Kensington Publishing, November 24, 2015.
Three Stars
In Coal River, Pennsylvania in the early 1900s, life
was bleak for coal miners and their families. Thrown into this world is
nineteen year old Emma Malloy, an orphan from New York City. Owning nothing
more than a small suitcase of donated clothing and a train ticket to Coal
River, Emma has no choice but to live with her aunt and uncle and cousin Percy.
She has history in the small mining town – as a child, her parents dropped off
her and her brother Albert there, and the visit ended in tragedy. Provoked by a
series of events that were set in motion years before, Albert ran out onto the
frozen river and drowned. Now Emma has returned, and she must face her memories
alone.
In the anthracite mining region of Pennsylvania,
workers at many mines are making attempts to unionize. In some cases, they are
aided by a group known as the Molly Maguires – men who use violence against
their employers to get what they want. In Coal River, the miners are attempting
to organize peacefully, but they are continually pushed down by the Flint
family, owners of the mine. They are forced to purchase supplies at inflated
prices at the company store, to the point that their expenses are higher than
their paychecks. To compensate, the miners’ children are sent to work in the
mines as “breaker boys” at increasingly younger ages, some as young as six
years old. The job is dangerous, with many losing limbs, if not their lives.
Emma sees this situation, and does what she can to
help. Her cousin Percy runs the company store, so she begins to alter the
records and steal food to help the local families. While her compassion and determination
are commendable, she ends up causing more trouble for the families, drawing the
attention of mine owner Hazard Flint and his lackeys. Things quickly slip into
melodrama, with masked men holding Emma’s family at gunpoint. Emma’s adventures
become increasingly hard to believe, as a teenage girl singlehandedly attempts
to end child labour in Coal River.
While the story becomes more unbelievable, especially
the “love conquers all” ending, it was the love of the mothers for their “breaker
boy” sons that evoked an emotional response for me. Emma’s love story was a
little too convenient, with a neatly wrapped up ending, but the love amongst
the miners’ families was raw and real. There was a lack of depth to many of the
main characters, but the story was worth the read for the gritty, realistic
historical setting.
I received this novel from Goodreads First Reads and Kensington
Publishing in exchange for an honest review.
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