The List of Unspeakable Fears (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9781534480742)

The War That Saved My Life meets Coraline in this "deliciously creepy" (Publishers Weekly, starred review) middle grade historical novel following an anxious young girl learning to face her fears--and her ghosts--against the backdrop of the typhoid epidemic.

Essie O'Neill is afraid of everything. She's afraid of cats and electric lights. She's afraid of the silver sick bell, a family heirloom that brings up frightening memories. Most of all, she's afraid of the red door in her nightmares.

But soon Essie discovers so much more to fear. Her mother has remarried, and they must move from their dilapidated tenement in the Bronx to North Brother Island, a dreary place in the East River. That's where Essie's new stepfather runs a quarantine hospital for the incurable sick, including the infamous Typhoid Mary. Essie knows the island is plagued with tragedy. Years ago, she watched in horror as the ship General Slocum caught fire and sank near its shores, plummeting one thousand women and children to their deaths.

Now, something on the island is haunting Essie. And the red door from her dreams has become a reality, just down the hall from her bedroom in her terrifying new house. Convinced her stepfather is up to no good, Essie investigates. Yet to uncover the truth, she will have to face her own painful history--and what lies behind the red door.

Author: J. Kasper Kramer
ISBN-10: 1534480749
ISBN-13: 9781534480742
Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Language: English
Published: 09/14/2021
Pages: 288
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 0.90lbs
Size: 8.20h x 5.60w x 1.10d

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 4.9
Point Value: 11
Interest Level: Middle Grade
Quiz #/Name: 513524 / List of Unspeakable Fears


Review Citation(s):
Booklist 05/15/2021 pg. 60
Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 07/01/2021
Publishers Weekly 07/12/2021
School Library Journal 09/01/2021 pg. 89