Streams of Babel by Carol Plum-Ucci. 2008, Harcourt
This is the nightmare that people have been thinking will happen after 9/11, and it
occurs first in a small town*.
Cora Holman’s mother is dead of an aneurysm, probably caused by the self-prescribed
medication she has been taking for years. Now Cora is alone, and although she
wishes her grandmother was still there, she feels she can take care of herself. If
only she can shake this virus that has caught up with her.
Down the street, Scott Eberman is trying hard to keep his mother well and his
brother, Owen, involved. He’s just come back from taking away Cora’s mother and
feels something is wrong*Scott and Owen also have to contend with Rain, their next
door neighbor and her chattiness * except she isn’t feeling too well either. It
doesn’t help that Rain's father, a suit for a branch of the FBI, is constantly busy
and never around. Scott isn't feeling too hot either, come to think of it...
Shahzad sits in his uncle’s coffee shop hacking away at computers and working hard
as a v-spy*tracking down terrorists and reporting back to the USIC on their
activities. He lives in Karachi and doesn’t know what’s going on in Trinity Falls
New Jersey. He only knows that “Red Vinegar,” a viral mutation that kills, is
polluting a water system and will kill thousands somewhere in the world.
Tyler Ping, whose mother works for the South Korean government, doesn’t know he’s
involved right now, but his jealousy of Shahzad’s hacking skills and rise in the
FBI will cause secrets and knowledge to become public.
And what started it all was a small puddle of water outside of Cora’s house, on the
same street as Rain, Owen and Scott*
Plum-Ucci knows how to write mysteries. What most people think about biological
terror, she has put into a gripping YA novel that reveals what could happen. The
characters are believable and the situation they find themselves in could be all
too real. Adult characters abound in this book, and while they take a secondary
role to the teens, they round out the novel as a whole and are important to the
plot. While most books about terrorism could become dry, this one stays juicy till
the very end. Highly recommended.
Naomi Bates
Northwest High School Library
Justin, Texas
nbates@nisdtx.org
817-215-0203
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