Flooded: Requiem for Johnstown by Ann E. Burg – Book Review

Title: Flooded: Requiem for Johnstown Author: Ann E. Burg Publisher: Scholastic Press Release Date: October 6, 2020

It is 1889, and the residents of Johnstown, Pennsylvania are preparing to honor those that served and those that lost their lives fighting for the Union in the Civil War. As Decoration Day approaches, six young people’s experiences reveal the nuances of life in this small, steel town. Despite its size, these voices illuminate the complexities of class divisions in America, especially as the fancy fishing and hunting club up the mountain takes every measure to keep the regular townsfolk out. The club counts as members some of the country’s wealthiest men and powerful steel barons, but it has also neglected the dam that creates its peaceful lake. It has compromised the dam’s safety for personal benefit, repeatedly ignoring calls for the dam’s repair despite the fact Johnstown is situated directly below its wall. While whispers and rumors of the dam’s imminent collapse circulate throughout the Johnstown community, no one actually believed it would break. Until it did. A torrential rainstorm swelled nearby creeks and rivers, and soon the dam’s wall failed, sending a deadly wave of water, trees, and debris rushing toward the community below. When the voices of the survivors and of the dead take stock of the dam’s catastrophic failure and the devastation it left in its wake, the blame falls squarely on the negligence of the club and its rich members. Yet, power and money work hand-in-hand to continue to drown out calls for justice.

Flooded: Requiem for Johnstown by Ann Burg is a unique retelling of the true-life tragedy that unfolded in Johnstown, PA. Told in verse from the perspectives of various Johnstown young people, all who assume the White Default, the novel explores the minutiae of everyday life while also situating it within the larger societal context of the time period. Adopting various perspectives, all of which are inspired by real people and include the river itself, provides a comprehensive narrative about the infamous tragedy. The ending may not leave readers with a sense of closure, but it does feel appropriate. It underscores the injustice the townspeople endured. In the end, readers will be left with myriad questions about the 1889 Johnstown flood, making the novel a perfect vehicle for probing deeper into not only the event itself but also the Industrial Era and Gilded Age of America’s past. This is also a strength. Its form and genre are unique and so too is the novel’s setting, which offers middle grade readers an opportunity to examine an oft-neglected period of history.

Thank you to Edelweiss+ and publisher, Scholastic Press, for an eARC of this book.

Classroom Applications

• Unit – Teach the novel in conjunction with a nonfiction study of the Industrial age of the United States.
• Book Pairing – Pair the book with another novel about the Johnstown flood.
• Literature Circles – Use the novel as part of a study of the Industrial age in the United States.
• Book Club or Book Exchange – Share the novel with students that enjoy reading historical fiction.

Nonfiction Connections

The list below outlines topics that will enrich your students’ understanding of the novel.

• Industrial Age of the United States
• Johnstown Flood 1889
• Class Inequality of the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries

Book Companions

The following are great books to pair with Flooded: Requiem for Johnstown. In parenthesis are the specific aspects students could explore when synthesizing across the texts.

• Three Rivers Rising: A Novel of the Johnstown Flood by Jame Richards (Nonfiction Connections, Character Connections, Themes)

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