2020 Book Review #1:Coal River

Another excellent book by this author!  Loved this one just as much as the other two I've read. The genre is historical fiction.  This one is based on the coal miners of Pennsylvania.

STORY SUMMARY

Emma Malloy has lost her parents, both NYC theater people, to a devastating fire.  Her little brother, Albert, had died by drowning in the icy river in the small village of Coal River, PA 10 years ago. Emma vowed that she would never go back to Coal River where her Aunt Ida, Uncle Otis, and cousin Percy live and work.

But now..at age nineteen and in 1912, she is penniless and orphaned and there is no place for her to live in NYC unless she goes to the poorhouse which she refuses to do.  Her only choice is to go back to Coal River and live with Aunt Ida.

Soon she is treated like a slave and is expected to work for free in the Company Store which her cousin manages.

It is there, while waiting on the miners and their families, that she learns about how desperately impoverished they are and how they are forced to shop at the Company Store where prices are inflated.  The families who owe money are turned away to starve!

The worse problem she discovers though, are the breaker boys.  These are the young boys who work all day...some as young as 5 years old....sorting coal in the middle of the dangerous machinery of the coal mines.  Soot stains their faces, hands, and entire village. Many of them get hurt daily....missing limbs, fingers getting crushed, or worse...death.  Some of the little boys remind her of her little brother and she begins to plan a way to help them and their families.

She begins to steal food from her aunt and uncle's pantry and in the middle of the night, she leaves these items on their doorsteps.  She also marks the miners' bills as "paid". 

Soon her actions begin to anger the local police and the mine owner (Frank Bannister and Hazard Flint).  But she meets a charismatic miner named Clayton Nash who will lead her to the real truth behind the coal mine and help her to expose that truth.  When the lines begin to blur between what is legal and what is not, Emma realizes she must risk her very life to follow her conscience.

MY THOUGHTS

I knew about the horrible conditions of the coal mining industry but I had no idea about the breaker boys until I read this story.

This book is authentic in the story telling and I loved the character development as the plot moved forward.  It centers around how resilient people can become in the midst of hardship.  It also shows us how simple acts of courage...and some not so simple acts...can change everything and improve conditions.

At one point in the book I began to wonder about the real identity of Clayton Nash and I wasn't wrong!  The ending is very well done although a little abrupt.

One of the author's strong points, I believe, is her descriptiveness of the setting.  I could practically smell that sulfur and feel that coal dust on my hands.  I could vividly imagine the miners' section of the village and the poverty that reeked all around Coal River.

This book also brings out that here in the United States of America, in 1912, women who were single really didn't have many options and were practically "owned" by men.  It showed me just how few rights we had as women and it showed me just how far we've come.

In my opinion, this book is appropriate for ages 14 and older.

On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the highest, I rate this a 10.