Firestorm!

by Joan Hiatt Harlow

Two worlds collide when Poppy, a street orphan who makes a living by stealing, and Justin, the son of a jeweler who wants to prove his worth, meet and become friends. Poppy plans to change her thieving ways, but when Justin loses money at his father’s jewelry store and Poppy is accused of stealing it, she flees back onto the streets. Justin insists on searching for her—just as the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 breaks out.

Alternately narrated by Poppy and Justin, this is a gripping story of right and wrong, trust and forgiveness, and finding hope in the ashes of destruction.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Young Adult, Middle Grade, Fiction, Collections, Childrens

336 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2010

Reviews

[FreYal Omar · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book ages ago and it's taken me soooo long to remember what it was called. From what I remember I loved it so I can't wait to reread it!

[Shari · Rating 4 out of 5]

Olivia read and rated it 3.5 stars

[Lydia Shearin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a wonderful story. Engaging and well researched. Great for 3rd-6th grade.

[Jessica Smith]

I really liked this book. It was about the great Chicago Fire of October 1871. The ending was great. I did not relate to any characters in the story but, I did feel really bad for Poppy because she had to live in this really crummy place with thieves and mean people. I did not not understand any thing in the story.

[georgia:]!!!!! · Rating 5 out of 5]

THIS BOOK WAS AMAZZZZZZING I LUVED IT ANYONE WHO SEES THIS BOOK SHOULD READ IT CAUSE IT WWAS SUPER GOOD!!!!!!!!!!

[Lizbeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

i loved it has mystery and takes place during the Chicago fire hope you guys read it

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

it was a suprisingly interesting historical fiction book.

[Tyler · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is about the chicago fire the author did a good job making this historical fiction book.

[Michael A. Richards · Rating 5 out of 5]

My niece joined a book club and was assigned this book, so I read it with her. We both really enjoyed the story. Set during the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, the story follows a young girl named Poppy who lives in a rough section of town in a place called the Willow. At the Willow, a wicked woman named Ma Brennan heads an orphanage of young girls; she teaches them to steal and takes all of their profits. On one particular heist, Poppy runs into a young boy named Justin who works at his family’s (the Butterworth’s) jewelry store. Justin wants more responsibility, but his older brother Charlie has been given more of the important roles. Justin and Poppy’s friendship is sewn when Justin introduces Poppy to his pet goat, Ticktock. Justin’s sister Claire takes a particular liking to Poppy and wishes there was a way to give her a better life. Ma Brennan finds out that Poppy has been hanging out at the Butterworth’s house and tells Poppy to steal a key to the jewelry shop; if she does’t comply, Ma threatens to harm Ticktock. After a mixup at the jewelry store and Justin failing to admit he was at fault, Justin’s father assumes Poppy stole from the store. Poppy overhears the Butterworths talking about her and decides to run away from both the Butterworths and from Ma Brennan. However, before she runs away, she decides to hide Ticktock. She eventually returns him to the parish house of the Church where Claire’s fiancé Forrest is the reverend. The fires then hit, and the Butterworths flee their homestead. Poppy goes back to the Butterworth’s and saves Claire’s kitten Mew from the fire; she also goes to the jewelry store and takes a bag of jewels from one of the thieves who escaped from the burning courthouse. The entire Butterworth family - including Ticktock and Mew - are eventually reunited with Poppy. The story ends three months after the fire at Claire and Forrest’s wedding, where it is revealed that Claire and Forrest adopted Poppy. Overall, it’s a story of people from extremely different walks of life coming together in the face of adversity, and ultimately, for the love they have between each other.

[Valerie McEnroe · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a historical fiction novel about two children from very different economic backgrounds in 1871 Chicago. Poppy was abandoned at birth and taken in by Ma Brennan and taught how to be a pickpocket. Justin is the son of a jeweler. After a successful theft, Poppy runs into Justin sweeping the sidewalk outside the jewelry store. He tells Poppy to come back in a few days to see his new pet goat. Poppy returns and Justin invites her to his house. His mother and sister are sympathetic toward Poppy's plight, but his father is convinced she's nothing but a thief. Her first intentions are to steal from the store, but after their kindness she can't go through with it.

When the Chicago Fire breaks out Justin and his family flee to the water while their store is looted. Poppy happens to be nearby and steals back the bag of jewels. When she finds Mr. Butterworth, she gives him the jewels, saving the business. All's well that ends well. Unfortunately for the story, the fire doesn't break out until the last 50 pages of a 300 page book. Readers hoping this will be a story chock full of historical facts about the fire will be disappointed. Otherwise, it's good story about the scrappy side of life in 1800s urban America. An excellent narrative nonfiction on the Chicago fire is The Great Fire by Jim Murphy.

[Kei · Rating 5 out of 5]

Then the lady looked straight at Poppy. Would she recognize her as a pickpocket? Poppy still looking over her shoulder, began to run when SLAM! She crashed into a boy who was sweeping the sidewalk outside a watch and jewelry store.
This awkward encounter between Poppy and Justin changed both of their lives. For Poppy, she meets Justin's sister who gives her a beautiful dress that she had never worn before. She was raised as a pickpocketer her entire life, all the money taken away by her mother who adopted kids around the streets. She would sleep in a bed with three other children coughing from the dust around their room. She wanted to run away but how would she? After thinking about leaving her mother, Ma Brennan, she meets Justin and Claire. Claire treats and thinks of her as a precious jewel and finally Poppy realizes how nice it was to be loved.
Justin was one day given a job to sweep the floor to get a pet goat that loved him. After a few days, he earned a pet goat that helped Justin and Poppy become quick friends. But one day he makes a terrible mistake. When putting price tags on jewels he makes a mistake between $80 and $800. His father misunderstands and puts all the blame on Poppy who just came by.
At the same time, a firestorm appears destroying every house near. Will Justin and Poppy survive?
Will Justin's father ever understand what really happened at the store when the store lost massive profit?

[Nittany · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I was little, I made my dad write a really mean email to the author of Firestorm! I just rediscovered this book and would like to apologize to the author for that- this book was so compelling and the imagery has stuck with me to this day, even if the title slipped away over time.
I hope my dad recognized my little girl upset-ness at this book for what is really was: upset-ness at the reality of the horrible things and injustices that can happen in life. And hopefully he never did send that email. But if he did... sorry about that. I hope you didn't take it to heart, you wrote a fantastic story.

[Ron · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the story of two teenagers. One is from the rich side of town, the other is an orphan who steals during the day. Needless to say, they run into each other and end up being friends. They run into problems being from different sides of the tracks. The title comes from the great Chicago fire. The book has some decent historical fact around the fiction. The story is readable and a very quick read for an adult.

[Thomas Tremel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a very interesting book about life in Chicago before a big fire and also what happened during. I only gave it three stars because it is way to long and that made it a little boring. Other than being to long it was quite good and has a very good story line and plot

[Lynette Lark · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is based on a true event, and not Mrs. O'Leary's cow! It's a page-turner for young (and old) adults, and reading about the fire tornado that swept through the mid-west was powerful and terrifying.

There's a theory that this fire was started by a meteor shower. I can believe that.

[Michele · Rating 3 out of 5]

Firestorm! was a great middle grade read, although it didn’t get to the fire until the last 1/8th of the book! I read this with my #middleschool reading group.

[Joseph S · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book was interesting and fun to read. I liked how it was a fictional story but was also about a true event. It was nice and very good as a story. It was easy to read.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

my fav book as a kid & i still really like it

[Allie Slocum]

Great BOB book! Two perspectives before the Chicago fire - a female pickpocket and a rich jewelers son. Didn't get to the fire fast enough for me but it was a good backstory.

[Ian · Rating 5 out of 5]

An twelve year old orphan girl named Poppy lives with a women who also has other orphan children in her supervision. She teaches the kids how to pickpocket, and the kids bring back what they have pickpocketed. In return, the kids would have a place to sleep and the more value to what they pickpocketed the more food and luxury items they get. And on the other side, Justin’s family is a business family and his father runs the watch shop. Justin gets a goat, meets Poppy, and Poppy decides to not to be a thief anymore. Poppy feels like she belongs to Justin’s family. But once some items start disappearing and Poppy is immediately blamed. Then they both run into the chicago fire. The theme of this book is that when you judge people based on their background, it could lead to a misunderstanding. In the book, because of what Poppy has done in the past with pickpocketing and stealing hasn’t really given her the best reputation. Poppy meets Justin and they become friends but when something goes missing in Justin’s shop, Justin’s dad blames Poppy but the rest of the family doesn’t. Poppy has already left her other family she was staying with and so she sleeps in Justin’s barn in fear of being discovered by Justin’s dad. However, the fire comes and they all flea but to Justin’s surprise, Poppy is the one that saves a bunch of valuables from the shop. I think that the book was a very good book because of the intensity and the topic of family. The plot and story was told well and because the book had two perspectives, it was interesting to see what both the characters thought. It was an great book in the lessons that it taught but also it was relatable. Overall, it was a good book and I would recommend it to everyone to read.

Reread review:

When reading it, I kind of already knew what was going to happen. But when I read it, I could imagine what was happening more vividly and more entertaining. The first time I read it, it was just a book. But when I reread it, I found parts in the book that I must have skipped last time and when I read it this time, I got more into the book and I could see more detail. The book didn’t change at all but my perspective of the book changed a whole lot. Instead of Poppy just saving jewels, I could see every movement and all her emotions. I was more attached to this book than before and I would recommend it to all younger readers that are interested in suspense and adventure.

[Beth G. · Rating 3 out of 5]

The ground in Chicago was always damp, so the city officials had decided to raise the level of the streets. Old buildings and foundations, which couldn't be lifted, were empty. It wasn't long before a man named Roger Plant and his wife claimed ownership of the deserted foundations along Wells Street and rented out the vacant cellar rooms to all sorts of criminals and tramps.

When 12-year-old Poppy wakes up coughing in the early hours of September 30th, 1871, all she sees before her is a grim future in Chicago's "underworld". Abandoned by her mother years before, she was taken in by Ma Brennan and her "School for Girls" to learn the fine art of picking pockets. But later that day, a chance meeting with the son of a jeweler marks the beginning of some major changes for Poppy.

Justin Butterworth is sick of living in the shadow of his older brother, Charlie, and desperate to prove himself responsible enough to do more in the family jewelry shop than just sweep the floors. Poppy isn't like any girl he's ever known, but when she runs into him (literally), it's the start of a friendship.

Over the next week, both Poppy and Justin deal with challenges, but all the day-to-day matters fade in importance when fire runs through the city.

In alternating chapters, Harlow describes events from Poppy's and Justin's point of view. Usually, these accounts overlap, so when the reader reaches the end of one chapter, the beginning of the next chapter jumps back a few hours. This drags out the narrative a bit, especially in the early chapters, when the very different lives of the two characters are revealed; impatient readers may wonder just when the big fire is actually going to start. The drama and suspense of the interwoven stories pulls the reader along, though. A comforting epilogue lets the reader know how things turn out, and an Afterword by the author notes which of the characters are entirely fictional and which are based on historical figures. Recommend to third- to sixth-grade historical fiction fans.

[Jorge Barajas · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story "FIRESTORM!" was a great and wonderful book.It was much different than any other book I have read.It really knew how to capture your attention.Even while I was away from the book;It still crossed my mind while I was doing chores around my house.Overall it was a really suspenseful adventure to go through with the characters and their personalities.

In the beginning of the story the characters seemed to be kind of dull but as you get to know their personalities and their problems you start to enjoy reading about them and their actions.Each character has their own personalities and their own unique characteristics ,you start to realize how entertaining their stories are.These characters have actions that make you feel a certain emotion such as anger or happiness.It even shows the characters stories from different perspectives.

The story is really amazing.It even has historical events that actually occurred.So not only are you reading a fascinating book,you are also getting information on what was around and how things were like in that era.Reading this historical moment and seeing what people were going through,really entertained me.I highly recommend this book.

[Books Kids Like · Rating 4 out of 5]

During the fall of 1871, dry, hot conditions cause daily fires throughout Chicago. Against this backdrop, an unlikely friendship begins. Poppy, an orphan and a pick-pocket, smashes into Justin, the jeweler's son, as she runs from one of her victims. Not realizing that Poppy is a thief, Justin shows her his geode collection, the store, and the safe. Poppy makes an imprint of the store's door key. This imprint becomes a moral dilemma for Poppy after her guardian, Ma Brennan, demands that Poppy get a copy of the jewelry store's key. She doesn't know that Poppy already has it, and Poppy decides to leave Chicago rather than betray her new friend. The great fire of Chicago strikes as Poppy runs away. This catastrophe promises a new beginning for the young pick-pocket.

[Addison Children's Services · Rating 3 out of 5]

I expected a book about the Great Chicago Fire to have more... well, fire in it. This historical fiction focuses more on unbelievably Christian class relations. Poppy is a street urchin, pickpocket (think Oliver Twist) and Justin is the son of a jewel merchant, who is feeling put upon by his father and older brother. Justin and Poppy meet accidentally and immediately become friends. At the start of the book Justin's biggest concern is getting a pet goat while Poppy's concerns are avoiding beatings, avoiding arrest, and getting food. Oh, there is a big fire at the end, but they all live happily ever after.

[Jaylynn]

The book Firestorm! by Joan Hiatt Harlow talks about a girl name Poppy picking pockets for a living and a kid named Justin. Over all i thought the book was really good and interesting. I thought the characters in the novel were going to fall in love with each other . My favorite character was justin because he was nice and caring because he offered poppy stuff and gave her stuff for free. My least favorite part of the book was when the kids were bullying them. My favorite pat was when Poppy stud up for Justin. If i could change any thin gin this book it would be justin's parents would take care of Poppy and give her more things so she doesn't look poor.

[Nicole Hurtado · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome


Two worlds collide when Poppy, a street orphan who makes a living by stealing, and Justin, the son of a jeweler who wants to prove his worth, meet and become friends. Poppy plans to change her thieving ways, but when Justin loses money at his father’s jewelry store and Poppy is accused of stealing it, she flees back onto the streets. Justin insists on searching for her—just as the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 breaks out.

[Audra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish more books I read was like this. Though it went from one to the other it was easy to comprehend. I like how it showed how both reacted and it had the opinion of both the boy and girl. I love how they do that but with lots of books when they do it it becomes confusing but it wasn't it was spectacular. I wish there was more books like this with that feeling and suspense.

[Al · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was for my book club so I was kinda scared, but it turned out to be pretty good. I had a problem with this book because it was different then what the back of the book said. This book turned out to be a shocker but over all a good book.

[Samantha Hastings · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was okay, but neither the characters or stories were exceptionally interesting.

[Mas5thgrade2012 · Rating 5 out of 5]

lol i love this but its so hilairiouse