Mountain of fire: The eruption and survivors of Mount St. Helens by Rebecca E. F. Barone

 Chapter book length nonfiction, especially if it's not broken up by photographs and graphic layouts, is getting harder and harder to promote in my library. Kids struggle to read large sections of text and don't have the fluency necessary for more complex texts. That's my guess anyways. I think the fact that fiction is so strongly promoted in the context of reading doesn't help either.

I love nonfiction, but I can't just purchase books because I enjoy them - although I still try to maintain a strong collection of upper level nonfiction texts, I also need to balance this with what circulates and attracts my patrons. In my latest weed of our juvenile nonfiction collection in the summer of 2024, I'm seeing different trends in what circulates and what doesn't, as well as watching school requests shift towards different topics and how they are presented.

All of which is to say that Barone has done a great job in her latest nonfiction title and I am confident of finding an audience for it, as I have for her previous work.

In short, exciting chapters that match the action-packed cover, Barone tells the story of the months leading up to the devastating eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980. She brings out the best of her narrative nonfiction skills and tells a story that moves quickly between science and personal stories, building an unbiased picture of the disaster. There are numerous people involved, but she gives each one a quick personal portrait, showing their involvement and including their own words when possible.

The narrative moves quickly but thoroughly through the events leading up to the first eruption, speaks honestly and respectfully of the deaths of key characters like Harry Truman and David Johnston, and then narrates the experiences of survivors. She moves on to the aftermath, speaking of the grief and anger of those who lost friends, showing just how narrowly the eruption missed having a massive death toll, and then addresses how the disaster was handled in ensuing days and years and including a specific list of things scientists - and others - learned from the eruption.

Verdict: Nonfiction fans who like fast-paced narrative history and disaster will be quick to pick this up, but it will also be an easy sell to fans of I Survived and similar stories. Barone has incorporated the adventure and drama of a survival story with behind-the-scenes science, creating a great blend of narrative and information that will hold the interest of even the most reluctant readers. Highly recommended.

ISBN: 9781250881656; Hardcover at $10.63 on Baker & Taylor

Published May 2024 by Henry Holt; Review copy provided by publisher; Donated to the library