Thank you to the publisher for providing a copy in my wonderful NCTE/ALAN box of books.
Author Ann E. Burg combines fact and fiction in this historical novel in verse. On May 31, 1889, the community of Johnstown, PA, was destroyed. More than two thousand souls perished including 396 children.
Rich and famous men, members of the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club, spent time in their fancy lodge atop the mountain above Johnstown. For years they had been warned that the neglected dam creating their cherished fishing lake was likely to fail during any heavy, prolonged rain. Members like Andrew Carnegie, Henry Clay Frick, Andrew Mellon, Charles J. Clarke, Cyrus Elder, and others ignored the warning, and when heavy rains began on Decoration Day 1889, the dam collapsed. Attempts in court to hold the men responsible failed, leaving survivors lost and bitter.
In FLOODED six young people share their stories of the days leading up to the tragedy and those who survived share stories of the aftermath. The names of those who tell the story are not the names of the famous and wealthy who caused the disaster. Rather they are the working class who struggled to care for their families often foregoing their own hopes and dreams. Author Ann E. Burg's spare, yet powerful words, paint a vivid picture that will keep this tragedy alive for those who may not even know it took place.
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