At the Sign of the Sugared Plum

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Summary: The best book ever!!! by Jessica L
Review: At the sign of the sugared plum is a touching story and is the best book I've ever read! The story-line is of Hannah and her older sister Sarah struggling through difficult times as the plague threatens them in every chapter. Bringing the scene alive is exatly what Mary Hooper acheives, you can imagine the sights and smells of London, the church bells ringing constantly declaring more deaths as the sisters parish becomes infected.Also the fear stricken into Hannah as she discovers more and more blood, red crosses on doors and the dreaded words: God have mercy on us! This is also a very educational book telling you about the scenes of London, the symtoms of the plague such as the buboes and tokens that apper on the body. Everything seems so real as they travel through the disease stricken land-the pits piled high to the brim with corpses and the smell of preventives everywhere! I don't think Hannah will have any more time to worry about her bright red hair or freckles! This is a must read book!!!!!

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Summary: At the Sign of the Sugared Plum
Review: Despite the work of art that is this book's cover, At the Sign of the Sugared Plum is a simple book. The plot is somewhat-suspenseful, but rather boring all the same. The middle is anti-climatic, and the end is a bit of a let down.

However, Hooper does manage to create believable characters/settings and recreates the Plague with such vividness that it's unsettling. In fact, I'm being a bit of a snob. This is a good book-I'm jut not a historical fiction fan, which, indeed, gives me no right to criticize this book. If you like historical fiction, this is a wonderful book.

Hooper writes very well, if simply. I guess my main qualm is that this is not a book you can read twenty or more times (which is what I like to do!). I've read it once, mostly enjoyed it, and I will at least check out the sequel. My point? History fans-go for it!

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Summary: A book I highly recommend.
Review: For Hannah, going to London for the first time and living there with her sister Sarah is the most wonderful adventure she has ever had in her happy but rather sheltered life. Sarah owns and runs a sweet shop, The Sugared Plum, and Hannah has come to help her make the candies and sweetmeats sold in the shop.

Even before Hannah arrives at the Sugared Plum, she receives warnings that all is not well in the great city, warnings that she chooses to ignore. Even after she finds the shop and is reunited with her sister, Hannah chooses to brush off the disturbing remarks that her sister makes about the possibility of a plague spreading through the city. Hannah insists that there are only a few cases of the illness in the more distant slums, and she is determined to stay in London and become a city lady.

However, this state of affairs does not last, and Hannah and Sarah watch and listen with fear and horror as the plague begins its terrifyingly rapid spread through the city. In this time of great misery and suffering, Hannah discovers a good deal about herself and others, about the cruelty and compassion that can lie in the hearts of both friends and strangers. Somehow, Hannah and her sister have to survive this terrible calamity and escape the monster that threatens both their lives.

Beautifully written, gripping and able to transport us into a London of 1665 complete with its sounds, smells and people, AT THE SIGN OF THE SUGARED PLUM is a book I highly recommend.

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Summary: A step back into time...
Review: I truly enjoyed reading this book with my 10 yr old daughter. It allowed her to hear how young girls used to live in different centuries and see the differences in the standards of living. She had never heard of the the plague and it inspired her to do some research, she was able to view the world from a different cultural and historical perspective. It was wonderful to share.

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Summary: Fascinating!
Review: It is June, 1665 and young Hannah---fresh from her small country village---excitedly arrives in London to help her sister, Sarah, at Sarah's sweetmeats shop called The Sugared Plum. Hannah's excitement is tempered, however, when she learns that the plague has broken out in London .

As the two young women create miniature, candied confections, they watch and wait quietly as the dreaded disease begins to move closer to their parish. Soon "Orders" are posted which lists the rules and procedures that Londoners must follow to help prevent spread of the sickness. The well-to-do, able to obtain "Certificates of Health" begin to leave the city.

Bills of Mortality, which list the number of deaths during the week, begin to rise steadily. Mention of hundreds of dead soon rises to thousands. More alarming than the rising numbers, however, are the immediate, personal signs that the plague is running rampant. Hannah sees, to her horror, houses near their shop which have been "enclosed" because someone inside had died of the disease. The remaining occupants must live inside, behind padlocks and chains, guarded day and night for forty days.

Just when all seems lost, Hannah discovers a means of escape. But will it be too late?

This well-written story is fast-paced and alive with believable characters. The author has skillfully woven throughout enough background information so that readers will be able to identify with young Hannah and all that is happening to her. Also included are a glossary, "Notes on London 's Plague," and recipes from the seventeenth century.

Reviewed by the Education Oasis staff.

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Summary: One girl's story during the Great Plague of 1665.
Review: Teenaged Hannah has lived all her life in the English countryside, so she is thrilled when, in the summer of 1665, her older sister Sarah invites her to come live with her in London and help her at her candy shop. However, arriving in London she finds Sarah had sent a second letter instructing her not to come. Plague has taken hold in London, and Sarah fears for Hannah's life. Hannah insists on staying, believing she will be safe. But to her horror, in the coming weeks more and more people die, and the sickness becomes an epidemic. Hannah finds herself living every day in fear that she will catch the Plague and die from it, for there is little hope of surviving it, and no way of leaving the city to escape. I recommend this book to readers who like historical fiction and are interested in this time period. It brings to life the daily life of people in the 17th century and the horrors of living in a city filled with disease.

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Summary: In the top ten for me !!!!!!!!!!!
Review: This book is so good that I skipped dinner
and continued reading until I was done.Definetely in my oppinion a page turner that you can't put down.It is a good mix of scare,romance,history,sadness, all whirled into the veiw of a young girl. Before reading this I had no clue who Mary Hooper was
now I not only know who she is but I can put her as one of my favorite authers--Bravo to AT THE SIGN OF THE SUGARED PLUM!!!!!!!!!!!

Rating:
Summary: In the top ten for me !!!!!!!!!!!
Review: What a great book. Mary Hooper brings 17th century london vividly to life with this fascinating tale. Very evocative and brilliant story too. Cant wait for her next one.