Force of Nature: A Novel of Rachel Carson

In lilting verse, Burg (Flooded) writes, “We must always leave nature/ as we find her,” quoting Rachel Carson (1907–1964), a marine biologist, conservationist, and award-winning author credited with launching the modern environmental movement. An early writing phenom enthralled by nature, Carson received her master’s from Johns Hopkins in 1932 and went on to work as an aquatic biologist for the U.S. Department of Fisheries. Though she sometimes struggled to stand out in the male-dominated field, Carson eventually broke new ground by publishing several works, notably the National Book Award–winning The Sea Around Us. Fluid text cites Carson as being the first to recognize “that unchecked progress wreaks havoc on our planet.” Blending biographical detail with riffs on Carson’s field notes and works (per an author's note, “newspaper articles that appear in the novel are based on actual articles written by Rachel”), Burg crafts a fictionalized telling of Carson’s life, which is accompanied by delicate and realistically rendered b&w illustrations of birds, flowers, and insects by Blackall (If I Was a Horse). The author’s note expresses the hope that “readers will awaken to the beauty that surrounds us and become thoughtful caretakers of the earth, and recognize, as Rachel did, that we are part of the natural world.” Ages 8–12. (Mar.)

Correction: The text of this review has been updated for clarity.