First Half of Fever

I just finished reading the first half of Fever 1793, up to chapter 17. Unlike the first book we read, Speak, the characters in Fever 1793 have more distinct personalities as manifested by their actions. In the first book, the characters may not be so distinct because their descriptions came through the one-sided perspective of Melinda, who did not bother to reveal the characters' actual names to the readers.

Some thoughts and comments I had while I was reading the first half of the book:

• Matilda's mom, Lucille, defied the rule of her upper social class status by marrying Matilda's dad, who came from a working class family. Despite what Lucille did, she does not want the same for her daughter. She hopes and pushes her daughter to marry into a wealthier family. 
• The family coffeehouse restaurant is so near to the celebrities of their time. Alexander Hamilton and Dr. Benjamin Rush both had yellow fever but recovered from it. 
• Like Leslie had mentioned, many people treated yellow fever victims like zombies. They were feared, exiled, and buried alive. It was a dark time for the city. People that remained heavily locked up their doors to keep yellow fever and looters out. Other cities did not allow people with yellow fever to even pass through. People were unsure of the cause of yellow fever but they all feared that it was contagious. 
• Grandpa does not have yellow fever but he stated that he has a heart condition? Have symptoms of his heart condition revealed themselves in the past? Will Grandpa make it all the way to the end of the story?
• I think Lucille died of yellow fever, but I hope Eliza, the coffeehouse help and cook, survives the epidemic and that she will come up again in the second half of the book. Also, I wonder if she will meet her friend and crush, Nathaniel again. 
• Due to the circumstances, Matilda will no longer act childish and soon mature and take on bigger responsibilities. She already showed this in the first half of the book by taking care of grandpa when he came under the heat. Matilda reminds me of Esperanza in the novel, Esperanza Rising; both young privileged characters mature under hardships and losses.