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Available now at your local bookstore or from Clarion Books.
Teachers and librarians see review in October 1, 2004 issue pf Kirkus Reviews.
Fire in the Hole! a story of hardship and survival in a western mining town. Fourteen-year-old Mick Shea faces a life of working deep underground in the lead and zinc mines like his father, a union miner. But he dreams of getting away from the violence of his home and town.
It's the spring of 1899 and the union miners in Idaho's Coeur d'Alene District are fighting mad. The powerful Bunker Hill and Sullivan Mining Company refuses to pay union wages and the miners vote to strike.
Trying to stay focused on his plans to finish school Mick steals away to help set type at the local newspaper office. But when tensions between labor and management rise to the point of explosion, the boy’s hopes blow up too.
With his Da under arrest, and his mam sick, Mick’s brother and sisters depend on him. Can he hold his family together and preserve his dream of a college education?
"The Bunker Hill concentrator lay like a smoking pile of kindling. The most modern machinery in the world. The words floated through Mick's mind as he stared. The mill's timbers had been tossed aloft and dropped like a pile of Nat's pick-up sticks. Fire was raging through the company offices and boarding house.
His knees gave way. He sank down on a stump and brushed away the ash that had settled on his cheeks and eyebrows. Though he was more than two hundred yards away, he could feel the heat of the flames, hear the burning wood snap and crackle....The shriek of a whistle followed by the shrill clanging of a bell broke the spell that gripped him. He turned to watch the train pull away from the station, heading east. There was a chorus of lusty yells from those on board. Where was Da? Had he helped light the fuse?" (excerpt from Fire in the Hole!)
Fire in the Hole!
found a home with some very unique college students. At Gonzaga
University, better known for its Zags basketball team, a thriving
English as a Second Language program caters to students from all
corners of the globe. The department chose my novel for reading
comprehension class. Instructors like the book because it has an
accessible reading level for students learning English, but introduces
new and varied vocabulary and a compelling story.
Invited to the
class, I expected their curiosity about time and place. I was surprised
by their many questions about my characters, and how much they cared
about them. One student wrote a song, with verses to cover the plot
from beginning to end. While the class sang, small groups of students
acted out the scenes.
I joined their fun and laughter, while wiping tears from my eyes. Listen to the chorus.
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