Phoenix Rising

An accident at a nuclear power plant ignites a story of loss, love, and courage.

Publishers Weekly

After a catastrophic accident at a nuclear power plant not far from their small New England sheep farm, 13-year-old Nyle Sumner and her grandmother slowly discover they have been spared from direct radiation. Gran decides to take in two evacuees, 15-year-old Ezra Trent and his mother, both of whom are severely ill. Nyle, obliged to monitor her surroundings with a radiation detector, wishes there were also some way to measure the Trents' ability to cause her pain: she hasn't entirely recovered from the deaths of her mother and grandfather years earlier, nor from her father's abandonment, and she must overcome her terror of growing attached to the refugees. As if to counteract the potential for sensationalism or dystopic fantasy, Hesse ( Letters from Rifka ) grounds her story with keen observations of the natural world--e.g., Nyle describes training a sheep dog, working in the pasture, farm work (``I like spring . . . when the grass greens up and the lambs come''). She also invests her characters with a certain formality. Nyle and Gran both demonstrate an archetypal New England self-containment and self-sufficiency; Mrs. Trent, raised in Israel and therefore no Yankee, is equally measured and reserved; Ezra, too, rarely voices his feelings. The author's understated approach heightens the emotional impact of her searching and memorable tale. Ages 11-13. (June)

Karen Hesse lives with her husband in Brattleboro, Vermont, less than twenty miles from an active nuclear power plant. After watching a television documentary on Chernobyl, she could not shake the images of nuclear disaster and its consequences. “I began to wonder how a radioactive leak would affect my family, my neighbors, our relationships with each other and with the rest of the world,” Ms. Hesse says. These disquieting reflections—and a great deal of research—culminated in Phoenix Rising. Ms. Hesse is also the author of Letters from Rifka, winner of the Christopher Medal, the National Jewish Book Award, an ALA Notable Book, and an ALA Best Book for Young Adults. Some of her other books for young readers include Wish on a Unicorn, Lavender, and Sable. Her newest book, Brooklyn Bridge was published by Feiwel and Friends in Fall 2008.