FEVER 1793

Narrator Bailey Carr gives a contemporary edge to 14-year-old Mattie in this new production of a stellar historical novel. Mattie's story starts out in familiar territory as she navigates chores, parental expectations, dreams of the future, and growing interest in boys. Carr mines Anderson's talent for going deep into the hearts and minds of teens, giving Mattie a touch of defiant sass and dreamy hope. It's almost a jolt to hear the post-Revolutionary War diction in the dialogue, complete with accents and airs communicating the ethnic and social diversity of Philadelphia in 1793. When Mattie is plunged into the horror of the most severe yellow fever epidemic in U.S. history, Carr's gentle voice guides listeners through what seems like an apocalypse. S.T.C. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine [Published: JUNE 2018]