The Big Burn [Hardcover]

Jeanette Ingold (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2002

Jarrett is sixteen—old enough to reject the railroad job his father wants him to take, old enough to court Lizbeth Whitcomb, old enough to join the fight against the forest fires that are destroying Idaho and Montana. But the fires are worse than anyone dreamed, and soon the flames have has come between Jarrett and everything he holds dear, between Jarrett and Lizbeth, and thrown him into the company of a young black private named Seth, whose own plans to desert the army have been cut short by the disaster.
A about the biggest wildfire of the century--the big blow-up of 1910--The Big Burn is a portrait of a time, a place, and an event that changed the way we fight wildfires, altered the landscape of Idaho and Montana, and transformed forever the lives of the people at the front lines.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"Out there in the distance, the pink spread from sky to ground, became a pink-and-red-and-bronze mass of color billowing up in the southwest and running toward him. Sticks appeared to be tumbling through the air before it. Then Jarrett realized they were too far away to be sticks. My god, he thought, those are trees."

Wildfires were a terrifying experience 100 years ago, and they have become equally terrifying to many Americans in recent drought years. The Big Burn is based on the true story of one of the worst wildfires of the century, a conflagration that destroyed 2.5 million acres of public land and killed 90 people. In the hot, dry summer of 1910, hundreds of small fires were burning all over Montana and the Idaho panhandle, lit by dry thunderstorms, sparks from trains, untended campfires. On August 20, a blowup began as the many blazes, pushed by wind, raced up the slopes until they joined to ignite a crown fire that roared across treetops, creating its own wind in a mighty inferno.

This novel tells the story of three pairs of young people in the fire's path: Ranger Samuel Logan and his 16-year-old brother Jarrett, who yearns to fight this fiery monster; Lizbeth, who loves the forest, and her aunt Celia, who wants only to profit from it; and two African American soldiers, honorable Seth and his shifty sidekick, Abel. The way their lives interlock with the fire and each other, and the "field notes" that document the course of the blaze make up a thrilling novel with much authenticity for the place and time and for the nature of wildfire itself. (Ages 10 to 14) --Patty Campbell

From Publishers Weekly

Ingold (Pictures, 1918) captures the momentum of a wildfire in this historical novel about "the big burn" that scorched millions of acres across Idaho and Montana in 1910. Against the atmospheric backdrop of beauty and devastation, each of three teens bravely battles the fire. As a member of the all-black infantry sent to help, Seth conquers his own insecurities; Jarrett, younger brother of a forest ranger, chooses to combat the blaze with the rough-and-tumble, ill-equipped hired crews; while Lizbeth and her guardian cousin reluctantly abandon their homestead, only to face the danger in town. Ingold intersperses the intersecting stories of the teenagers with "field notes" recorded by a ranger and a university professor; these slow the pace but offer illuminating background, including the contrast between the Indian tradition of setting controlled fires annually versus the government's belief that "the only safe way to control fire was to not let it burn in the first place." The narrative flags a bit a romance between Jarrett and Lizabeth never becomes as compelling as their individual struggles but on balance, the triumphs and casualties recounted here will heighten appreciation for the courage and sacrifice of firefighters and settlers; the book may be especially timely in light of this summer's runaway fires in the West. Ages 12-up.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books; 1st edition (June 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0152164707
• ISBN-13: 978-0152164706
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,339,483 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Growing up, I liked cameras, my violin, reading, traveling, and running games. I flirted with becoming an actor (briefly, early, before playing a shadow, a flower, and a penguin). I didn't think about writing until I landed in a newsroom, assigned to obituaries, but it's been a straight line since.
I put a modern newsroom in my new novel, PAPER DAUGHTER. I hope you'll enjoy it and my other books for young adults. They include HITCH, a Christopher Award winner, and THE BIG BURN, historical fiction that VOYA called, "A must-read for adrenalin junkies."
Please visit me at www.jeanetteingold.com.

JEANETTE INGOLD's popular fiction for teens and middle school readers includes THE WINDOW, an American Library Association Best Book for Young Adults and International Reading Association Young Adults' Choice; PICTURES, 1918, a Texas Lone Star Reading List book; AIRFIELD, a New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age; MOUNTAIN SOLO, a Missouri Mark Twain Award nominee and Texas TAYSHAS book; THE BIG BURN, a Montana Book Award Honor Book and winner of a Western Writers of America Spur Award for Juvenile Fiction; HITCH, a Society of School Librarians International Best Book; and PAPER DAUGHTER, recipient of an Oppenheimer Gold Seal.
Her short stories include "Moving On," in TIME CAPSUE: SHORT STORIES ABOUT TEENAGERS THROUGHOUT THE TWENTIETH CENTURY, edited by Donald R. Gallo; and "Word Drift," in XANADU 3, edited by Jane Yolen.
She lives and writes in Montana.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent historical fiction!, March 24, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Big Burn (Hardcover)

Ingold tells the reader that if you talk with anyone in Idaho or Montana for long enough, the subject of the Big Burn will come up, and the person telling you about it will expect you to know all about it. After reading Ingold's well-researched book, any reader would be able to contribute to the subject. Set in 1910, when forest rangers were new, railroads were huge, and immigrants were still flooding the country, The Big Burn tells the story of the wild fires of the northwestern United States. Ingold gives us three main characters: Jarrett, Lisbeth and Seth. These teenagers each deal with the fire in their own way, and find that there is more to fighting fires than a little water or ditch digging. The three do meet in the tale (it is plausible), and each tell their view of the events in concurrent chapters. Ingold breaks in with facts and accounts of actual events, which makes the fictitious story feel all the more real.

Ingold has done her homework, and it shows in the story. Her afterword, acknowledgements, and list of suggested reading at the end all provide valuable information. The only problem I had with the book was a bit of charaterization--the relationships between the characters felt forced and unbelievable, particularly the budding romance between Jarrett and Lisbeth. On their own, the characters were strong, interesting, and contributed to the story. But when they came in contact with the others, even the minor characters became a bit forced in the relationships in which they were observing or participating. Otherwise this is a wonderful example of great historical fiction.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Big Burn, January 9, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Big Burn (Hardcover)

The story takes place in Northern Idaho during the 1910 Fire. As a librarian for youth I found this book to rate five stars and more. Ingold has made the 1910 fire come alive. You can really picture the sights and smells during the catastrophe. The story involves three teens and their survival. A must read.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 1910 forest fire book review., December 12, 2009

By 

Zane Smith (Springfield, OR) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Big Burn (Paperback)

A delightful read designed for teens and young adults, but at 76 years of age I thoroughly enjoyed it. I was surprised at the accuracy of the 1910 fire event, the culture of the time and place and the account of the early day Forest Service. As a third generation Forest Service retiree and having worked on the Coeur d'Alene National forest and the Wallace District, I personally knew some of the people who lived in Wallace during the time. I recommend it.