I Survived the Galveston Hurricane, 1900 by Lauren Tarshis || Action-Packed MG Historical Fiction

I Survived the Galveston Hurricane, 1900 (I Survived #21)

More than a century later, the Galveston Hurricane of 1900 is still America's deadliest disaster. Lauren Tarshis's story of one child surviving the horrible event churns with page-turning action and bold hope.

The city of Galveston, Texas, was booming. Perched on an island off the southern coast of Texas, Galveston had been founded in the 1830s. By 1900, it was Texas's richest and most important city. Boats loaded up with American cotton and wheat steamed from Galveston to countries around the world. Arriving ships were crowded with immigrants. The streets, paved with crushed oyster shells, sparkled like they'd been sprinkled with diamonds.

True, this glittering city was prone to flooding. But just a few years before, a weather forecaster had said the idea of a hurricane striking Galveston was absurd.

So when a storm started brewing on September 8, 1900, no one believed it would be any worse than previous storms. They gathered on the beach to cheer on the wild waves. But what started as entertainment soon turned into a nightmare as those wild waves crashed into the city. By morning, hundreds of homes were destroyed. Eight thousand people were dead. The city had all but disappeared,
In this thrilling installment of Lauren Tarshis's New York Times bestselling I Survived series, one child finds safety only to head back into the treacherous waters to make sure his neighbors are safe.

Content Tags:

Perfect for readers who want:

• Easy-to-read chapter books with short chapters and large font.
• Historical fiction based on real events.
• Relatable protagonist thrust into extraordinary circumstances.
• Super cute sibling bonds!
• Books that are great for reluctant readers.

Many thanks to Scholastic, Inc. and Rockstar Book Tours for a copy in exchange for an honest, unbiased review. Quotes taken from an unfinished version and may differ from the final product.

As a librarian, I’m aware that kids love this series. Anything like that makes me stop and pay attention. So when I saw that this was coming out, I knew that I should read it (especially since I love natural disaster books). In fact, when my copy of the book came, Minion (who is a reluctant reader, despite our best efforts) was standing next to me and immediately grabbed it and wandered off. It vanished somewhere into the void of her room (and I’m not brave enough to attempt a rescue party). Anything that can get her that excited about reading is a win in my book!

I Survived the Galveston Hurricane, 1900, is a fast-paced, action-packed historical fiction based on real events. Perfect for reluctant readers, but with a little something that will appeal to all audiences.

Not gonna lie, I’m a little surprised by how much I enjoyed this book! I tend to struggle a bit with younger middle grade books, and I went in thinking maybe it’d be too simplistic to grab me. That was definitely not the case! There’s just enough action to make it exciting and just enough science to please the nerd living in my head.

The chapters are short and packed with action, with little cliffhangers all the way through to pull the reader along.

It’s really ideal for reluctant readers or maybe people who may not be able to read more advanced books. Short chapters mean lots of opportunity to feel accomplished! Tarshis did a wonderful job of hooking me right from the beginning. This starts in media res, which is a fancy term that means “things have gone sideways and I don’t know why but I am here for it.“

I was hooked from the very first chapter, which I didn’t expect. There’s a little of something for all ages, and the story is easy enough for pretty much anyone to enjoy.

Prepare to learn something new . . . but in a fun, bite-sized way where you don’t actually realize you learned something until the end!

These are my favorite types of middle grade books. As a parent, I understand that you sometimes need to trick your kids into doing things. Like . . . learning! Because what a drag it is, right? But not if you slip it into a fun, action-packed book. Tricksy, tricksy. 😉

I actually didn’t know a whole lot about the Galveston hurricane, so it was interesting to learn more! Like that they thought it could never happen there. I particularly appreciated the little note at the end of the book that explained some of the occurrences in the novel in more detail. It seems silly to us now, perhaps, that the people of Galveston claimed it was impossible for a hurricane to hit there, but Tarshis did a marvelous job of setting the scene and providing enough backstory to explain exactly why residents felt they were safe.

There are some utterly adorable sibling interactions in this book that I am absolutely living for!

I sometimes cringe a little when middle grade books pit siblings against each other. My siblings and I fought just fine as it was without adding some new inspiration and ideas from the books I read. (Bonus: my siblings didn’t read, so if I did find new and improved ways to torment them from books, they would be wildly unprepared. I see this as a win.)

Charlie’s interactions with his little sister, Lulu, are entirely heartwarming and wholesome and everything I want in a book like this! Sure, he’s a bit annoyed that she’s terrified of storms, but what older sibling isn’t occasionally (or often) annoyed by a younger sibling? Instead of leaning into it, Charlie decides to do something to distract her, and I love that the book shows a more proactive and positive approach kids can take to being annoying by their younger siblings. It’s just too cute!

This book doesn’t have a ton of illustrations, but the few that it does have really help to set the scene and create an atmosphere. Plus, they’re just absolutely freaking gorgeous and I can’t even with how blown away I am by them.

I’m a picture person. What can I say? I can’t draw a straight line (no, not even with a ruler—I’ve tried). These illustrations are utterly breathtaking, though, and I couldn’t wait to get to the next one and see what the artist came up with! Like I said, these are kind of sparse, but they really highlight important scenes. Like, for example, Charlie realizing his magic tricks can distract his sister from being afraid of the storm. I loved the warm, uplifting vibes of this illustration, but there are others with different feels to them, and I liked the variety in the scenes the artist chose to capture.

About Lauren Tarshis

LAUREN TARSHIS’ New York Times bestselling I Survived series (which has over 34 million copies in print!) tells stories of young people and their resilience and strength in the midst of unimaginable disasters and times of turmoil. Lauren has brought her signature warmth and exhaustive research to topics such as the battle of D-Day, the American Revolution, Hurricane Katrina, the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the attacks of September 11, 2001, and other world events.

Lauren is also the Senior Vice President and Editor-in-Chief/Publisher of Scholastic Classroom Magazines, where she oversees more than 25 classroom magazines. In her more than 25 years with Scholastic, Lauren has helped transform the company’s print magazines into the powerful learning tools they are today. In her current role, she is helping to expand the magazines’ deep connection to American classrooms and ensure their vital role in providing teachers and students with an understanding of the contemporary world. She lives in Connecticut with her family, and can be found online at laurentarshis.com.

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3 winners will win a finished copy of I SURVIVED, THE GALVESTON HURRICANE, 1900, US Only.

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