Chasing Orion

June 1, 2010
Gr 6-10-During a hot summer in 1952, 11-year-old Georgia Louise Mason's family moves to a new neighborhood in Indiana. Her brother, Emmett, loves astronomy and basketball and doesn't mind, but she misses her old friends, though everything has changed since the outbreak of polio. She keeps track of the numbers of new cases from newspaper accounts; she has a grim fascination with this frightening killer disease. She is no longer allowed to swim in public pools or go places where people gather, such as movies. She befriends Phyllis, who lives next door and is in an iron lung; the teen is smart and beautiful, but her body has been decimated by the disease. Phyllis becomes Emmett's first love, and together the three young people form a special bond, though only Georgie sees what no one else is willing to accept: that Phyllis wants to escape the prison of her iron lung and will manipulate Emmett to achieve her goal. The sophisticated and insightful narration unfolds as if told by the 11-year-old, though it is revealed that an adult Georgie is looking back on this time in her childhood. Her observations about her family, Phyllis and her family, polio and its impact, friends, and more are beyond those of most preteens, though her fascination with mythology and how it is played out in astronomy are used effectively to reflect drama of that period in Georgie's life. Sophisticated readers will appreciate learning what happens to the likable, sometimes quirky, complex characters."Maria B. Salvadore, formerly at Washington DC Public Library"

Copyright 2010 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 15, 2010
Grades 6-9 Proving that YA fiction will eventually tackle every conceivable kind of befriending, this thoughtful novel details the relationship between 11-year-old Georgie, her older brother, Emmett, and their new neighbor, Phyllisa polio victim encased within a 1,200-pound iron lung. Georgie considers Phyllis a freak before being taken in by her striking beauty and bold manner. In fact, Georgie encourages the budding romance that blossoms between Phyllis and Emmett. But soon she changes her mindeven trapped inside a metal cylinder, Phyllis manages to come off as both threatening and manipulative. Set in 1952 Indianapolis amid the height of polio panic, Laskys story dispatches all gimmickry as it grows ever darker. Though the story is somewhat hobbled by purposeful dialogue and leaden metaphor, Georgies transformation from Archie comics daydreamer to reluctant hero is convincing, as are her natural interests in clothing, popularity, and sex. Was the iron lung a medical miracle or a high-tech coffin? The answers make for a unique and unsettling read.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)