A review by sarahcoller
Earthquake at Dawn by Mary Exa Atkins Campbell, Kristiana Gregory

3.0

For a preteen read, this was actually one of the most horrific books I've read in a long time. I didn't know much at all about this event so it was a very interesting, if super fast, read. I didn't realize there was such an effort to cover up the extent of the damage and death toll, but with no rapid means of nationwide reporting, I suppose it wasn't too difficult to do. I was shocked by the extreme measures the authorities took with people who disobeyed minor laws or took advantage of vulnerable situations. Shooting dead a person who charged $1.25 for a loaf of bread, shooting dead a couple who made a fire in their home after being told not to. I guess I thought this point of history was past that sort of behaviour, but I guess San Francisco was still the "old West" in those days...

I very rarely read children's or young adult fiction, but I found this one informative enough that I was able to overlook some of the predictability or coincidental stuff that usually annoys me about juvenile literature.