The Apprenticeship of Lucas Whitaker
Danny Says
One of the best pieces of young adult historical fiction that I have read in the past five years. A boy apprentices for a doctor in the 19th century and searches for a cure to the consumption that is killing everybody in town, including his own family. I used this book for a class that was discussing advances in medical technology (it worked great with my impression of Steve Martin acting as a middle age doctor/barber in a hilarious old Saturday Night Live sketch).