Coal River

De: Ellen Marie Wiseman

Narrado por: C.S.E. Cooney

As a child, Emma Malloy left isolated Coal River, Pennsylvania, vowing never to return. Now, orphaned and penniless at 19, she accepts a train ticket from her aunt and uncle and travels back to the rough-hewn community. Treated like a servant by her relatives, Emma works for free in the company store. There, miners and their impoverished families must pay inflated prices for food, clothing, and tools while those who owe money are turned away to starve.

Most heartrending of all are the breaker boys Emma sees around the village - young children who toil all day sorting coal amid treacherous machinery. Their soot-stained faces remind Emma of the little brother she lost long ago, and she begins leaving stolen food on families' doorsteps and marking the miners' bills as paid.

Though Emma's actions draw ire from the mine owner and police captain, they lead to an alliance with a charismatic miner who offers to help her expose the truth. As the lines blur between what is legal and what is just, Emma must risk everything to follow her conscience.

©2015 Ellen Marie Wiseman (P)2015 Tantor

US historical fiction

Interesting storyline. I enjoy historical fiction, this didn’t disappoint. The character development was good. And a female heroine is always enjoyable.

Not my Favorite narrator

Sometimes narrators make the book. Other times, they don't. Read this as a hard copy. I liked the story just not the narrator.

Great read and listen

Great story, really enjoyed it. Glad it was suggested. Hoping the second book will come out shortly on audio book.

Get the hard copy, avoid this narration!

Not only did this narrator speak haltingly and much too quickly-over- enunciating the words, she did not do her due diligence in getting correct pronunciations of several words: Wilkes Barre, PA is not pronounced ‘Bar’ but ‘Bare’. The wagon for picking up the deceased in those times was not call ‘Black Maria’ but ‘Mer-eye-uh, with the accent on the ‘eye’. Yes, I’m nitpicking but choosing to listen to a book being read makes the story only as good as the reader (narrator) can perform it. Stuck with it because the story was so good but do wish I had chosen to just buy the book and read it myself.

Loved the story. Narrator.. uhh

The narration was stilted but I still enjoyed the story and the history of coal mining .