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Loading... Day of the Cycloneby Penny Draper
None No current Talk conversations about this book.  sennebec | Sep 25, 2014 |  no reviews | add a review
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June 1912: Ella is surprised by her birthday gift from her mother, a Brownie camera and the advice to seek pictures of things that "don't belong." This is how Ella first notices Billy, a boy at her school who seems out of place. They become good friends, although Ella is sure Billy is keeping something from her. Ella soon realizes there are others to whom the "don't belong" tag applies. They include herself! Helping out at a tea for the women's rights group to which her mother belongs, Ella finds out about her place in society--or the lack of it. But there is someone else who is even more out of place, a stranger who pretends to be something he isn't, and he's up to no good. When Ella's mother's purse is raided, suspicion falls wrongly on Billy. Just as Ella is learning more about herself, her mother and her mysterious friend, the tornado (known then as a cyclone) arrives, bringing devastation to the city. It's the substandard housing of the poor that's worst-hit. But the storm also reveals a few hidden secrets. Can Ella, armed only with her camera and its evidence, help her friend? Based on the story of a real 1912 tornado. No library descriptions found. |
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 Google Books — Loading...GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)818.54Literature English (North America) Authors, American and American miscellany 20th Century 1945-1999LC ClassificationRatingAverage: (5)
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Wikipedia in English
1
Enter Billy, a new boy at her school who reacts by grabbing her camera when she takes his picture. He has good reasons to worry about having his picture taken. Billy is on the run, having escaped from a horrible slave-like existence that was completely opposite what he and his Mam back in England believed awaited him when he came to Canada.
There's something about Billy that Ella finds refreshing and intriguing. Even though her mother has admonished her time and again about interacting with people who are lower class, Billy has an enthusiasm and love of life that really resonates with Ella.
When Billy is accused of stealing from Ella's mother, she knows he couldn't have done it, but she's hard pressed to come up with a way to prove his innocence. Then a horrific tornado hits Regina, devastating much of the town. Ella is unable to find Billy, but is pressed into service, tending to the injured and getting to see a completely different side of her mother.
How she finds Billy, uses her camera skills to prove his innocence and get her mother to see her in a completely new way, make this an amazing example of historical fiction. The author did a very good job of researching the original disaster, not only blending what really happened into the story, but including numerous historical photographs to make it seem real.
This is a gem of a book by a publisher that doesn't get nearly enough credit for the high quality books they publish. This one is worthy of sitting on any library shelf. (