Youth book, "Chasing Orion," set in 1950s polio scare

The Washington Post book review:

"Chasing Orion," by Kathryn Lasky
Published by Candlewick Press
362 pages
Recommended for age 10 and older

Kathryn Lasky is the author of more than 100 (!) books for kids and adults, including the very popular fantasy series "The Guardians of Ga'hoole." But her newest story deals with life issues that real kids face and not the struggles of battling owl clans.

As "Chasing Orion" begins, it's the summer of 1952 in Indiana, and 11-year-old Georgie is not allowed to go to the pool or the movies because there's an outbreak of a disease called polio. New to the neighborhood, the creative and curious girl becomes slightly obsessed with polio, and every day she reads the newspaper to learn about new cases.

When Georgie discovers that her neighbor, Phyllis, has the disease and lives in a machine called an iron lung, which helps her breathe, Georgie is shocked and intrigued. She and her older brother, Emmett, befriend the pretty, flirtatious Phyllis, who must live lying down with her head and neck sticking out of the big iron cylinder. Life, Georgie realizes, is unfair.

Meanwhile, Georgie's new friend Evelyn is weird and slightly embarrassing, all of Georgie's old friends live far away and the summer is hot and boring. Georgie passes the time by making a diorama of the constellation Orion and looking at the stars through a telescope.

Georgie becomes engrossed and a little haunted by Phyllis, and she and Evelyn start to sneak across the lawn to spy on Emmett and Phyllis. As Georgie tries to figure the sick girl out and Emmett starts to fall for her, Georgie becomes more wary of Phyllis's intentions.

The book is told in the first person by Georgie, a fun, imaginative girl. But the book is also about Georgie and her relationship with her older brother, who is growing up and moving away from her.