The Miner's Daughter (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9781416912620)

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.

Author: Gretchen Moran Laskas
ISBN-10: 1416912622
ISBN-13: 9781416912620
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Language: English
Published: 02/06/2007
Pages: 256
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 0.81lbs
Size: 8.70h x 5.68w x 0.90d

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 5.5
Point Value: 9
Interest Level: Middle Grade
Quiz #/Name: 113044 / Miner's Daughter

Award: Tayshas Reading - Commended

Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Review - Children 12/15/2006 pg. 1270
Kliatt 01/01/2007 pg. 15
School Library Journal 02/01/2007 pg. 122
Voice of Youth Advocates 04/01/2007 pg. 52 - Recommended - Better Than Most
Booklist 02/15/2007 pg. 71
Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 05/01/2007 pg. 374 - Recommended
Hornbook Guide to Children 07/01/2007 pg. 372 - Recommended, Satisfactory