Title: Chaos in Halifax
Author: Cathy Beveridge
Publisher: Ronsdale Press
Age Range: Children (9+)
Time Period: 1917
Location: Halifax, Nova Scotia
“Twelve-year-old Jolene and her twin Michael travel back in time during a family trip to research the Halifax explosion of 1917 for their father’s Museum of Disasters. Together, the twins try to reconcile the honour and horrors of the Great War as they struggle with the knowledge that their new friends are living in the area soon to be devastated by the explosion. Jolene knows they can’t change history, but Michael is determined to try and leads them into the midst of destruction. In the harbour, the Mont Blanc, laden with explosives, collides with the Imo and bursts into flames. Can Jolene and Michael escape?”
The second in the series of adventure stories about disasters throughout Canada’s history, Chaos in Halifax takes two kids and their grandfather on an adventure through time to the big explosion in Halifax during the First World War.
I admit, I was a little .. meh… about a time travelling adventure, but the author has done a terrific job introducing the concept of time creases – hot spots that allow these characters to flow through the timeline to a specific place. It didn’t feel completely strange or forced, but actually seemed possible! I appreciated that. I like that the idea of the travels was to gather knowledge and an understanding of that specific period of time in order to be able to explain it to others in our time.
This particular book was focused in the midst of “the Great War” – and I actually struggled right along with the characters as they try to decide what the purpose of war is. It was a good thought-provoking book about that idea.
I wasn’t completely aware of the Halifax Explosion, except mostly to know that it happened. I didn’t realize that it was the biggest explosion until the Atomic bomb, and I really didn’t know that it essentially destroyed Halifax completely. This book gave a terrific insight into the general feeling and experience of the time, as well as the chaos and mayhem that occurred after the explosion happened.
This book was well-written, and grabbed my attention. There wasn’t anything questionable within the pages, which was nice. I enjoyed this book and look forward to seeing what adventures Jolene and her twin get into next.
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Ronsdale Press offers a teacher’s guide to go along with this book for $5.95.
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