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The Terrible Wave
During the disastrous flood of 1889 in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, a spoiled teen-age girl learns to accept responsibility as she and her companions search for their families and friends.
125 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1972
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
July 7, 2023
A sad, little historical story of strangers who come together to survive a terrible disaster. I read it aloud for homeschool history.
August 9, 2023
I remember the first time I read this book, at around eight or nine years old. It was one of those days when we’d had a busy morning, and I just wanted to get outside to play, and Mom made me sit down and read this book as part of my schoolwork. “Just one chapter,” she said, “and then you can go play.” Well…I read that chapter, and by the time I got to the end of it, I had to read the next…and the next…and the next. It was the first time I can recall being so hooked by a story that I lost track of time. I remember coming up for air an hour or two later, realizing time had passed, and looking at the story in my lap, marveling that a book could affect you that much. I don’t think I finished the book that day, but that instance was one of the things that pushed me over the line from being a casual reader to a dedicated reader.
And now, years down the track, this is probably at least my third reading of the story, and this time, I read it aloud to my siblings—ranging in age from late teens right down to the three-year-old. We all loved it. This isn’t a long book, but the way Marden Dahlstedt writes draws you into the scenes in Johnstown in 1889, and along with the main character, you see the wave coming that devastates the town, confusedly ride the water as it swirls around you, and stare horror-stricken at the animals, houses, and whatever else that’s thrust past your precarious perch. This story is a wave all its own…one that sweeps you back to 1889, and doesn’t let go until the very last page. We had to break up reading this book over five evenings, and each time it came time to stop for the night, we all wished we could continue.
If you or your children enjoy well-written stories of disasters, adventure, and hope winning over despair, this would be a great read for you. I’d recommend it to all my younger friends, and if I ever manage to find a copy of my own, it will be a treasured possession. Highly recommended!
And now, years down the track, this is probably at least my third reading of the story, and this time, I read it aloud to my siblings—ranging in age from late teens right down to the three-year-old. We all loved it. This isn’t a long book, but the way Marden Dahlstedt writes draws you into the scenes in Johnstown in 1889, and along with the main character, you see the wave coming that devastates the town, confusedly ride the water as it swirls around you, and stare horror-stricken at the animals, houses, and whatever else that’s thrust past your precarious perch. This story is a wave all its own…one that sweeps you back to 1889, and doesn’t let go until the very last page. We had to break up reading this book over five evenings, and each time it came time to stop for the night, we all wished we could continue.
If you or your children enjoy well-written stories of disasters, adventure, and hope winning over despair, this would be a great read for you. I’d recommend it to all my younger friends, and if I ever manage to find a copy of my own, it will be a treasured possession. Highly recommended!
July 14, 2013
I read this book aloud to my children.
This historical fiction novel is based on the flood of 1889 in that struck Johnstown, Pennsylvania and killed more than 2,000 people. The author’s grandparents survived this tragedy, and this story was crafted with their memories of the events. The story’s protagonist is Megan Maxwell, who is 15 years old. Her father owns Johnstown’s finest department store, and her family is the wealthiest in town. However, when the South Fork Dam breaks and the floodwaters rise, this girl is no different than anyone else. Social classes are cast aside, and everyone helps everyone else. Despite the catastrophe, there is a feeling of hope and inspiration as families work together to rebuild the town. There is real teamwork here, with some people involved in search and rescue and others who have medical training tending to the wounded. The ones who still have roofs over their heads have thrown open their doors wide to the displaced victims. I love the general tone of triumph over disaster.
What a great survival story and an interesting piece of history! My children and I just loved it, and we could not put it down!! We would recommend it to everyone.
This historical fiction novel is based on the flood of 1889 in that struck Johnstown, Pennsylvania and killed more than 2,000 people. The author’s grandparents survived this tragedy, and this story was crafted with their memories of the events. The story’s protagonist is Megan Maxwell, who is 15 years old. Her father owns Johnstown’s finest department store, and her family is the wealthiest in town. However, when the South Fork Dam breaks and the floodwaters rise, this girl is no different than anyone else. Social classes are cast aside, and everyone helps everyone else. Despite the catastrophe, there is a feeling of hope and inspiration as families work together to rebuild the town. There is real teamwork here, with some people involved in search and rescue and others who have medical training tending to the wounded. The ones who still have roofs over their heads have thrown open their doors wide to the displaced victims. I love the general tone of triumph over disaster.
What a great survival story and an interesting piece of history! My children and I just loved it, and we could not put it down!! We would recommend it to everyone.
February 27, 2016
just... how can you describe the feeling of terror, agony, hopelessness and yet hope that this book gives you?.. I can't.
This book is a fictionalized non-fiction account (if that makes sense), of a young girl's experience in the horrible flood of 1889 that happened when the dam above her town, Johnstown, broke. She and seven other survivors are thrown together, all from different stations in life, in a tragedy that shakes the town to it's core. In the search to find her family, Megan sees sights she will block from her mind, but emerge from the rubble with a new purpose in life-the call of a nurse.
I really found this good; my only disappointment is I don't get to find out if she marries Brian or not-the ending was so ambiguous!
This book is a fictionalized non-fiction account (if that makes sense), of a young girl's experience in the horrible flood of 1889 that happened when the dam above her town, Johnstown, broke. She and seven other survivors are thrown together, all from different stations in life, in a tragedy that shakes the town to it's core. In the search to find her family, Megan sees sights she will block from her mind, but emerge from the rubble with a new purpose in life-the call of a nurse.
I really found this good; my only disappointment is I don't get to find out if she marries Brian or not-the ending was so ambiguous!
December 14, 2014
This book was wonderful. The characters and the plot events are so compelling, it was a difficult book to put down. The main character, Megan, is a spoiled 15-year-old whose whole world is turned upside down in a matter of minutes, as the Southfork Dam broke at 3:10 pm on May 31, 1889. The Conemaugh River destroyed Johnstown, Pennsylvania in less than half an hour and killed over 2,000 people. This novel shows the strength and courage of the survivors as they desperately try to find their families. I loved this book because it made me really want to find out more about this terrible catastrophe and how it affected the lives of ordinary people.
February 22, 2017
This book popped into my head at the reference desk for the first time since maybe the 4th grade! Memory is so funny. I LOVED this book as a kid. Megan's struggle to survive the Johnstown, PA flood played right into my love of survival stories (looking at you, Hatchet, My Side of the Mountain, and Island of the Blue Dolphins). I specifically remember loving that Megan got to "cup a warm mug" and that she rescued a child who became attached to her (rescuing small children was another fantasy of mine). I'd love to reread this and see if my memory is correct.
July 10, 2013
I had no idea that there was a flood in Pennsylvania in 1889. It was a wonderful story of family, friends and neighbors working together to rebuild. It gave an account of one little girls journey through the flood and how she was able to survive. I think everyone should read this story. Of course their was the one boy who stole money and a watch, but for the most part everyone worked together to help each other out.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 1, 2012
I cared about what happened. Wanted to know more about the background of the dam built so that the wealthy could have a resort area. Wonder how Michael's teacher handled the old fashioned gender role that Megan was often forced into. Not exactly sure why Michael liked it so much or wanted me to read it...we will be talking about it.
February 22, 2012
The story of the Johnstown flood (1899) as told from the point of view of a 15 year old girl who was caught in the flood and survived it. Short, well-told and very moving. It was in Rylie's 4th grade curriculum and Rylie and Meg liked it so much, they passed it on to me.
September 15, 2013
A very well-written and riveting account of a young girl who lives through the Johnstown, PA, flood of 1889, after the failure of the South Fork Dam. Great insight into the emotional turmoil in the immediate aftermath of any natural disaster.
October 2, 2008
A kinda sad book, however, it was very attention catching!
January 2, 2009
The boys didn't have much of an opinion either way.
May 11, 2013
It's been a long time since a read this book and I can't remember if I liked it or not. Well, I gave it four stars because the fact I remembered it tells me something. I hope to read it again soon.
February 19, 2016
We all really liked this book. A compelling, thought-provoking read aloud.
September 9, 2015
It's a sad book that tells about the Great Johnson Flood.
February 2, 2017
An unusual and gripping account for young people about the catastrophic 1889 Johnstown, Pennsylvania flood that killed more than 2,000 people.
February 8, 2017
I couldn't put this book down!
August 18, 2023
I recently learned that Cookie Mueller wrote a novel at age 10 about the Johnstown Flood — still considered the most devastating flood in US history, when a neglected earth dam sent a huge wall of water down into Johnstown PA on May 31, 1889, killing thousands. I feel closer to her (every NYC writer wishes they were) bc I've been fascinated by the Flood since age 10, too, when I read THIS book, The Terrible Wave. I re-read it this summer. It holds up and doesn’t.
A rainy day in 1889. Megan, a spoiled (but not unlikeable) rich girl, sits in her attic obsessing over a boy she flirted with last night. Water swirls around the house, a wave demolishes it, she falls out the window on a floating mattress. Before rereading I recalled nothing else about the book, which follows Megan as she returns to the devastated town to find her family. Scenes of destruction are well rendered, and Marden Dahlstedt (what a name!) is careful describing death but doesn’t avoid it. Who lives and dies is as cruel and random as it should be. There’s even a moral dilemma when one character (a shifty grifty actor) steals from the dead. But there’s also gender stereotypes, no surprise. After the disaster, “some of the sight’s [Megan] saw were almost comical. An old man…dressed in a red flannel petticoat. A fat lady wearing an oversize pair of men’s boots...” People cross dressing! Ban this book in Florida!
Timed with finishing it, I finally made it to the Johnstown Flood Museum. (I have a morbid bucket list). Photos of disaster tourists in front of a house w a tree jutting out (an iconic image) were proof that peeps r always gawkin. There’s something about the topography of Johnstown - it’s scarily easy to imagine a 30 foot high wall of water blasting through. What a sad event. In the center of the museum theres a big map of the floods path along with a looping soundtrack of screams. The attendant turned it on when i arrived and I'm sure turned it off when i left.
A rainy day in 1889. Megan, a spoiled (but not unlikeable) rich girl, sits in her attic obsessing over a boy she flirted with last night. Water swirls around the house, a wave demolishes it, she falls out the window on a floating mattress. Before rereading I recalled nothing else about the book, which follows Megan as she returns to the devastated town to find her family. Scenes of destruction are well rendered, and Marden Dahlstedt (what a name!) is careful describing death but doesn’t avoid it. Who lives and dies is as cruel and random as it should be. There’s even a moral dilemma when one character (a shifty grifty actor) steals from the dead. But there’s also gender stereotypes, no surprise. After the disaster, “some of the sight’s [Megan] saw were almost comical. An old man…dressed in a red flannel petticoat. A fat lady wearing an oversize pair of men’s boots...” People cross dressing! Ban this book in Florida!
Timed with finishing it, I finally made it to the Johnstown Flood Museum. (I have a morbid bucket list). Photos of disaster tourists in front of a house w a tree jutting out (an iconic image) were proof that peeps r always gawkin. There’s something about the topography of Johnstown - it’s scarily easy to imagine a 30 foot high wall of water blasting through. What a sad event. In the center of the museum theres a big map of the floods path along with a looping soundtrack of screams. The attendant turned it on when i arrived and I'm sure turned it off when i left.
October 21, 2017
When I read a book that was purportedly about the Johnstown Flood and found it disappointing, I happened to see other reviews that recommended this The Terrible Wave. It is a good antidote to the other book, as it really does concentrate on the flood itself.
Megan Maxwell is the young daughter of a rich family in Johnstown. As the story begins, the water is rising and the rain keeps falling. Things only get worse from there. This is a book for children, with accessible language, shorter chapters and nice illustrations. The pacing is compelling as Megan is swept into the storm. In the aftermath, survivors try to locate their loved ones, and try to help one another. The good and the bad that arises in the wake of these tragedies: people who risk their own lives to save others, and people who take advantage of death and destruction in order to fill their own pockets.
The author and illustrator manage to convey the utter devastation and violence of the flood without descending into gruesomeness. I suspect that if I had been reading this as a young person, there wouldn't be anything here that would give me nightmares. It's an entertaining, while informative and thoughtful, read. I'm not sure what age the book is aimed at, but I probably would have been ready for it at the age of eight or nine. Published in 1972, it may be a bit simplistic for modern tastes, but I think the peril of the protagonist makes it inviting. It might be a good choice for a reluctant reader.
Megan Maxwell is the young daughter of a rich family in Johnstown. As the story begins, the water is rising and the rain keeps falling. Things only get worse from there. This is a book for children, with accessible language, shorter chapters and nice illustrations. The pacing is compelling as Megan is swept into the storm. In the aftermath, survivors try to locate their loved ones, and try to help one another. The good and the bad that arises in the wake of these tragedies: people who risk their own lives to save others, and people who take advantage of death and destruction in order to fill their own pockets.
The author and illustrator manage to convey the utter devastation and violence of the flood without descending into gruesomeness. I suspect that if I had been reading this as a young person, there wouldn't be anything here that would give me nightmares. It's an entertaining, while informative and thoughtful, read. I'm not sure what age the book is aimed at, but I probably would have been ready for it at the age of eight or nine. Published in 1972, it may be a bit simplistic for modern tastes, but I think the peril of the protagonist makes it inviting. It might be a good choice for a reluctant reader.
September 5, 2017
I believe I read this in 5th grade. And it's always stuck with me. I've tried to find it for my kids to read, but was never successful. I have a deep seated fear of water, I wonder if this book has anything to do with it....??? I still remember her floating on the mattress and sitting in bed at night wondering and planning what I would do if I was ever in that situation. This was an amazing book. It will always be one of my childhood favorites, right along with Tuck Everlsting and Charlottes Web.
September 18, 2022
I was obsessed with this book when I was in fourth grade. Our teacher read it to us and then we went to visit Johnstown and the Johnstown Flood Memorial Museum, and I was completely hooked. I read this countless times back then, but I couldn't really remember what happened, so I figured it was worth a re-read.
After re-reading it, I still stand behind my obsession. This book was good, which surprised me because I was expecting it to be worse than I had remembered. It was a gripping look at a local tragedy that I feel like every kid in my area hears about from the time they're 2-months-old. I felt a wide range of emotions while reading this, and I was pleasantly surprised about how much I was moved. Marden Dahlstedt really gets human emotion and tragic disasters, and she can write some pretty captivating stuff. Granted, this novel is probably aimed towards a younger crowd, but like I said earlier, I still felt a lot while reading this.
As far as the characters go, I really liked what she did with Megan. She wrote about a 15-year-old girl who...acted like a 15-year-old girl. Just as soon as you start to think that she's this sweet girl, she does something totally bratty and teenager-ish. I liked most of the supporting characters, as well. They were hashed out enough to keep me content.
Another big plus for me was just the fact that I think it was an awesome portrayal of a local tragedy. Well, I mean, not that the tragedy was awesome, but you get what I mean. For someone who doesn't know anything about the Johnstown Flood of 1889, you could pick up this book and find a well-informed, people's account of the flood. This is genuinely good middlegrade historical fiction.
After re-reading it, I still stand behind my obsession. This book was good, which surprised me because I was expecting it to be worse than I had remembered. It was a gripping look at a local tragedy that I feel like every kid in my area hears about from the time they're 2-months-old. I felt a wide range of emotions while reading this, and I was pleasantly surprised about how much I was moved. Marden Dahlstedt really gets human emotion and tragic disasters, and she can write some pretty captivating stuff. Granted, this novel is probably aimed towards a younger crowd, but like I said earlier, I still felt a lot while reading this.
As far as the characters go, I really liked what she did with Megan. She wrote about a 15-year-old girl who...acted like a 15-year-old girl. Just as soon as you start to think that she's this sweet girl, she does something totally bratty and teenager-ish. I liked most of the supporting characters, as well. They were hashed out enough to keep me content.
Another big plus for me was just the fact that I think it was an awesome portrayal of a local tragedy. Well, I mean, not that the tragedy was awesome, but you get what I mean. For someone who doesn't know anything about the Johnstown Flood of 1889, you could pick up this book and find a well-informed, people's account of the flood. This is genuinely good middlegrade historical fiction.
July 20, 2018
I first read this book in elementary school and then read it to my son. I was surprised by how much I remembered. The book is detailed about death and destruction in a way that shocked me as a kid. I'm glad that I was able to talk it through with him and not leave him to put it away because he was scared.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 28, 2020
Tells the tale of how a dam gave way and caused a terrible flood in Johnstown, Pennsylvania in 1889.
Could be tied to a study on engineering as well as study on how people try to manage and control water in different ways. It could be used with a study of physics, too, such as force. Classroom library 4th through 6th grade.
Could be tied to a study on engineering as well as study on how people try to manage and control water in different ways. It could be used with a study of physics, too, such as force. Classroom library 4th through 6th grade.
June 23, 2023
I looked for this book because I remember checking it out of the library many time when I was little. I read it over and over. I found it online and read it again in a couple of hours. I loved it just as much as I did over 40 years ago! It didn’t feel like a children’s story - just an amazing story of survival that anyone could get wrapped up in. I’m so happy I found it and read it again!
August 7, 2018
Terrible tragedy with much loss of life. Worldwide outreach to this community to recover somewhat in the area of property loss.
January 27, 2019
Interesting read about a historic flooding of Johnstown and the people who lived through it.
January 21, 2021
I really enjoyed this one, a nice adventure story based on true events.
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June 8, 2022read for school in 4th grade
August 8, 2011
A book I read when younger. Read it again and still like it!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews