Sunday, December 19, 2010

Christmas Countdown: Day 7: Review: Deadly by Julie Chibbaro


Book Description via Goodreads:

A mysterious outbreak of typhoid fever is sweeping New York.

Could the city’s future rest with its most unlikely scientist?

If Prudence Galewski is ever going to get out of Mrs. Browning’s esteemed School for Girls, she must demonstrate her refinement and charm by securing a job appropriate for a young lady. But Prudence isn’t like the other girls. She is fascinated by how the human body works and why it fails.

With a stroke of luck, she lands a position in a laboratory, where she is swept into an investigation of the fever bound to change medical history. Prudence quickly learns that an inquiry of this proportion is not confined to the lab. From ritzy mansions to shady bars and rundown tenements, she explores every potential cause of the disease. But there’s no answer in sight—until the volatile Mary Mallon emerges. Dubbed “Typhoid Mary” by the press, Mary is an Irish immigrant who has worked as a cook in every home the fever has ravaged. Strangely, though, she hasn’t been sick a day in her life. Is the accusation against her an act of discrimination? Or is she the first clue in a new scientific discovery?

Prudence is determined to find out. In a time when science is for men, she’ll have to prove to the city, and to herself, that she can help solve one of the greatest medical mysteries of the twentieth century.

Source: Julie Chibbaro (Thanks!)

My Thoughts:

Deadly was not how I expected it to be. First and foremost, I read it fast. In a day and a half – and I was in school in these days, reviewing for exams. Second, it was engrossing. The narrative of Prudence a curious mind seeking answers in a world full of questions, in a historical fiction like Deadly, I appreciated this. We always strive to know more, to discover and to have our questions answered.

Deadly follows the story of Prudence, a Jewish girl who lives in the US. The death of her brother and the disappearance of her father are mysteries to her. These two unfortunate events left silence and emptiness in her house. The concept of death struck her as something so mysterious and tragic that falls upon everyone. She wanted to find out why death happens.

Deadly was written diary-style with brief but detailed entries and drawings from time to time. It was a reflection of a child-like mind, musing and questioning life, and at the same time it was a reflection of a simple teenager going through the stage of adolescence, encountering people and problems. Prudence was so reserved, prim and proper, and refined. It was refreshing to encounter another character like her after all the modern characters I have met.

The mystery of Deadly intensified as more and more people fell ill. Typhoid was spreading fast, taking the lives of people and creeping quick through the hands of people. The only link to all of these cases was Mary Mallon, an Irish immigrant who was branded dirty. Prudence and Mr. Soper struggled with the unproved theory of healthy carrier. But with Mary Mallon unable to accept this concept, will they be able to solve the mystery of Typhoid Mary before an outbreak happens? Reading through the process of investigation and acquisition of data made me anxious and eager, as if I was watching one of those crime TV shows.

Being a teenage girl in the time of Prudence was hard and a bit unfair. At that time, science was only for men, which showed gender inequality. After dropping out of Mrs. Browning’s School of Girls, she was plunged deep into the world of scientific facts.

The romance in Deadly was very subtle. It was sad to see something like that bloom only to be hidden away and controlled. Prudence, a girl who had never fallen in love, found inspiration in her new field of work. I wish there was more romance though or maybe a more defined love triangle between Mr. Soper, Prudence and Jonathan.

Deadly is a historical novel propelled by the mystery of contagion and how it affected the lives of the people it touched. I recommend this to historical fiction fans, to the fans of science, medicine and facts, and maybe to the people who like Grey’s Anatomy.

Rating:

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For this post, there's no required comment because there's no individual giveaway for the featured book. But you will earn an entry for each comment you leave on any of the posts of Christmas Countdown starting today. There will be a prize pack of signed books up for grabs soon - on Christmas Day. Guess what? A signed ARC of Deadly is included in that prize pack!



If you missed any of the posts, click here to see the line-up for the event.








23 comments:

  1. I've been really looking forward to this one, so I'm very happy to read such a positive and detailed review! Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks for the extra entries and the giveaways!
    twitter:
    http://twitter.com/lulilut/status/16536639971004418
    d.septer at insightbb.com

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  3. I'm loving historical-fiction, and really, can't wait to read this one. Thanks for the terrific review, Precious!

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  4. The book sounds awesome!! I've already left comments on everyone so far, and I plan to leave comments on the rest of the countdown days!

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  5. I'm not much for reading books that are done diary style but this one sounds interesting.

    (\___/)
    (='.'=)
    (")_(")

    alterlisa AT yahoo DOT com
    http://lisaslovesbooksofcourse.blogspot.com

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  6. Sounds great!

    Vivien
    deadtossedwaves at gmail dot com

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  7. what a wonderful giveaway!! hope to win this;)

    maryanngacayan@yahoo.com

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  8. Thanks for the chance to win the prize pack! Deadly sounds like an amazing book!

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  9. Xmas Countdown Day 8 - extra entry
    http://twitter.com/lulilut/status/17006597184167936
    Thanks!
    d.septer at insightbb.com

    ReplyDelete
  10. Xmas Countdown Day 9 - extra entry
    twitter:
    http://twitter.com/lulilut/status/17322141347221504
    Thanks!
    d.septer at insightbb.com

    ReplyDelete
  11. I'm really quite intrested in reading this! The Luxe and A Great and Terrible Beauty first sparked my like of historical fiction earlier this year, but I've yet to really delve intot he genre. Deadly sounds like a refreshing read too, something different and unique to the YA market. I'll be keeping my eyes out for this, great review!

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  12. sounds great!

    minas_1989(at)hotmail(dot)com

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  13. Looks good. Great Review!

    fraijikhadija@hotmail.com

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  14. sounds awesome

    Tweeted: http://twitter.com/khyla_rahchelle/status/17734764886757377

    khyla_808ATyahooDOTcom

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  15. another sci-fi book?hhmm, seems interesting

    aleetha.ally at gmail dot com

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  16. This one looks interesting.

    sauvadeavelle@yahoo.com

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  17. Greys Anatomy? I'm in,haha.I am not only interested because of that, but because I also like historical novels. And it is very interesting that a disease and medicine is featured. There are not many other novels with such features!

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  18. Great review. Sounds really interesting. Looking forward to it.

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  19. I'm soooo looking forward to read this !!

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  20. I love the cover of this book and the simple one word title is really effective. Gah, I starting to sound like a marketing director -_-

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  21. Another book I've never heard about... It seems I have a lot to catch up lol
    I don't read very much historical fiction... I'll like to change that, and historical mysteries seem a great way to start :)

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  22. Sounds good, and i like the cover :D

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  23. Thanks for the review, I was never sure from the synopsis I read if this book was fiction or a sort of biography.
    Also what look like bugs on her dress creep me out.
    Having read your review, I think I will have to see if my library has/is getting a copy.

    natalie23{at}hotmail[dot]co[dot}uk

    ReplyDelete