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Coal River  By  cover art

Coal River

By: Ellen Marie Wiseman
Narrated by: C. S. E. Cooney
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Publisher's summary

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

What listeners say about Coal River

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    4 out of 5 stars

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.

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Best I've listened to in awhile!

What a wonderful book! Stayed up all night. Didn't want to miss a word. Thank you Ellen Marie Wiseman. Looking forward to the next book.

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coal river

a bit long winded at times but over all a good story. kept my interest. enjoyed the fact that there was a heroine in stead of a hero!

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

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.

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1 person found this helpful

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Loved the story. Narrator.. uhh

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

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Very good

I always have a difficult time listening to stories involving children but I felt this one was very good

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Riveting “pageturner”

Wiseman is a master storyteller I only wish she had more books than Stephen king

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Didn’t Like Narration

Almost didn’t finish the book but glad I did. Excellent story but narration was hard to listen to.

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All

Narrative voice was good and story line also. Was easy to follow along with each charactor.

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Great history

If you have ever visited Jim Thorpe, PA and have visited the historic jail, then you have walked into the jail/gallows scene in the book. Very gripping. Helpful fictional account of the true motivation of miners' strikes and the push for child labor laws.

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2 people found this helpful