I had some concerns early on in this book. Mary seemed entirely too sympathetic. Her first scene showed her as a victim of circumstance, a person unfairly imprisoned by unfeeling officials. And her real history is morally complex. We're weighing personal freedom against public good, a situation with no easy answers. I was concerned also with the portrayal of Essie's fears. I was concerned that this was all being attributed to her father's death. So I appreciated when we saw back into the past and realized that she had always been anxious. Similarly, I appreciated that there were so simple solutions to her problems. Everything was a process. There were elements I didn't care for, some coincidental plot points. If you have an interest in history, though, it's a solid read.

This compelling book is perfect for readers who love atmospheric, spooky stories. The feelings of dread and anxiety are very real, and I think it is the author’s own experience with anxiety (author’s note) that lends the authenticity here. I love the message that without fear, there would be no such thing as bravery. I also think it would make a wonderful choice for a book club interested in exploring the times of another pandemic.

This is one of those books I would tell people is really worth reading. The care the author took to write the characters was amazing. It was educational and well researched it was thought provoking. It was slow in parts but worth it.

Another wonderful historical story from Kramer (if you haven't already, check out her first book as well!). This story follows Essie, a girl forced to move to North Brother Island to a creepy house where there just might be ghosts with a new stepfather she suspects of unspeakable acts and a list of her own unspeakable fears. She'll set out to solve a mystery and end up facing her fears - all against the backdrop of 1910s New York.

I also found the depiction of anxiety spot-on and was not surprised to learn in the end note that the author herself has an anxiety disorder. Kids with anxiety will see themselves in these pages.

I really enjoyed this! I liked Essie as a character, and I thought the author built the setting and the atmosphere very well. Historical fiction is always interesting - the temptation to involve fictional characters with famous people or circumstances is very strong, and it doesn't always work well. I thought it worked extremely well in this case - even though Essie does brush up against famous things, the biggest and most important events in Essie's life are small in a historical sense but intensely personal. I also really enjoyed the spooky aspect of the story! It was very well paced and written.

Usually a book like this would be one that I enjoy but for a few reasons this one didn’t work for me which makes me sad.

I like books that are set during a historical pandemic or epidemic. I have read much on the Tuberculosis pandemic and even though this is based around the Typhoid epidemic I thought it would still be interesting. I will say that there were new things I learned about like Typhoid Mary. I wanted to know more about her story after and went to google her. It’s honestly pretty sad. There are also other historical tidbits included that involve immigrants and they were ones that I hadn’t heard about either.

Another thing I liked was the talk about anxiety as it’s easy to see that Essie is dealing with it. She was relatable to me because of that as I also struggle with anxiety.

The pacing for the book was on the slower side and I also had a hard time getting into the writing. Another issue was that I thought this would be more eerie/spooky but I found myself bored at times. I do understand that this is Middle Grade but I am quite the chicken and have read other spooky Middle Grade books that had me more entertained than this one. I think this is honestly where my disappointment lies and the biggest reason why I didn’t love the book.

Overall, this was okay. I did learn a couple new things so that is always nice.