Cons: Definitely geared toward a younger reading audience,somewhat simplistic.
The Bottom Line: If you have a young reader with an interest in epidemiology, this is a good book; older readers will find this a little simple, however.
martytdx's Full Review: Dian Dincin Buchman - Deadly Medical Mysteries: Ho...
I'm a science nut, and always have been. From dinosaurs when I was a little kid, to space later to an eventual interest in diseases and microbiology (I do have a biochemistry degree, after all), I've read tons of books about diseases, microbiological incidents, etc. I get a lot of raised eyebrows from my friends about my books (and the subsequent knowledge of odd things like Ebola). But it's a passion, and I find myself constantly adding more books than I'll ever read on my Amazon wish list, thinking that someday I'll get the time and money to pick them up.
At some point - I'm not quite sure when - I put on the book Deadly Medical Mysteries by Dian Dinein Buchman, and I received it for Christmas this year. When I put this book on my wish list, I guess I missed on key element about it - that it was published by Scholastic Books. Had I seen that, I might have known more of what to expect out of this volume.
[ • the PROGNOSIS • ]
The book contains 6 stories about mysterious diseases that were investigated and eventually identified by special scientists using great leaps of logic, intelligent tests ... and just plain old good luck.
The Moving Freckle takes us behind the story of how Lyme Disease was first identified not by a scientist but a concerned mother who found that too many kids in her community of Lyme, CT were showing weird and debilitating symptoms. The Mystery of the Poisoned Boys looks at how a set of doctors tracked down a toxin from an unexpected place that was making several children deathly ill, while The Hidden Time Bomb is the story of New York's notorious "Love Canal" - site of a horrific number of birth defects and other effects of massive toxic waste.
The Twin Who Didn't Get Sick explains how a scientist tracked down odd clues to find the source of a large hepatitis outbreak, The Hunt for the Baffling Bacteria tells of the 1976 Legionnaire's Disease outbreak and eventual 'discovery' in Philadelphia and Unraveling a Riddle explains how an early 19th-century public health doctor explained the origins - and cure - for pellagra, a common and debilitating disease in the American south in the early 1900's.
[ • it's ACADEMIC • ]
While the subject matter is pretty good (the Legionnaire's has always been a little topical because it happened near my local town), the writing is definitely not geared toward my level of reading. As I said earlier, not noticing the "Scholastic Press" thing makes a big difference. The text in the book is classic junior high book size, and the writing is geared toward adolescent readers. Buchman does a good job of not dumbing down the text - it is, after all, a book dedicated toward scientific discovery - but even so, the style of the writing is decidedly immature.
I enjoyed the stories - it's amazing how these scientists figured out these cases and saved the day - but reading the book was less than a challenge, and I completed it in a little less than 2 hours.
That being said, if you have a young reader who enjoys this subject, this book would be a good choice for them. I would recommend this for the 5th - 9th grade level reader, although I would think that the length of the book would still be less than a challenge for those at the latter end of that spectrum.
[ • final THOUGHTS • ]
This is a book that follows the Scholastic Books standards - decent if not stellar writing, interesting subjects made easy to comprehend and short length (enough for a couple of sittings). What it isn't is a novel-length set of case studies that will interest and captivate those at a higher level.
In the end, it's good for what it is - I just wish I noticed what it was before I put it on my wish list.
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