I Survived the Eruption of Mount St. Helens, 1980

I Survived

by Lauren Tarshis

The mountain exploded with the power of ten million tons of dynamite...

Eleven-year-old Jessie Marlowe has grown up with the beautiful Mount St. Helens always in the background. She's hiked its winding trails, dived into its cold lakes, and fished for trout in its streams. Just looking at Mount St. Helens out her window made Jess feel calm, like it was watching over her somehow. Of course, she knew the mountain was a volcano...but not the active kind, not a volcano that could destroy and kill!Then Mount St. Helens explodes with unimaginable fury. Jess suddenly finds herself in the middle of the deadliest and most destructive volcanic event in U.S. history. Ash and rock are spewing everywhere. Can Jess escape in time?The newest book in the I Survived series will take readers into one of the most environmentally devastating events in recent U.S. history.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Middle Grade, Fiction, Childrens, Adventure, Survival, Audiobook

117 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 1, 2016

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

[Sheila · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was so excited when I learned about this book that I pre-ordered it even before it was released, and not because I have read any of the other "I Survived" books in this series (apparently this is book #14) but because this was about the eruption of Mt. Saint Helens. I lived near Mt. Saint Helens as a child and I experienced first hand this eruption. I saw it, I witnessed the mud flows and the destruction. Friends and classmates lost their homes as parts of my town were destroyed by the mud flow. This was real. So I was thrilled to see that this eruption was now being shared with a younger generation, many of whom are not even aware of Mt. Saint Helens and her devastation.

But in the end I am disappointed in this book. While I am happy that the main character in the story is a girl (apparently the main character in these books is usually a boy, and and the end the author tells why she made a girl the lead this time), I was disappointed at how Jess, this 11 year old girl, was able to survive the eruption, survive in the blow down area, survive the PYROCLASTIC FLOW, by jumping in a hole with her friends and letting the eruptions hurricane winds and poisonous gas and ash blow over her with trees falling all around them. No, no, no. People DIED in this event. People 10 miles (and more) away from the mountain died, suffocated, were killed, and many were never recovered. If Jess and her friends were as close as the story tells, and were in the middle of the pyroclastic flow (a dense, destructive mass of very hot ash, lava fragments, and gases ejected explosively from a volcano and typically flowing downslope at great speed) she and her friends would be dead. I feel that the three of them surviving by jumping in a hole, and letting the eruption blow over them, doesn't do justice to those who really died and to the destruction that really happened.

The story also is centered around a "legend" of a character called Skeleton Woman, a legend that apparently is completely fictional to this story, as this is something that I have never heard of. For me, this side legend also detracted from the real event.

So while I will give the book a few stars for telling the younger generations about this eruption and mountain, I just so wish it would have been factual, and not this fictionalized and unrealistic story.

[Daniel Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember this.

[Marika · Rating 5 out of 5]

June: I really liked it because it was like non fiction and fiction mixed together. I was wondering about Mt St Helens because Bop Bop is from there and my science teacher Mr A gave me some ashes from Mt St Helens and I started thinking about it. I saw the book at a book fair and i brought it home and my mom read it to me and it actually was very very good for me.

[Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

What I love most about these books is how Tarshis weaves the historical facts in with these familial ties in her characters' lives. Her main characters are always battling some other emotional tragedy, in addition to the disasters, and they are constantly working to overcome them. In this installment, Jess's father had recently passed away and she was struggling with the loss, she held his camera (his most prized possession) near and dear to her, but after leaving it near Mount St. Helens she risks her life to retrieve it because she is so worried about telling her mom. I love the emotional turmoil that our MCs feel, especially Jess, you just ache for these young kids and how much they are carrying on their shoulders.

I remember learning about the eruption of Mount St. Helens in grade school, and I was always so intrigued. This book was so informative about previous volcanic eruptions and the process, not to mention warning signs. I also really liked the notes about the quakes disrupting the earth and so hundreds of snakes can usually be seen cruising down the mountains. Such a fun fact! This was book was so entertaining and I was so worried about my kiddos in it. I loved the trio and their friendship. This was a win!

[Royce B · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this book was awesome because it was a volcanic eruption. The reading age would probably be 4th grade and up. Jess lost her dad's camera in a earthquake which meant there is a warning sign for the Eruption of Mt. St. Helens. Will Jess survive with her friends? Read the book to find out!!!!

[Calli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun to read because I was a teenager in southwestern Washington when Mount St. Helen's blew 40 years ago. It erupted two Sundays in a row, and the second time the winds had changed and we got a lot of ash. The ash hung around for several years in nooks and crannies and underbrush. And we had to wear masks. :)

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful, I lived in North Bend, Oregon on the day of the eruption. We got ash.

[Luke Port · Rating 1 out of 5]

Brave male protagonist with no other character traits X (Instead it's a brave female protagonist with no other character traits. Only took over ten books to make a female one.)
Story about parents ❌
Something protagonist looks up to that inspires them (Parents were more of an early series thing so I switched it to anything really
Deceased/Absent parent (Don't remember bc it was so forgettable)
Younger kid who is attached to protagonist X

The first sixty pages of this book summed up is that some girl has two friends, volcano going to explode, bunch of information about volcano, childish rumor, kind of what you expect from one of these.

As another review pointed out with the male protagonists, what do they do? Save people from burning buildings, fire, drownings, etc. In this one the girl just goes into a hole and somehow survives?? Realistically the pyroclastic flow would 100% kill her, Sam, and Eddie ESPECIALLY with how close they were to St. Helens

And like the author having to explain why it took her fourteen books to make a female protagonist because the series was aimed towards boys and she admits she's had ALL these books have a male protagonist only so her audience can relate to them? Doesn't she know that she also has a large portion of girls reading this series?

Then there's the boring rumor which just took time away from everything. Nobody cares about that part let's bfr.. I hate to be so critical.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was one the most beautiful mountains in America, Mt. St. Helens, in Washington State. But what many didn't know was that this peaceful mountain had an explosive past. For more than a century, it had been quiet. But below ground, pressure had been building, and soon, Kaboom! Mt. St. Helens would erupt with terrifying fury.

Eleven-year-old Jessie Marlowe knew the mountain well, and like many, she never imagined that this serene wilderness could turn deadly. But on May 10th, 1980, Jessie finds herself in the middle of the deadliest volcanic eruption in U.S. history. Trapped on the mountain, she must escape clouds of poisonous gas, boiling rivers, and landslides of rock, glacial ice, and white-hot debris.

I Survived the Eruption of Mount St. Helens, 1980 (I Survived, #14) by Lauren Tarshis takes readers into one of the most dramatic events in recent U.S. history where they will meet one of nature's most devastating forces.

[Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

this was a really good book i love these books too i cant wait to read some more of these!!!

[Chloe]

It was a great book. I recommend it to others.

[Haleigh DeRocher · Rating 5 out of 5]

My six year old son is currently obsessed with this series. I listened to this one on audiobook with him. It was fun! I would have loved these books as a kid too. Kind of scary if you have a sensitive kiddo, but otherwise no objectionable content. I'm excited to read the rest of the series with him. (The 5 star rating is his!)

[anumm · Rating 5 out of 5]

this one is my favorite

[Sophia Ewing · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ok..

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this trip down memory lane, since I have vivid memories of seeing the eruption on television in my youth. I also liked the plot details, which should be good for my elementary kids book club tomorrow. Volcanoes seem like science history, so why have the framing story of a ghost woman? Do the details ring true now, or does the past seem very far away? What disasters could happen around our school?

2025

I liked the ghost woman with its explanation, and I had somehow missed that this was the first one with a girl protagonist. I was sorry to hear that Tarshis’s boys were so sexist. I’m glad my book club (and my kids) weren’t like that.

Wow, this was the penultimate book before the pandemic!

[Kate Adams · Rating 3 out of 5]

I definitely understand why my students love this series. Fast paced, serious action, and it’s more or less true! Who could resist?

I appreciated the afterword by the author (in the audiobook edition) where she explains why it took her until her 14th book to have a female lead character, and also gave facts about the eruption that support the historical fiction story we’d just read.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this book to my two nephews (aged 10 & 8) they really enjoyed it and I even learnt some interesting facts about volcanoes too. Pretty cool how the author intertwines facts, history and a fictional storyline in this novel. Recommend it for your kids or other I survived books by this author - I read it to them but the writings easy enough for them to read it themselves.

[Samuel · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was really good and I liked it!

[Kelly K · Rating 2 out of 5]

We get kids asking for these all the time at work. For the most part I found the story dull and I'm honestly really surprised that kids are so into it. The best part was the end when they tell you more about the event. I'll try a few more of these but I've lowered my expectations.

[Shadyside Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

Solid book! A very unique story that made learning about Mt. Saint Helen’s very interesting. Never a dull moment in these books

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good and short adventure story with true facts in the back and list of suggested further readings. I can see why these books are so popular in the library, especially with the boys.

[Cece]

Crazy book series I’ve discovered. Apparently this is the first one that features a girl main character- the author is a boy mom

[Cadee · Rating 5 out of 5]

"I like the book I Survived the Eruption of Mount St. Helens, 1980 because they figured out that a volcano that was asleep for 100 years is erupting and now they can say that it's a volcano instead of a mountain that thought it was. I don't like this book because they were on the volcano when it erupted and they could have been killed but they were just badly hurt." -Cadee, age 9

[Cody Becker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Personal Response (in your own words)

I liked this book a lot because there was a lot of action in this book. It was really interesting because it was about volcanoes. I did not hate anything in this book, everything was interesting.

Plot (Events that take place)

There is a girl named Jessie, and she has a group of friends that believe in a witch. She went to the woods with her friends to look for the witch, and she loses her dad’s camera. She keeps it a secret from her parents that she lost their camera. Then Jessie thought it was a good idea to go look for the camera, but the unexpected happens. There was a volcano that erupted, and some of her friends got hurt. There was a helicopter and Jessie waved it down, and it landed. They asked Jessie if she was ok, she said she was, but her friends might not be. So they started looking for them, and when they found them, they were not in too good of shape. Jessie’s parents said she should have just told them that she lost their camera, because she could have got hurt, or died.

The recommendation (age,gender,etc.) why?

I recommend this book to people 10+, because it is a chapter book. I recommend this book to boys and girls, because there is action and cool information. I rate this book a 4 out of 5, because I liked most of the book.

[Elise · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've already reached my reading goal for 2020 so this is not padding my count. I purchased this for a young nephew who is interested in the Mt. St Helens eruption of 1980 and decided to read it before I put it in the mail.

This is a good overview of the eruption from the view of Jess and her 2 friends, Sam and Eddie. They live in a small town on the mountain's slopes and are up in the mountain forest in March 1980 when an earthquake hits the area. A volcanologist studying the mountain visits the cafe Jess's mother runs and tells them that Mt St Helens is awaking and how dangerous it might become. By mid May, the frequent tremors have stopped and they decide to accompany Sam and Eddie's dad up to his summer cabin to retrieve some items when the volcano erupts. They do survive (not a spoiler due to the title).

The book gives a lot of information in an engaging way. It also touches on some of the controversy about logging in the Northwest. There are references cited at the end for kids interested in learning more.

[MrLion626 · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this book, I Survived: The Eruption of Mount St. Helens, 1980, is a book about a girl named Jessie who hears about a witch in the forest and goes with her dad’s old camera to get its picture. It falls out of her hands when the ground shakes, and she runs and gets out of there. She goes back to get the camera later, and before she knows it, she is stuck in the biggest volcano eruption in history!

I really like this book because you can feel the emotion in it, like all the books. However, this one is a bit more emotional than the others. The camera was precious to her because it was her dad’s, and her dad had died a while back. When she loses the camera and goes back to get it, which is emotional by itself, she is stuck in the eruption of Mt. St. Helens. All in all, this is a book that leaves you on the edge of your seat...which is what I love about this book! I highly recommend it!

[AMY · Rating 5 out of 5]

94 pages; Another great realistic/historical fiction adventure where an 11 year old girl named Jessie encounters a natural disaster that caused great destruction in the northwest of USA. It is the first book with a female as a main character and should be well accepted by both girls and boys. There is plenty of action, tension and disaster to keep readers on the edge. I like how the author writes a letter at the end of each book and gives the read a little more information about the writing process that resulted in that particular book or characters. She also gives lots of great factual information at the end of each book that is helpful to put the real event into context. Reluctant readers will enjoy this whole series and this one is no different. Bravo! Highly recommended for grades 4-5.

[Audrey Managan Elsasser · Rating 5 out of 5]

I Survived the Eruption of Mount St. Helens, 1980 by Lauren Tarshis was a very good book. It's not a super long book. It's pretty short. It's about a girl named Jessie and two twin boys named Eddie and Sam. The went to the twin's dad's cabin for the day. And they went to explore the woods. And while they were exploring Mount St. Helens erupted. And in the process the boys get hurt, and Jessie needs to get help.

[Shawnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this because it fits a challenge for volcano and volcanologist. It's a middle grade adventure story. It's short at just 112 pages, but I found it engaging, and I learned quite a bit about the area in Washington and the eruption as told through the eyes of a local girl. I recommend reading the Q & A at the end as this is loaded with facts about Mt. St. Helens and is very interesting.

[Joel Sandoval]

I survived by: Lauren Tarshis

Eleven year old Jessie has grown up with the beautiful mount st Helen always in the background she hiked its winding trail and dived into its cold lakes and fished in the streams. of course she knew it was a volcano but not active killing destroying kind. until it explodes with unimaginable fury with Jess in a volcanic event in U.S history.