Web Book Report

The Star and the Flame

Rosemary Weir

Introduction	Summary	Book Review
Characters & Setting	Daniel – 15 November 12, 2004 Language Arts	Author Information

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Intro

This story about a boy and his family facing the struggle to survive the plague in London in the 1800s. This historical fiction novel gives the reader some information on how the plague started and what it lead to. This web book report gives you some idea of what the book has to offer.

SUMMARY

This story is about a young boy named Tom who is 10 years old and is living on the London Bridge when the plague hits. His mother, younger sister, and their maid all came down with the disease. His father tells him he must go to his maternal grandfather’s house. His grandfather is angry at his daughter’s marriage and has not spoken with then to her in years. Tom escapes with a friend of his fathers, and they sail along the Thames River until they crash their boat.

They begin their long journey on foot. On heir way, they find a robber attacking a stagecoach. Tom saves the people on the coach with his quick thinking and gets a free ride to the nearest city. Once they return to the city, the Lordship rewards Tom and his companion with a place to stay, food to eat, and some clothes to wear. The Lordship agrees to ride over with Tom to his grandfather’s farm. Tom reunites the two families and lives with his grandfather, his grandmother, and his cousin Anne for a year.

While on the farm, Tom learns to ride horses and farm. A year later he receives mail from London asking him to come back home. Tom decides that it is time to return home so he says his good-byes and begins his journey home when all of a sudden he sees smoke. London is burning!

CHARACTERS

The main character of this story is Tom. Tom is a twelve-year-old boy living in London, England, during the time of the plague. His family becomes very ill, and Tom has to leave the city and go live with his Grandfather who he has never met before. He is quick thinking, and it comes in handy during his many adventures. Tom is curious about everything, and it gets him into trouble sometimes.

SETTING

The setting takes place in England around the time of the plague. There are a lot of areas with nothing but wildlife. A couple farms here and there with villages along side them

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Rosemary Weir lives in England and has written few books in the past for young boys and girls.

OTHER BOOKS v Top Secret v Black Sheep v The Young David Garrick

No information or images could be found on Rosemary Weir via the internet

BOOK REVIEW

This historical story tells about a comet in the sky that foretells a bad omen. The comet foretells the coming of the plague to Europe. Throughout the story, you learn about people and how they have to deal with devastating event like the plaque. He fire represents the London Bridge fire, another really bad incident that occurred in England. The story tells about people releasing their anger. For example, they lose control of their boat on the Thames River because they are enraged. It is a drama of survival during difficult this time. I gave these book three out of five stars.

I wouldn’t encourage other 7^th graders to read this book because it was a little boring and unexciting throughout the story. The book has some exciting parts but they are very predictable.