Run for Your Life

Lisa Arsenault is an elementary-school teacher in Ajax, Ontario.

Ten-year-old Emily feels powerless where both her life and her hometown,
Trenton, Ontario, are concerned. The year is 1918; many of the men,
including Emily’s father, are fighting in the Great War in Europe, a
flu epidemic is killing millions of people worldwide, and Emily’s Aunt
Carrie’s “spells,” caused by the death of her fiancée at the
chemical plant, are driving people away from her mother’s boarding
house. To make things worse, Emily is continually being picked on by the
neighborhood bully.

The arrival of Emily’s cousin Tom brings positive changes. He
encourages her to stand up to the bully, and life improves—until
Thanksgiving Day when the chemical plant explodes. This crisis tests
Emily’s mettle. Despite fear and physical frailty, she saves a baby in
a blast-shattered house, and rescues her aunt in the burning factory.

Built around the actual explosion of the British Chemical Plant, this
novel is recommended for its historical ambience and interesting
characters. Young girls especially will enjoy Emily’s transformation
as she is tested by circumstances and prevails. The simple,
straightforward narrative style is occasionally adorned with such
tactile images as the comparison of a baby’s face to velvet.