Phoenix Rising

HOME SCHOOL BOOK REVIEW






Book: Phoenix Rising



Author: Karen Hesse



Jacket Illustrator: Jonathan Bumas



Publisher: Square Fish, republished 2009



ISBN-13: 978-0805031089 Hardcover



ISBN-10: 0805031081 Hardcover



ISBN-13:  978-0312535629Paperback



ISBN-10:  0312535627 Paperback



Language level:  3



(1=nothing objectionable; 2=common euphemisms and/or childish slang terms; 3=some cursing and/or profanity; 4=a lot of cursing and/or profanity; 5=obscenity and/or vulgarity)



Recommended reading level: Ages ‏11 – 13



Rating: *** 3 stars



(5 stars=EXCELLENT; 4 stars=GOOD; 3 stars=FAIR; 2 stars=POOR; 1 star=VERY POOR; no stars=NOT RECOMMENDED)



Category: General youth fiction



Reviewed by Wayne S. Walker



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     Hesse, Karen.  Phoenix Rising (Published in 1994‏ by‎ Henry Holt and Company Inc., 115 W. 18 th St., New York City, NY  10011).     Nyle Sumner, thirteen years old, lives with her grandmother, her Border collie Caleb, and her black and white cat on a small New England sheep farm at North Haversham, Vermont.  Nyle’s mother died six years ago and her grandfather two years ago in the same back room of the house.  She calls it “the dying room.” Her father just left when her mother got sick.  Her best friend at school is Muncie Harris, a neighbor girl, and her worst enemy at school is Ripley Powers, also a neighbor.  There has been an accident at the nearby Cookshire nuclear power plant, and the world becomes filled with protective masks, evacuations, contaminated food, disruptions, and mistrust.  But she and her grandmother discover they have been spared from direct radiation.  As long as the fallout continues blowing to the East, Nyle, Gran, and the farm can go on.



     Then into this scenario come fifteen year old Ezra Trent and his mother Miriam, evacuees from Boston who take temporary shelter in the back bedroom of Nyle’s house.  Ezra’s father was a plant manager at Cookshire and died of radiation poisoning as a result of saving several other people.  Ezra himself is very sick and Nyle doesn’t want to open her heart to him, but he begins to get better.  What will happen to Ezra?  How does having him in her house affect Nyle’s friendship with Muncie?  And where does Ripley fit in to the story?  There appears to be a bit of anti-nuclear power underlying the plot.  As to language, the “d” word is used a number of times, both by Gran and Nyle, and the phrase “O God” is found as an exclamation.  There is a place for children’s novels which illustrate dealing with crisis situations, as long as they are not morbid.  This is not a bad book, but it could be a downer for some youngsters because one can guess from almost the very beginning what will eventually happen to Ezra.