First published 2015
Oscar Starling never wanted to move to Chicago. The big city feels foreign and unwelcoming to him. But his reluctance becomes the least of his worries when flames begin spreading through the streets. No one knows exactly what started the blaze, but Chicago transforms into a massive powder keg ready to explode. Firemen rush to battle the inferno, but the fire behaves like a wild beast determined to consume everything it touches. Oscar finds himself trapped in the heart of the destruction as the flames advance toward him. The city burns around him while he struggles to escape one of America's most famous disasters. Oscar must find the courage and cleverness to survive as Chicago becomes an inferno that threatens to devour him along with everything else in its path.
Genres: historical-fiction, 20th-century, adventure, 19th-century, american-history
Vibes: fast-paced, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, survival
Setting: Chicago
Period: 1871
112 pages · Paperback · Scholastic Inc.