Emma's Secret: The Cincinnati Epidemic (1832)

Sisters in Time #9

by Veda Boyd Jones

Time   1832  Twelve-year-old Emma Farley has a secret hope-but in 1832, in the rough frontier city of Cincinnati, will she ever be able to live her dream? The odds are against her, considering society's views of "women's work," as well as the more immediate and frightening problems she face-a massive flood of the Ohio River and an epidemic of cholera. Using actual historical events to tell a compelling coming-of-age story, Emma's Secret shows young readers that God-given dreams are meant to be followed. Combining fiction with real events is an ideal way to teach history and faith-especially at this price!

Genres: Historical Fiction, Christian Fiction, Middle Grade, Historical, Childrens, Fiction

144 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2013

About the author

Veda Boyd Jones enjoys the challenge of writing for diverse readers. She is the author of forty-two books: five children's historical novels, twenty-one children's biographies, three children's nonfiction books, three picture books, nine romance novels, and a coloring book. Other published works include over 400 articles and stories in children's and adult magazines (Cricket, Highlights, Humpty Dumpty, The Writer, Writer's Digest, Woman's World, etc.), articles in reference books, and five romance novellas. Veda has taught writing at Crowder College in Neosho, Missouri, and currently teaches for the Institute of Children's Literature. She and her husband, Jimmie, an architect, have three sons, Landon, Morgan, and Marshall.

Veda is a previous winner of the Writer's Digest Writing Competition in the articles division for a children's profile of Rachel Carson. Her romance novel Callie's Mountain was voted best contemporary in the annual readers' poll by Heartsong Presents a few years ago. Among her awards through the years from the Missouri Writer's Guild are Best Magazine Article, Best Historical Article, Best Adult Fiction, Best Children's Fiction, Best Children's Book, and Best Romance Novel.


Joe's Ghost is now available on Amazon Kindle.

Reviews

[Lindsey (Books for Christian Girls) · Rating 3 out of 5]

About this book:

“Twelve-year-old Emma Farley has a secret hope-but in 1832, in the rough frontier city of Cincinnati, will she ever be able to live her dream? The odds are against her, considering society's views of "women's work," as well as the more immediate and frightening problems she face-a massive flood of the Ohio River and an epidemic of cholera. Using actual historical events to tell a compelling coming-of-age story, Emma's Secret shows young readers that God-given dreams are meant to be followed.”


Series: Book #9 in the “Sisters in Time” series. Click on the numbers to be taken to that review: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, & #8.


Spiritual Content- A couple Scriptures are mentioned; Prayers & Thanking God; ‘H’s are capitalized when referring to God; Church going & sermons; Mentions of God; Mentions of prayers, thanking God, & blessings over food; Mentions of Bibles & Bible reading; Mentions of churches, church going, pastors, sermons, & hymns; A few mentions of thanking God; A few mentions of Christian burials; A couple mentions of blessings; A couple mentions of a nun; A mention of Heaven.


Negative Content- Minor cussing including: four ‘dumb’s; Bickering & a few mean words between Emma and Rob; Mentions of cholera, symptoms, deaths, doctor activities, & using leeches on people (that might not be for those with weak stomachs, barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of rotting animal carcasses & awful smells (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of hurt animals (and either helping them, putting them down, or them dying and studying the bodies, barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of fires & an arsonist; Mentions of alcohol, drinking, & drunks; A few mentions of lies & lying; A couple mentions of throwing up; A couple mentions of jealousy; A couple mentions of hatred; A couple mentions of rumors; A mention of no drownings in the flood; A mention of blood from a slaughterhouse turning a creek red; A mention of eye rolling.


Sexual Content- N/A

-Emma Farley, age 10
P.O.V. of Emma
Set in 1832
141 pages

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Pre Teens- Three Stars
New Teens- Three Stars
Early High School Teens- Three Stars
Older High School Teens- Three Stars
My personal Rating- Three Stars
Like prior books in the series, there are some parts that sound very familiar to other books, but the names don’t match up which can be confusing to readers who notice. Girls interested in becoming a doctor or veterinarian would most likely enjoy this one. Emma has her moments of bickering with Rob in a mean way, but they work things out each time.


Link to review:
https://booksforchristiangirls.blogsp...


*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.

[Glenn · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars - a good story about dealing with cholera and women wanting to do more (other than being a wife and mother... Worth a read...

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Better than I was expecting when I realized it was a Christian-based book of historical fiction for younger readers. That sounds bad, but I was encouraged that the main character is a girl who has dreams of a career in 1832 and the book implies that there is nothing wrong with that, even though she struggles to have her voice heard. This story covers the Cincinnati flood in early 1832 (February-ish) which broke records and then was followed by the end of the year with a cholera epidemic. Emma and her cousin Rob are right in the thick of things, good and bad, trying to be brave and working on their dreams. The Christian element of the story was not overly dominant and the implications of some female empowerment were a pleasant surprise.

[Lori Shafer · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was immediately intrigued by a children's book set in Cincinnati. As an Ohioan, I was pleased to see the book.

After reading the book, I was not impressed. The book fails on so many levels. I am taking into account that it is a child's book. The coverage of the epidemic is rushed. It fails to truly describe how a young person would have viewed the impact of such a disease.

As for Emma, she wants to be an "animal doctor." Her character is so unrealistic. How she views life and her choices is too modern. You can see the book was wrote with an agenda to show girls they could be anything. And they can. I just don't feel it handles the topic well.

I was hoping for a section describing the history behind the epidemic, the flood, and women challenging typical gender roles. Instead the book completely skipped this part.

[6thbreed · Rating 2 out of 5]

(2.5 stars)

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ended up reading this during our own pandemic very good book

[Kendra Loch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Emma and her cousin, Rob, both have dreams of becoming doctor's but only one of them is seen fit for the job and is encouraged to go for their dream. Being a woman in 1832 means that you are to get married and be a wonderful caretaker and mother, not finish school and pursue a real career. With the Ohio River raging and ready to have its biggest flood in nearly 30 years, bringing the Cholera epidemic with it, Emma has many obstacles in the way of her dream. "Emma learns that God-given dreams are meant to be followed."

This book is a great way to weave historical facts into a fictional story that allows young readers to understand what it was like living during these times and what kids like themselves had to face.

[Meghan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't read stories like this for the religious aspect. In fact, the religious parts felt awkward.

[Ali · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good so far!!