From School Library Journal
Grade 5-8?Historical fiction based on the Tillamook forest fire of 1933 in Oregon. It's an enlightening, quick read that infuses an interesting coming-of-age subplot into a larger tale of disaster and heroism. Thirteen-year-old Estora (Storie) is beginning to get loose from her logger father's control. She is innocent, just beginning to recognize the winks and knowing glances that pass among the adults, hinting at things unspoken and unexplained. The novel personalizes the devastation of this huge fire and without too much didacticism elucidates some of the conflicts inherent in an occupation like logging, whose unbridled pursuit threatens its own existence. Short vignettes occasionally show how others outside the Blue Star logging camp react to the fire, but the main focus is on Storie and her family, who find their lives forever altered. Storie's maturation moves forward as inexorably as the flames, though with considerably less destruction. Themes concerning the social and physical dominance of men and the strict division between men and women's roles are touched upon, as is the difficulty Storie has breaking free enough of her dad to comtemplate following her own path, maybe even to college. The book concludes with a flash forward to 1994 with Gramma Storie answering her granddaughter's questions, bringing the satisfying tale full circle.?Joel Shoemaker, Southeast Jr. High School, Iowa City, IA
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Gr. 6^-9. Thirteen-year-old Storie Faye, a Depression-era Oregon "log camp kid," lives in an environment that, for the most part, no longer exists--the forest primeval of the Pacific Northwest. Storie, like all adolescents, questions her parents' values, and through Storie, Crew poses big questions for readers: How do we reconcile human economic needs with conservation and preservation of nature? What are the roles of men and women, in society and in the family? As Storie grows up, experiencing her first job (log camp cook), her first love, and the major losses of her home, pets, and the forest she treasures, the historical backdrop is the Tillamook Burn of 1933, a fire that destroyed large portions of Oregon's forest. Crew's novel is first-rate historical fiction, and it is also an engaging tale of a strong girl's maturing, a family's struggle for survival against big odds, and family loyalty and love, with a thrilling climax in which Storie's courage saves her father's life.
Merri Monks
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
