Not on Fifth Street

July 1, 2017

Gr 4-6-In 1937, the Ohio River Valley endured its worst flood. Tens of thousands of people were displaced from their homes. Wiechman draws on family history to create a narrative about surviving this disaster. Told from the perspectives of brothers Pete and Gus, this tale presents two vastly different experiences. Pete is asked to stay home and take care of his mother and two younger siblings. Gus goes with his father to help fill sandbags in hopes of preventing water from destroying the town. As the water rises higher, Pete must do everything in his power to save his home and protect his family. When Gus is separated from his father and decides to cross the bridge from Ohio into Kentucky to check on his girlfriend, he must face the floodwaters alone. Wiechman deftly tells the story of the two protagonists' struggle to survive and depicts the characters' intricate familial relationships. Short chapters filled with suspense will keep readers wondering what will happen next. An author's note includes pictures of Wiechman's family and their house on Fifth Street, as well as family recollections of the flood of 1937. VERDICT An excellent choice for fans of historical fiction.-Ashley Leffel, Griffin Middle School, Frisco, TX

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 15, 2017
Catholic-Protestant tensions rise along with the Ohio River in this historical novel. On New Year's Day 1937, 14-year-old Pete, a Catholic white boy (all characters are white) living in Ironton, Ohio, alongside the Ohio River, accidentally outs his older brother Gus' girlfriend as a Protestant whose parents are divorced. The resulting rift lasts for weeks. A warm, wet winter causes the Ohio to flood to historic levels; as the waters rise, Gus and his father leave to battle the river with sandbags while Pete stays home to care for his mother and younger siblings. When the rescue efforts are abandoned, Pete's father returns to the family--but Gus doesn't. Told first from Pete's then from Gus' points of view, the story suffers from lack of plot and characterization. All of the action centers on the flood. The boys' mother is astonishingly ineffective--seemingly unable to take any concrete action, relying on her 14-year-old son to make all decisions in her husband's absence--and the minor characters, predominantly younger siblings, lack depth. The book is a hybrid--its characters are YA-age range, but the story feels more appropriate to middle graders; it's not tense enough for an action story but not tied so tightly to the past that it reads strongly as historical fiction--and it will have trouble attracting readers. A misstep for Wiechman, who has done better. (Historical fiction. 8-12)

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October 1, 2017
Grades 5-8 The Brinkmeyers' house on Fifth Street is too high for the flood waters to reach. At least that's what Pete and his family keep reassuring themselves. What they don't realize is the catastrophic 1937 Ohio River flood is about to engulf their community and many others. When Dad and brother Gus go to fill sandbags, Pete, who tells the first half of the story, helps hold the fort at home. Suspense builds artfully as the rising waters eventually do reach the house and Pete needs to convince a reluctant Mom to evacuate. Gus tells the second half of the story, about the extreme risk he takes trying to check on the girlfriend his family has forbidden him to see, on the Kentucky side of the river. A taut family drama set during a historic natural disaster, this engaging tale told by two thoroughly appealing brothers will pull readers in and prompt the question of just what do we do when catastrophe suddenly strikes. A closing note from Wiechman tells about the flood and her family's experience therein.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)