Product Description

Pennsylvania, 1859

Liam Quinn worries about Paddy, his frail younger brother, working in the breaker -- one of the dirtiest, most exhausting jobs in the mine. But without the money Paddy earns, they'll never be able to send for their younger sisters and be a complete family again.

It's a dream come true when Paddy finally escapes the breaker and gets hired as a trapper -- but then he gets sick. Rory Hamilton, the Quinn's landlady's daughter, comes up with a daring plan to keep Paddy's job open -- if she can overcome her dread of the mines that killed her father and brother. Just going underground tests Rory's courage. How will she survive when a cave-in traps her and Liam in the dustfilled air and unrelenting darkness of the mine?

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1629503 in Books
• Published on: 1998-10
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 158 pages

From School Library Journal
Grade 4-6?Accurate and gripping, this series installment centers on Liam Quinn, who works along with his father and younger brother in the coal mines. Details of mining practices and related dangers are delicately woven into the narrative. Inevitably, Liam and Rory, the daughter of the Quinns' landlady who has disguised herself as a boy to work in the tunnels, are trapped during a cave-in. Readers are immersed in the darkness that surrounds the victims and closely follow their fast-paced and white-knuckled escape. Although character development is somewhat weak, this is still an action-packed novel. A good piece of historical fiction with the added excitement of a survival story.?Christy Norris Blanchette, Valley Cottage Library, NY
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

The Book Caved In
I recommend this book to any one who likes to read and have a cliffhanger at the end of a chapter or two. Also, anyone who likes historical fiction would like this book. One example is when the Coal mine collapsed in Pennsylvania in 1859. Also, I recommend this book to any one who used to work in the mines because it is very realistic. The main character, Liam, said, "You should never light a match in a mine because the coal dust is very flammable." Also, I recommend it for anyone who thinks that girls can't work in the mine, because they can do the same amount of work that the men do only they do it more efficiently. Liam said "he saw a little bit of mischief in Rory's eyes." Rory is a girl who subbed for Paddy, Liam's brother. I learned that the mine could be a dangerous place to work, not because it could cave in, but rather that your boss might abuse you, such as hitting you with a broomstick.

UNDERGROUND ADVENTURE
This is a great adventure story with non-stop action. Being trapped in a cave is for some their worst nightmare. This is as close as most will ever want to be to going into a cave. For more underground adventure stories don't miss Steward's, "Tales of Dirt, Danger, and Darkness."

A girl must overcome her fears if she is to survive.
Rory Hamilton hates the mines that took her father and brother away from her, never to return. Now she and her mother make ends meet by running a boardinghouse for miners. Rory is friends with a boy her age named Liam Quinn who, along with his younger brother, Paddy, and widowed father, works in the mines saving money for his sisters to come to America from Ireland. One day Liam's brother gets sick and is in danger of losing his job if he stays home. Even though she is terribly afraid of going in the mine, Rory disguises herself as a boy so she can take Paddy's place until he is better. Rory picks the worst possible day to enter the mine, since it's the day of a terrible cave in that traps Rory and Liam underground. If she is to survive, Rory must face her worst fears. A great survival/adventure story set against a historical background.