Elsie dreams of becoming a brave warrior like her father, an archer fighting in England’s war against France. But life isn’t fair in 1348 Europe. Peasant girls like Elsie can’t be archers, knights, or anything exciting.
Then, one day, in the forest, Elsie and her best friend discover a chest filled with stolen treasures and a dangerous secret. At last, Elsie has a chance to prove that she’s as brave as any knight.
Little doesn’t she know that a horrific, deadly illness, the Black Death, has begun its attack on England. It’s already killed millions around the world. And now it’s come for Elsie.
I’ve been hoping Lauren Tarshis would write a story about an illness for a while now. I was so excited to learn about the Black Death. I didn’t know how she would handle the topic. She did not disappoint.
This story was way more intense than any of the other I Survived books before it. It was a real nail-biter! Most of these stories have a slow build-up to the said disaster. In this one, I felt constantly on edge.
This story hits differently, especially since we recently had a worldwide pandemic. According to the Author’s Note, many kids asked Lauren Tarshis to write about the Black Death because of COVID-19. They wanted “to know what it was like to be in a pandemic all those years ago.”
The answer = Deadly.
Back then, a simple cut could be a death sentence, and people didn’t know what caused illnesses. Many believed that it was caused by clouds of poisonous air or the way the planets were arranged in the sky. It makes you thankful that today, we have sanitation and modern medicine.
Elsie’s grandmother was the town healer and had more sense than most so-called doctors of the time. She knew that bloodletting weakens the person and that illness wasn’t caused by curses.
As of now, this is my new favorite I Survived story. I already can’t wait to see what Lauren Tarshis will write about next. I’m still hoping for a World War I story.