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Overview
Perhaps there is always a mark, when another person touches you, an invisible thread connecting you to them.
Backbreaking work, threadbare clothes, and black coal dust choking the air — this is what a miner's daughter knows. Willa Lowell fears that this dust marks her to be nothing else, that she will never win against the constant struggle to survive. Even the fierce flame of her family's love — her one bright spot against the darkness — has begun to dim.
Willa yearns for a better life — enough food to eat, clothes that fit, and a home free of black grit. She also yearns for a special love, the love of a boy who makes her laugh and shares the poetry she carries in her heart.
When a much brighter future is suddenly promised to her family, Willa knows it is a miracle . . . until she discovers that every promise has a price. But she also discovers that the real change has burned inside her all along — if only she is strong enough to mine it.
Writing in a style that is as breathtaking and lyrical as it is powerful, Gretchen Moran Laskas draws from her family's past to bring to life the story of a girl struggling against seemingly insurmountable odds. The Miner's Daughter will touch readers' hearts and stay with them long after they've read the last word.
Synopsis
Perhaps there is always a mark, when another person touches you, an invisible thread connecting you to them.
Backbreaking work, threadbare clothes, and black coal dust choking the air — this is what a miner's daughter knows. Willa Lowell fears that this dust marks her to be nothing else, that she will never win against the constant struggle to survive. Even the fierce flame of her family's love — her one bright spot against the darkness — has begun to dim.
Willa yearns for a better life — enough food to eat, clothes that fit, and a home free of black grit. She also yearns for a special love, the love of a boy who makes her laugh and shares the poetry she carries in her heart.
When a much brighter future is suddenly promised to her family, Willa knows it is a miracle . . . until she discovers that every promise has a price. But she also discovers that the real change has burned inside her all along — if only she is strong enough to mine it.
Writing in a style that is as breathtaking and lyrical as it is powerful, Gretchen Moran Laskas draws from her family's past to bring to life the story of a girl struggling against seemingly insurmountable odds. The Miner's Daughter will touch readers' hearts and stay with them long after they've read the last word.
KLIATT
Laskas is an 8th-generation West Virginian and she was inspired by her own family's history when writing about Willa, the miner's daughter. The story is set in the year that Franklin Delano Roosevelt is elected, during the height of the Great Depression. We may know something about the Dust Bowl, soup lines, and other aspects of that terrible time, but perhaps we know little about the coal miners of West Virginia and how they survived when the mines were closed. Of course, it wasn't just the Depression that made their lives so desperate. The story begins as Willa is 16 years old and must stay in their dilapidated home (owned by the mining company) to take care of her ill, pregnant mother and the younger children. At least her father and older brother Ves are employed in the mines—in the weeks up to the election. After the election, the mines are closed and the family barely survives. The father and Ves go off to work on a road project to be able to send money to the family left behind. The only bright spot for Willa is a young woman named Grace who has come from a middle-class background to open a library and community center in the ravaged mine camp. Willa reads as much as she possibly can; the family struggles along. When summer comes, Willa disguises herself as a boy to work in the fields picking crops, which brings in much-needed produce for her family. She meets Ves's friend Johnny and their romance grows until they are seriously considering getting married and moving to Pittsburgh to start a new life. But, as part of Roosevelt's New Deal, Willa and her family have a chance to live better—it's a difficult decision for Willa because if she stays with her own family, shemust turn her back on Johnny and her other friends whose parents are foreign-born, who can't take part in the government program. Isn't it amazing how themes in our country's politics and culture remain the same? This is a carefully written example of what poverty means to hard-working families. When Willa has a chance to visit Grace's family's home, marveling at the hot and cold water, the flush toilet, the abundant food, YA readers can get a sense of just how much we take for granted. A worthy book—certainly a necessary purchase in communities where mining is part of their history.
Editorials
Children's Literature -
Willa is an average teenage girl growing up during the Great Depression. Her father and brother work in the coal mines in West Virginia. Her mother is struggling through a difficult pregnancy, and Willa has to quit school to help her family. Her life is consumed with concern for the safety of her father and brother, cleaning her house, caring for her younger brother and sister, and taking endless trips down the hill to the community water spigot. Despite her hardships, Willa finds joy in reading and talking with her best friend, Roselia. Willa's life very quickly ceases to be ordinary, however, when the mines are suddenly shut down. Tensions begin to rise in the town and in her own house when discussion turns to the upcoming election between Hoover and Roosevelt. Willa finds a place of peace and solitude from these and other conflicts. She also makes some new friends that open her life to wonderful new opportunities, but the changes are bittersweet when she discovers that her new life has some pricey strings attached. Can Willa leave her old life behind her? This book is perfect for a book study on life during the Great Depression, friendship, character changes, and the challenges of making difficult choices. This wonderfully written book follows in the great tradition of historical novels by Anne Rinaldi and L.M. Elliot.VOYA -
Surrounded by the stark poverty of West Virginia Depression-era coal mining life, sixteen-year-old Willa shoulders a woman's responsibilities. Willa leaves school to keep house for her father, sister, two brothers, and struggling pregnant mother. She continues book learning when a missionary, Grace McCartney, sets up a reading room and lending library. Her mother's slow recovery from giving birth, her brother and father's leaving to find work, her own backbreaking field labor, and romance leads Willa to confide in Grace, who introduces the gifted Willa and her industrious family to Eleanor Roosevelt. Both Mrs. Roosevelt and Grace recommend the family for the Arthurdale experiment, a New Deal homestead. Almost refusing to participate when she discovers that the project is WASP only, Willa records her objection in a private diary. Through her mother and teacher, Willa's words reach Mrs. Roosevelt who publishes them in her column. Willa discovers that although she still loves the Catholic boy she left behind, she wants to make a difference in the world via a newspaper career before marrying. Strong, believable characters, an engaging plot, and lyrical prose make this story a great companion for coming-of-age Depression literature such as Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse (Scholastic,1997/VOYA April 1998). An author's note includes five Web sites for further information on West Virginia, Arthurdale, and the New Deal.KLIATT -
Laskas is an 8th-generation West Virginian and she was inspired by her own family's history when writing about Willa, the miner's daughter. The story is set in the year that Franklin Delano Roosevelt is elected, during the height of the Great Depression. We may know something about the Dust Bowl, soup lines, and other aspects of that terrible time, but perhaps we know little about the coal miners of West Virginia and how they survived when the mines were closed. Of course, it wasn't just the Depression that made their lives so desperate. The story begins as Willa is 16 years old and must stay in their dilapidated home (owned by the mining company) to take care of her ill, pregnant mother and the younger children. At least her father and older brother Ves are employed in the mines—in the weeks up to the election. After the election, the mines are closed and the family barely survives. The father and Ves go off to work on a road project to be able to send money to the family left behind. The only bright spot for Willa is a young woman named Grace who has come from a middle-class background to open a library and community center in the ravaged mine camp. Willa reads as much as she possibly can; the family struggles along. When summer comes, Willa disguises herself as a boy to work in the fields picking crops, which brings in much-needed produce for her family. She meets Ves's friend Johnny and their romance grows until they are seriously considering getting married and moving to Pittsburgh to start a new life. But, as part of Roosevelt's New Deal, Willa and her family have a chance to live better—it's a difficult decision for Willa because if she stays with her own family, shemust turn her back on Johnny and her other friends whose parents are foreign-born, who can't take part in the government program. Isn't it amazing how themes in our country's politics and culture remain the same? This is a carefully written example of what poverty means to hard-working families. When Willa has a chance to visit Grace's family's home, marveling at the hot and cold water, the flush toilet, the abundant food, YA readers can get a sense of just how much we take for granted. A worthy book—certainly a necessary purchase in communities where mining is part of their history.School Library Journal
Gr 5–8Willa Laura Lowell is a 16-year-old miner's daughter ushering in the Depression in a West Virginia coal miner's camp. The days are long and hard, but worse when the mine shuts down. There is no money, forcing Willa's father and older brother to look for work elsewhere. Left alone with her mother and three younger siblings, Willa helps as she can and dreams of a better life. Life changes dramatically for her and her family when they are offered a place in a new town. The teen never loses sight of where she came from and is determined to help others as she was helped. Richly drawn characters and plot make this an excellent novel that explores the struggles endured by many in America in the 1930s. The integrity of the characters and their resourcefulness show readers how, with hard work and determination, adversity can be overcome.
—Denise MooreCopyright 2006 Reed Business Information.