I Survived the Great Molasses Flood, 1919: The Graphic Novel

I Survived Graphix #11

by Lauren Tarshis, Karen De La Vega (illustrator)

One of the strangest disasters in U.S. history is brought to vivid life in this graphic novel adaptation of Lauren Tarshis's bestselling I Survived the Great Molasses Flood, 1919, with text adapted by Georgia Ball and art by Karen De La Vega.

It's been four years since Carmen and Papa moved from Italy to Boston. Life here is exciting, but not always easy. And then there's the massive metal tank that rises up over their crowded North End neighborhood. The ugly tank, filled with sticky brown molasses, has always leaked. But nobody imagined that it could one day explode apart, sending a tsunami of molasses into the streets.

Caught in the flood, Carmen must fight for her life -- the life that she and Papa built together in America. But where will she find the strength?

Lauren Tarshis's New York Times bestselling I Survived series comes to vivid life in graphic novel editions. Perfect for readers who prefer the graphic novel format, or for existing fans of the I Survived chapter book series, these graphic novels combine historical facts with high-action storytelling that's sure to keep any reader turning the pages. Includes a nonfiction section at the back with facts and photos about the real-life event.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Historical Fiction, Middle Grade, Childrens, Historical, Comics, Animals

160 pages, Paperback

Published March 4, 2025

About the author

Lauren Tarshis often wonders how she came to spend most of her waking moments thinking about disasters, as the author of the children's historical fiction series "I Survived." Each book takes readers into the heart of history's most thrilling and terrifying events, including the sinking of the Titanic, the Shark Attacks of 1916, Hurricane Katrina, the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the San Francisco earthquake, 9/11, and the Battle of Gettysburg. Writing these books often makes her feel very nervous, as though at any moment a volcano could erupt right outside her window. Then again, she has learned a thing or two about avoiding being eaten by a shark.
Lauren is also the author of the the award-winning Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell Out of a Tree and its sequel, Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell in Love.

For more information, go to her website: www.LaurenTarshis.com

And check out the I Survived Website: www.Scholastic.com/ISurvived

Reviews

[Traci · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disappointed in this. I had read the work by Tarshis and was fascinated by this horrible event. The original book has so much information about the company, how it rushed to create the huge tank, how many safety concerns were ignored, and how many people not only died but had their lives changed forever by this event.

Many point to this explosion and flood as the reason government began requiring safety inspections, all to protect people from events such as these. The lawsuits filed and eventually combined would appear to be the first class-action lawsuit, something we tend to take for granted today.

The graphic novel does have some very brief information about these things after the story itself, which focuses on a young girl, Carmen, who immigrated here from Italy with her father. The story is extremely short and very predictable. I did think the graphics were well done, and I suspect this would be good for a struggling/reluctant reader. For myself, though, it was a VERY short read during my lunch hour.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a tragedy! I never knew about this disaster so it was nice to learn about it. I'm glad the company that built the tank was sued and lost. It's also because of this disaster that more laws were made about safe structures so this kind of thing wouldn't happen again. It's a great illustrated story. Love reading about history in a graphic novel way. There were many times in the story that I felt like I was about to cry. It got me deep in the feelings. Highly recommend this book and the others in the series. I also enjoyed reading the facts at the end of the book.

[Sandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great way to learn about historical events. My kids would have loved reading these books if they were around when they were younger. Especially, my middle kid who didn't like reading. He would have devoured these.

[Miranda · Rating 4 out of 5]

My son checked this book out from our local library. I decided to read it, too. It was really good.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This stood up really well, maybe because it’s been a while since I read the original and a bit because I find this bit of history fascinating. But I liked how Tarshis weaves in the life of new immigrants and their struggles as well as the industrial background to the disaster.

[ScrappyMags · Rating 4 out of 5]

My niece Olivia challenged me to read this so we can have “book club”. She is entirely enamored by the series and I can see why - I love historical fiction myself. Can’t wait to chat with her!

[Melanie Dulaney · Rating 4 out of 5]

In 1919, the North End of Boston was home to many immigrants, working class and doing all they could to make a life better for themselves and their children. Life has been hard for Carmen and her father in Italy where they lost her mother in a tidal wave caused by an earthquake and lived with very little hope for a prosperous future, but life in Massachusetts isn’t much better. But, they have each other, neighbors in their building that feel like family, and Carmen is bright and receiving a strong education so there is hope. Sadly, tragedy strikes again and Carmen’s father is struck with the Spanish Flu and succumbs like so many others. Carmen finds a solace and a new home with Tony’s family, her well-loved neighbors in the building, and tries to settle into her new life when a leaking molasses tank nearby suddenly explodes and sends a river of the sticky stuff used to make alcohol for bombs flowing into town at 35 mph and reaching a height of 40 ft, killing 21 and injuring 150 others. Clean up was long and tedious, taking 6 months to return the North End to something like normal. Historically, the event is responsible for changes in the law about industries’ obligations to citizens living near their facilities and forced many to make restitution.

The actual events described in the book summary are historically accurate with Tarshis’ book adding characters who are composites based on actual people, including Carmen and Tony who are about the age of most of the book’s target audience. While it has been since 2019 or 2020 since I read the traditional format novel of the same name, the graphic novel version seems to be an excellent adaptation and the graphic panels are excellent and add much to the feelings of tragedy, fear, and renewal of hope. The brief text also manages to convey those same emotions and with both elements working in concert, the result is highly effective.

Highly recommended for collections with a high circulation in graphic novels and/or historical fiction aimed at grades 4-7. With the violence being only that of nature and the negligence of manufacturing and an absence of profanity and sexual content, strong readers in younger grades would be able to read the bulk of the book but may need help with the vocabulary and concepts of the back matter. The back matter gives information on technology, mechanical and social changes of the time and notes the significance of World War I. It also provides more detailed information about the flood of molasses, the after effects, including deaths, clean up efforts and legal ramifications.

Thanks, Scholastic and Lauren Tarshis, for sharing a finished hardcover copy of this book with me at the 2025 Texas Library Association annual conference.

[Becky B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Carmen and Papa are struggling to make ends meet in Boston after they immigrated from Italy. Things were harder in Italy, though, especially after the earthquake and tsunami. Carmen is hoping for a better life but then her father gets sick with the deadly flu going around and then the tank in the North End holding molasses blows up and Carmen and her best friend Tony are swept up in the flood.

This contains a lot of historical information beyond the Molasses Flood in Boston. It also talks about the 1918 flu epidemic, the struggles of immigrants after coming to America in the early 1900s, a touch of how WWI effected things in the US, and talked quite a bit about a 1908 earthquake and tsunami in southern Italy I had never heard about before. The back of the book gives some more factual information about many of these, but especially talked about how the molasses disaster prompted laws about structural integrity of buildings and structures. Carmen has a lot of tragedy going on in her life, but she does have people who love her still around so it is still hopeful. There is quite a lot of talk about death in the book, so know the reader you hand this to and whether they can handle it or not.

Notes on content:
Language: None
Sexual content: None
Violence: Deaths in the earthquake/tsunami, the molasses flood, WWI, and the flu epidemic are all mentioned. There are some non-gory depictions of dead in illustrations. One character loses a parent to the tsunami and another to the flu. Injuries in the molasses flood are talked about but not shown.
Ethnic diversity: Most of the characters we meet are Italian or Italian American.
LGBTQ+ content: None specified
Other: Carmen sees a vision of her dead father at a point when she’s in bad shape. Carmen is taken in by a loving family but she’s afraid they are going to ship her off to far away relatives.

[pastel]

One of the reasons I like the I Survived series is because the stories tend to be deeper than the one tragedy that they are talking about.

In the case of this story, it truly is a tribute to immigrants to the United States. The struggles that they faced while here, and expands deeper to why someone would immigrate to the states in the first place. The depth of these books, even in the graphic novel format is I feel one that should be read by every middle schooler. Carmen's story is one of millions with the hardship she faced in her home country of Italy but also at the time in 1918-1919 in Massachusetts.

Not only is this work a reflection of a story that is often told in a humorous way, but a true testament to one of the depths of what is the American dream in a way. The story of the Great Molasses Flood, is taken with such care, its one way that I hope when given the chance to teach, I show the same level of respect.

[Rachel Jackson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent book about a relatively obscure event in American history. Lauren Tarshis, author of the original I Survived book on this subject, made a note in the back of this graphic novel version about how it wasn't quite the same as some of the other disaster books she'd written about before, but she still thought it was a story worth telling for the impact it had on the Boston community at the time and for years afterward. I agree. The Boston molasses flood is certainly a lesser known event in American history—I heard about it as a teenager and thought it was so bizarre—but Tarshis and illustrator Karen De La Vega did a good job bringing this story to life, even if it may not be as flashy and fast-paced as other similar books.

[Robert Murray · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the color and story flow. The topic is why I chose to rate this one lower. I enjoyed the rest of the graphic novels more because the topics seemed more relevant to my interests. The graphics and story flow very well, and if this is a topic you'd be interested in, then I recommend reading it. Even if it isn't on the top of your interests list, I would still recommend reading it because it might surprise you, and you will be able to say you read it. It is a quick read (1-2 hours depending on your reading speed) and you still learn something about our history.

[Kathy Wallen · Rating 5 out of 5]

July 16, 2025

I found this at the store today and I just had to get it! It was a quick read as all graphic novels are, but it was still engaging. It helped that the art style was pretty. I loved page nine the best because Carmen and Tony's playful argument was so cute. Their motions in the drawings felt real and natural.

Carmen also reminded me of Anne Frank in the graphic adaptation of her diary, but... better-drawn. I didn't like the art style of that book.

Great book!!

[Spinster · Rating 4 out of 5]

Working class orphan survives the great Messina earthquake and tsunami, which killed over 80,000 people; the great flu epidemic of 1919, which killed up to 50 million; and the great molasses flood, which killed 21 people and was also just really weird.

I hope she bought lotto tickets and lived the rest of her life in comfort. She was extremely lucky to have friends generous enough to travel across the ocean to fetch her Nonna. Such are the rewards if you get an A on your math test!

[Ellon · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars (I really liked it)

This was a cool I Survived book because it was about a disaster I had never heard about before. Like many of the I Survived books, there is more to the story that just the disaster. In fact, in this one, it seems like the Great Molasses Flood is actually a pretty small part of the plot. But it worked and there was lots of backmatter that went over the catastrophe in more detail.

[Stacey Adams · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great artwork, strange story. Weird story about a giant tank holding a lot of molasses. Two kids are caught in the thick mess when the vat breaks. Interesting that this led to safety checks on construction in the future since the business was held responsible for the disaster. History told in an exciting way with colorful scenes makes it fun to read.
A bit about immigration to Boston in the early 1900's too.

[Andrew Dittmar · Rating 4 out of 5]

I Survived: The Great Molasses Flood, 1919, the Graphic Novel by Lauren Tarshis & Karen de la Vega


Reading history:
Normally I keep this in my private notes section, but I'm moving it. Yay!

Reading history was not added on Goodreads, but was instead kept on a post-it note with the book.


Started November 16th, 2025.
Finished November 16th, 2025.


November 16th, 2025: read entire book

[Kaylee Adolph · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a great book. It could have more words, but it’s a graphic novel so it will have less words. So basically what I am saying is IT WAS SO GOOD I NEED TO GET MORE! That being said I am not going to spoil it but it’s a great intense story with a bunch of heart warming parts. So if I were you I would go grab that book sit, relax, and enjoy!

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good middle grade historical fiction about the Great Molasses Flood in Boston in 1919.

The artwork is good - the story could be a little more fleshed out but it IS for middle graders so maybe they didn't want to go to in depth of the tragedy.

This is a great series to get kids hooked on either reading or history

[Micah · Rating 3 out of 5]

It wasn’t my favorite. It didn’t take that long to get to the fun part, but I like that. I’m happy that the main character is a girl because there is always a lot of boys as the main characters. I don’t like that the dad dies from the flu. I thought that at the end that they weren’t going to take her to Italy. Overall, not my favorite but there are worse ones than this.

[Ali · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is such a sad book with the main character experiencing every tragedy possible but also great resilience. That is the gift of this series, children showing resilience with awful events. The historical notes were interesting too, how one event can change lives, including a molasses flood.

2025 pop sugar reading challenge- main character is an immigrant

[Sierra Hansen · Rating 3 out of 5]

honestly, i wanted more. as a bostonian, i was hoping to see more of how it actually affected people and the city, rather than just a montage of molasses waves bookended by an unrelated story. this almost certainly stems from my deep wish to be a time traveler so i can see these kinds of things with my own two eyes. a good intro to the molasses flood if you've never heard of it before

[Sera D. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book a lot, it's one of my favorite I Survived graphic novels, and one of my favorite artists being the illustrator encouraged me even more to buy it!
I learned a lot about the Great Molasses Flood from this book. I would say it did feel a bit short, but that's kinda ok in my opinion.

But yea, I definitely recommend this book!!

[Katie Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

My daughter has gotten really into this series and couldn’t believe I had never heard of the Great Molasses Flood. She recommended I read this about it, and I enjoyed it, although I teared up about four different times (I wasn’t expecting it to be such a tear jerker!). The info at the end with more detailed information about what caused the flood and the aftermath was especially interesting.

[David Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I Survived the Great Molasses Flood, 1919

Great read of an important event , telling about the survival of immigrants and the Federal safety standards that force companies to follow ASME Boiler and furnace standards of safety for operators and people living in the community!

[LadyHague · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had never heard of this story before. I LOVE how the book has actual photographs and reference information in the back. Recently we had a similar disaster (can’t remember the contents of silo)…but I was better able to appreciate its impact because of this book.

[Alicia]

Reading to review for a professional magazine, see full review there.

[Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shockingly good! Didn’t expect a children’s graphic novel to really hook me the way this one did.

[Jennifer fehrenbacher · Rating 5 out of 5]

awsome

Lauren Tarshis is a wonderful author, she makes I survived books made for kids and fictional characters and tells true stories just through books.

[Ingrid Gillies]

Uhhh Yah, I’m a good babysitter

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great one! I love this series! I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again- I wish we had these fun reads to learn history growing up but we had (gag) textbooks!!!