notes were on what the larger story might be, which I often write as short summaries. 

All of this allows a story to take shape in my imagination. Once my head was brimming with ideas and painfully impatient to begin, I began to outline the story using index cards. 

I read through them, made changes, discarded, backtracked, tweaked, all with the goal of getting a complete draft of the story together in my head before I started the actual writing. Using the story outline on the index cards, I finally wrote a draft of the story. Even then there were many changes and revisions. I completed two drafts that I ultimately threw away only to start over before I finally had The Nine Pound Hammer the way I wanted it to be.

CAROL Have you always been interested in mythology?

JOHN Yes, I was fortunate to have an amazing 7^th grade teacher named Mrs. Peacock who taught a unit on Greek Mythology. This started me down the rabbit hole to Norse myth and American Indian legends and even to Southern folklore like Richard Chase’s The Jack Tales (which I particularly adore!). And later as an adult, I read Joseph Campbell’s The Hero of a Thousand Faces which—like for so many other writers—completely changed my understanding of the role of myth in human culture and storytelling. 

CAROL The Nine Pound Hammer was the book that snagged Josh Adams as your agent. What did he fall in love with in the story? Was Josh editorial or not? 

JOHN I think what drew Josh to the story was that it was something different. He was excited about the whole notion of a fantasy epic set in this late 19^th century American world of traveling carnivals and gunslingers, monstrous mechanical creatures and hoodoo magic. In general, he doesn’t suggest a lot of nitty-gritty editorial changes. Usually we discuss the idea for a book early into the writing process, and he gives guidance. He’s very good at looking at the “big picture” for a book. If there’s something not working, he’ll say so. He doesn’t sweat the details, since he knows my editor will help clean it up.

CAROL Can you talk more about the process of writing this story? I understand you had several rounds of revision. What part of that revision process stands out most in your mind.  Feel free to share any of the drafts/revision you care to. 

JOHN Before I began the agent hunt, I had my critique group give feedback on the story. They helped find the plot holes, the faulty logic, the boring sections, the confusing portions. Their feedback is invaluable. (This group includes Stephen Messer, J. J. Johnson, and Jennifer Harrod. Between us, we now have 10 books in print and more under contract, which I think says a lot about the power of a supportive critique group.)

Once The Nine Pound Hammer was acquired by Jim Thomas at Random House, we went through six months of intensive revisions, back and forth several times until we got the story polished up. While Jim had advice on so many aspects of the story, what stands out is how he helped to streamline the story. It’s easy to over-write a story, especially when you’ve done as much research as I had. Jim helped me get comfortable with that age-old advice to “kill your darlings.” If something wasn’t serving the larger story, it had to go. If a scene was interesting but didn’t move the story forward, it had to go. He often had suggestions such as: “Remove a trouble spot entirely to discover what, or how much, is truly necessary.”  

We writers are often quite loathe to take out parts of our story we worked so hard creating, even when we hear that pesky voice in the back of our heads saying it needs to go. As Jim put it in his first editorial letter: “Cut in service of diminishing the background noise so that the elegant notes can ring out clear and true.” Perfect advice!

CAROL Did you see this as part of a trilogy, or was that something you, Josh, or your editor conceived of after you wrote it?

JOHN I always imagined this would be a trilogy. I love the tradition of fantasy trilogies. Three books allow you to dig deep into the world and build a more riveting story arc. And I had so many more ideas for the characters and the world than I could fit in one book. Writing more than three, in my opinion, risks growing tiresome for the reader. 

CAROL What has your readers responses been? Do you think your audience is equally girls and boys? How about teachers? Are they using it in the classroom? (I’ll link to your classroom resource on your website.)

I’ve been thrilled by the Clockwork Dark trilogy’s reception! Teachers love it for the classroom connections, which is why I think The Nine Pound Hammer has been on the NC Battle of the Books list twice. But I’m particularly excited by all the letters, emails, and drawings I receive from kids, who each seem to have a different character they love most. The readership seems equally boys and girls. I was worried when I first saw the cover for The Nine Pound Hammer since a guy with a hammer on a train screams “boy book!” I have a daughter and I wanted this book to appeal to girls as much as boys. Fortunately, girl readers aren’t bothered by the cover. While boys might not pick up a book that looks like a “girl book,” girls have better judgment. Thank goodness!

If you would like to win my gently-read autographed copy of The Nine Pound Hammer, please leave me a comment by 6PM September 11th. If you are new to my blog, please leave me your email address. For every way you share this on social media, I'll enter your name for an extra chance.

Here is more information on John:

John Claude Bemis' first novel in his Clockwork Dark trilogy, The Nine Pound Hammer, was selected as a New York Public Library Best Children’s Book for Reading and Sharing. His trilogy continues with The Wolf Tree and The White City and has been described as “original and fresh” and “a unique way of creating fantasy.” His novel, The Prince Who Fell from the Sky, was an Amazon Editor’s Pick for Best Book for Summer Reading.  John is also the author of the picture book Flora and the Runaway Rooster, which he wrote for Heifer International. His forthcoming novel, Out of Abaton: The Wooden Prince, is a fantasy reimagining of the Pinocchio story. 

John is the recipient of the Excellence in Teaching Award from UNC Chapel Hill’s School of Education and served as the 2013 Piedmont Laureate for Children’s Literature. He lives with his wife and daughter in Hillsborough, NC. 

Two Girls Staring at the Ceiling: A Review and a Giveaway!

Sometimes titles of books are difficult to come up with. But when I consider, Two Girls Staring at the Ceiling (PenguinRandom, 2014) I think, Lucy Frank, this title is perfect. 

Written out of Ms. Frank's own battle with Crohn's disease, this novel-in-verse is simultaneously beautiful and earthy. The premise is simple and as alluded to by the title, focuses on two young women--as opposite in lifestyle, character, and background as you can imagine--who share a Crohn's disease diagnosis, as well as an hospital room. 

This is not exactly a book written in two-points-of-view, but then again, it is. As Ms. Frank explains before the novel commences, the line down the center of many pages represents the curtain separating the two hospital beds. No line means the curtain is open or that Chess, the main character, is no longer in the room. The reader is told that the verses on the left belong to Chess; those on the right are Shannon's. Although the reader discovers more about Chess' backstory and struggles, Shannon's history, pain, and family relationships are also gradually revealed. This format is a clever way of presenting this story. 

Like drips out of Chess' IV bag, the reader slowly begins to understand the events leading up to Chess' hospitalization. Although readers might guess that the date Chess had before she was taken to the ER culminated with sexual harassment or rape, the truth of a beautiful night which ended in disaster is slowly revealed. 

To show you how well this book is written, here are some segments. (Since I can't mimic the 2-columns of the book, I've put Shannon's words in blue.)

Bald-head doctor's voice too fast, too smooth, too jolly, hearty, way too close, drawing squiggly pictures of intestines as Mom nods and peppers him with questions I can't listen to.

I don't know this hard and tough language. Don't speak Disease.

And I am so tired,
I close my ears until he's gone,
and through the curtain Shannon mutters:

"Duh. I could've diagnosed her two days ago. You don't need to be a friggin; genius to know she's got Crohn's. Same as me. Crohn's. Inflammatory bowel--" 

"Excuse me?" 

C-words ricochet around my brain.

"You don't know me!You know nothing about me or my..."

My mouth runs screaming from the B-word.

"Mom. Could you see if this curtain closes any tighter?

"Fine with me.Who said I was even talking to you? I'm just saying it pisses me off, these turkeys talking about tough.They wouldn't know tough if it bit them on their flabby ass." (p. 73-4)

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And I whisper to the dark:

"I wish I could be just me. Without my body."

Then through the curtain,
so soft
I hardly know
it's her:

"Sometimes it helps if you imagine purring. One of those big old stripey-I'll just stand here on your pillow and keep this going all night long as you don't do something to annoy me-tomcats with a rumbling purr that quiets down your breath and helps your heart un-hurt.

"Anyway. That's what works for me sometimes." (p. 105-6)

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Even if you've never faced a life-threatening illness, there's much to appreciate about this award-winning novel. I can understand why it won the 2011 PEN/Phyllis Naylor Working Writer Fellowship and was picked as one of the Best Teen Friendship Books of 2014 by Kirkus.

But don't just take my word for it. View this trailer, and leave me a comment by 9 AM on September 3 to win this book. If you are new to my blog, please leave me your email address. If you start following my blog or share this on Facebook or Twitter, I'll enter your name twice--just tell me in your comment. If you don't win, buy this book for the teen reader in your life who feels as if she's battling a disease or situation which makes her feel scared and alone. 




This review was originally published on LitChat on August 18.

Red Madness: How a Medical Mystery Changed What We Eat

Congratulations to Kathleen Burkinshaw who won Miriam Franklin's ARC, Extraordinary. Random.org didn't know they are both Sky Pony debut authors--but I did! Look for a review and giveaway of Kathleen's book, The Last Cherry Blossom  next fall.

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How many of you have heard of pellagra? Before reading Red Madness, I was unfamiliar with the disease. But reading it resolved a personal mystery for my husband's 85-year-old uncle. He finished the book and said, "Now I know what I had as a child."

This disease which produces a horrible skin rash, leads to severe intestinal problems, causes neurological problems, and often leads to death, no longer afflicts wide portions of our population--the way it did during the first half of the twentieth century. Pellagra has been eradicated from most developed countries because of the tireless work of one physician: Joseph Goldberger. Red Madness by award winning author Gail Jarrow, describes how this medical mystery was solved.

Written with clear language accessible to readers from age ten through adult, Gail Jarrow chronicles the history, myths, and treatments associated with pellagra. Dr. Goldberger's tireless efforts to determine the primary cause of pellagra included hosting "filth parties." In gruesome detail, Gail describes how Goldberger tried infecting himself with pellagra in order to prove that it was not contagious or a result of infection. 

http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/ncl2004004556/PP/
"This Oklahoma sharecropper and his family pick cotton in 1916.
The older two children--ages six and five--together picked twenty-five pounds of cotton a day.
Goldberger tried to communicate his message about diet to farmers and mill workers,
 two groups that suffered from pellagra." (p.100)

Since the disease appeared most often in poor households where diets were limited to 3-M's: meal (cornmeal baked into bread), meat (fatback, form the fatty layer on a pigs back) and molasses (syrup), Goldberger was convinced that pellagra was probably caused by a diet deficiency. But how could he prove that? Goldberger spent eleven years, traveling frequently in the South where the disease was most common, and performed experiment after experiment. 

In 1923 his efforts finally paid off. Experimenting with dogs who were experiencing pellagra symptoms, Goldberger fed them brewer's yeast (something missing from most pellagrins' diets). Quickly, the dogs recovered. In 1926 the Mississippi River flooded. 700,000 people lost their homes and 45-50,000 developed pellagra. The Red Cross took Goldberger's recommendation to add yeast to the impoverished people's diet. Within two months people were cured. 

After Goldberger died in 1928, other scientists continued searching for the vitamin that would prevent pellagra. Eventually, Conrad Elvehjem discovered that nicotinic acid (now known as niacin) was indeed, the pellagra-preventing vitamin. Ten years later bakers began adding niacin, along with other Vitamin B complex vitamins to bread. That was the beginning of the enriched bread we enjoy today. 

According to a recent Writer's Digest article, "Straight Up Nonfiction with a Twist," one way authors enhance text is by using sidebars for supplemental material. Gail and her team at Calkins Creek did an excellent job of interweaving newspaper headlines, facts, and photos such as this one into the body of the text.

"Some doctors referred to the butterfly-shaped rash on the
girls neck as the Collar of Casal, named after
the first doctor to write about pellagra." (p. 83)

In addition, dozens of case histories of individuals whose lives were torn apart by the disease, are sprinkled throughout the book. 

In a recent SCBWI, Bulletin article, "What Teachers Want from Nonfiction Authors," Alexis O'Neill said that teachers wanted authors to share about their research and writing process. Accordingly, I asked Gail a few questions about her process.

Carol: What was it like for you to see the images of people afflicted with pellagra and pulling them together for this book?

Gail: Part of me approached this topic in a clinical manner. I have a background in biology, and I was fascinated to learn how a vitamin deficiency could lead to such dramatic physical symptoms. But when I read the accounts of patients’ suffering written by their doctors, I felt upset knowing this disease was so easy to prevent. Even after  pellagra’s cause and cure were discovered—and publicized—people continued to fall ill and die. Many victims lacked the resources to eat properly or didn’t realize how diet affected their bodies. Tragically, other deaths occurred because some physicians refused to accept that pellagra was a diet deficiency disease.

Carol: Was any part of this writing/publishing journey more difficult than another? 

Gail: The hardest part—and this is always the case when I write a non-fiction book—is locating and obtaining the primary documents.  Those were key because  secondary sources were contradictory about the early-20th-century understanding of pellagra, Joseph Goldberger and his research, and other details included in my book. Whenever possible, I go back to the original sources and do not necessarily trust what I read elsewhere. Too many times, I’ve found errors in the secondary sources.

For more information on the nitty gritty behind writing this book, see the informative Author's Note at the end of the book and Gail's interview in the School Library Journal. Teachers, make sure you utilize the educational activities which Gail has assembled. With such a detailed analysis of the disease, what caused it, and the stigmas associated with the disease, Red Madness will be an excellent supplement to history, sociology, and science lesson plans. 

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I usually give away the books which I receive to review. This time I donated Red Madness to The Christian Academy, where my daughter teaches. In an upcoming blog I plan to review another new book by Gail, Fatal Fever: Tracking Down Typhoid Mary.  You'll have a chance to win that one; both books are outstanding additions to any home or school library. 

Read this book and maybe you'll discover answers to the mystery disease which left its mark on someone you know.