Cave In: Pennsylvania, 1880s

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.

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.

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."

Liam Quinn and his ten-year-old brother Paddy both work with their father in the coal mine of St.Claire, Pennsylvania, hoping that someday they will have enough money for their sisters to come and live with them and be a complete family again. Paddy is a breaker but then gets hired as a trapper boy, a better job. Paddy is sick with a bad cough. It's bad for him to work in the mines, but if he takes some time off to get well, he'll lose his job. Rory Hamilton, the Quinns' landlady's daughter, wants to help Paddy keep his job and to earn some money for her family, so she disguises herself as a trapper boy. But when a cave-in occurs, she, Liam and the other miners get trapped. Will they survive? Read this book and find out!

Rory Hamilton and Liam Quinn both live in the coal mining town of St. Claire, Pennsylvania, in 1859. Liam works with his father and sickly little brother Paddy in a coal mine. Ever since her father and older brother died in a cave-in at the mine, Rory has helped her widowed mother run a boardinghouse and worked at a local bakery. When Paddy is sick and can't work, he might lose his job. Rory is dreadfully afraid of the mines, but she volunteers to take Paddy's place for a few days. What she doesn't expect is a cave-in that threatens to trap her and Liam in the dust-filled, suffocating darkness of the mine. Can they escape before it is too late? Read this latest book in the action packed Survival! series by Kathleen Duey and Karen A. Bale to find out!