Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
The Breaker Boys  By  cover art

The Breaker Boys

By: Donna Sauritch Basile, Christan Basile Jones
Narrated by: Kimberly M. Wetherell
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $19.95

Buy for $19.95

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

Scorned and rejected from an upper-class way of life because of a father's pride, 13-year-old Christen Saurich and her family are uprooted and thrust into unsuspecting turmoil and intrigue awaiting them in a small town in Pennsylvania. Her father's cousin, Heinri, along with his wife Anna and son Sam, help them settle in a small mining town where her father has taken a job.

Shortly after her family moves to the coal patch, her father is killed in a mining accident. With nowhere to turn and no resources, Chris takes a job to help support her mother and sister, Gezzelle.

Disguised as a boy, she takes a job in the coal breakers. It is 1899 when a blind eye is turned toward child labor and child abuse. It's grueling work. She sits hunched over for hours, separating impurities from the newly mined coal while breathing in noxious dust.

It is a noisy and filthy place. Many high-spirited boys lose their lives falling into the chutes, smothered by an avalanche of coal, or are mangled in the massive machinery.

Fear, despair, and solitude become her teachers. Stern and relentless, she learns from them. Time pushes her forward into a stark and unforgiving way of life. Chris's faith and unrelenting courage are consistently challenged. Foreboding times are approaching: influenza, devastating mine explosions, and finally a miners' strike that leaves them in despair.

Addie Paige comes into their lives, and everything changes. A new path is forged, and finally hope is within their grasp.

©2019 Donna Sauritch Basile and Christan Basile Jones (P)2020 Donna Sauritch Basile and Christan Basile Jones

More from the same

Love Books? You'll Love Audible.

Placeholder Image Alt Text

Transform your day

Replace endless scrolling with endless listening. Chores can be fun.

Placeholder Image Alt Text

Listen everywhere

Download titles to listen offline, wherever you are in the world.

Placeholder Image Alt Text

Carry your entire Library

Your stories go where you go. Audiobooks don’t weigh a thing.

Placeholder Image Alt Text

Listen and learn

Discover stories that can change your mind, your well-being, and your life.

Placeholder Image Alt Text

Reach your reading goals

You can’t turn pages while you drive—but you can press play.

Placeholder Image Alt Text

Find your niche

WIth thousands of titles to explore, there’s something for everyone.

Try for $0.00 $14.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

What listeners say about The Breaker Boys

Average customer ratings

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.