{Synopsis} – 100 years ago, a killer wave of molasses struck a crowded Boston neighborhood. Discover the story of this strange disaster in the next book in the New York Times bestselling I Survived series.
A deadly – and strange – disaster.
It’s been four years since Carmen and Papa moved from Italy to Boston. Life here is exciting, but not always easy. And then there’s the massive metal tank that rises up over their crowded North End neighborhood. The ugly tank, filled with sticky brown molasses, has always leaked. But nobody imagined that it could one day explode apart, sending a tsunami of molasses into the streets.
Caught in the flood, Carmen must fight for her life – the life that she and Papa built together in America. But where will she find the strength?
{My thoughts} – Carmen is s a sweet girl that moved from Italy to Boston with her father at a young age. He decided that there wasn’t much in Italy for them and that he’d wanted more for him and his little girl. They made the journey and started their lives new.
It had taken sometime for them to adjust and with the advice from her grandma she was able to do just that. She managed to make friends with the upstairs neighbor boy and their family took her and her family in as members of their family. They’d cook big meals and invite them to go up and join on a regular basis.
One day Carmen is out with her friend Tony and they are up by the Molasses tank. They get caught and scared off and when they burst into the horse barn, she gets some sad news. She learns that her dad is sick and then he shortly passes away, but she was there with him throughout the rest of his sickness. She ended up moving in with the neighbors upstairs. She became an even bigger part of their family.
One day she over hears the parents talking about a trip to Italy. A boat ride and how it was going to be long and might be a rough journey. She thinks they are trying to send her back to Italy and she runs off. She ends up falling asleep at the park and then eventually is found by Tony up at the Molasses tank.
This is the point in the book where everything picks up. It starts happening at a fast pace and it is a lot of information in a small amount of pages. I really enjoy how these stories are put together. I really enjoy how well the author researches each of the topics that she writes about. I really enjoy getting to know each of the children in the stories, getting to know their story. The end of this book unlike many of the others was one that had caused me to tear up. I’m not sure if it’s because I am pregnant or what, but I teared up. Happy tears, but still!
I look forward to reading the next book in the series when and if another is released. These books are quick reads that are very informative about historical events that children should know about. History is what we learn from and I think that these books are a good way for children to better understand those events. I hope the author continues to write many more books in this series as I am sure there are plenty of historic events to be written about.
Final Conclusion: 5 Star Rating.
