Deadly

This historical fiction is about a teen girl who is inspired to become a doctor. She is hired in the fairly new dept of health and sanitation and works alongside someone from the dept to track the rash of Typhoid outbreak in NYC. The author tries to write about the typhoid epidemic and the tracking of “Typhoid Mary” in a suspenseful manner, but falls short because on top of the main story line are two other story lines fighting for center stage: a)Prudence's desire to become a doctor, and b)Prudence's developing crush for her boss. Neither of these two storylines come to a full conclusion, and the telling of how Mary Mallon is capable of being a healthy host that is able to spread typhoid to others is often repeated.

A good book. The subject matter is very interesting and the characters are fully developed and strong.