2024 the best fiction books of 2023 review

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From the New York Times bestselling author of What She Left Behind comes a haunting and meticulously researched novel of historical fiction. Ellen Marie Wiseman draws readers into the Pennsylvania mining operations of the early 20th century—where children had no choice but to work in deadly conditions…or face starvation. This is an eye-opening novel sure to stay with you long after you turn the last page…
 
As a child, Emma Malloy left isolated Coal River, Pennsylvania, vowing never to return. Now, orphaned and penniless at nineteen, 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. And as the lines blur between what is legal and what is just, Emma must risk everything to follow her conscience.
 
“Wiseman offers heartbreaking and historically accurate depictions . . . [a] powerful story.” 
—Publishers Weekly
 
“Heartrending and strongly drawn historical details.”
—Booklist
 
“Intense and heartbreaking at times, but full of hope. The author’s impeccable research into this era makes for a spot-on portrayal of a dark time in American history…’unputdownable’.”
—The Historical Novels Review, Editor’s Choice
 
“Things get really, really fast and furious.  This book opened my eyes to the coal mines.  I loved it. Would be a great book club selection.”
—Jackie Blem, Tattered Cover Book Store (Denver, CO)

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Kensington; Reprint edition (April 28, 2020)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 368 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1496730011
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1496730015
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 11.2 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.48 x 0.96 x 8.24 inches
Reviewer: K. Graff
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Fantastic Story
Review: I read this book in one day…it was impossible to put down. The characters are well defined and the story line is riveting. My only challenge is that I am claustrophobic and the whole premise of mining gives me the creeps! That being said, this is a terrific book!

Reviewer: Denver Hawkeye
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Very good historical fiction about life in the Pennsylvania coal mines
Review: It took a while for this story to gather steam, but towards the end of the book there's plenty of drama and emotion. Even with an improbable ending, I will give this book a reccomendation with 4 🌟 stars.

Reviewer: Jia J
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Great story
Review: I love that history is mixed in with fictional story telling. I learned a lot about the time period. It was a great read.

Reviewer: Morning Time
Rating: 3.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Unusual plot
Review: A detailed story that one rarely hears about. However, the amount of profanity in it was not needed and disappointing.

Reviewer: Marion Marchetto, author
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Don't miss this one
Review: The world of coal a mining is a dirty one, in more ways than you can count. When a brave young woman sets out to expose the corruption and crimes of the mine owners, she puts herself in perilous danger. Don't miss this gripping, powerful novel set in Depression era Pennsylvania.

Reviewer: E. Piper
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: HEARTBREAKING HISTORICAL NOVEL
Review: This is the first book I have read by Ellen Marie Wiseman and I thoroughly enjoyed it though it broke my heart. It is a well-researched book about coal mining in Pennslvania at the turn of the 20th Century. It tells of the hideous working conditions for the breaker boys, children as young as 6 years, who sit on planks above moving conveyor belts carrying coal. Their job is to sort out, with their bare hands, the shale and other non-coal items moving past them. The work was dangerous and many children lost limbs while their fathers risked their lives in the mines and their mothers struggled to make ends meet. The corruption was infuriating with miners and their families living in company provided homes from which they were evicted upon the death of the miner; with women having to buy over-priced food and household goods from the company store and being turned away to starve if they were unable to pay the bills.The book weaves the story of the unionization of the miners and a love story between Emma and Clayton, a miner who not only takes in orphans but is trying to bring fair labor practices to the mines by supporting the miners to strike.The story is well-researched and well-told. The characters are rich and believable and the action moved forward at a good pace. I look forward to reading other stories by this author and certainly recommend this book to others.

Reviewer: Sharon P.
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: A sad, enlightening story about tough times and a very rough industry (coal mining)
Review: Liked this book very much. I ready it in about two and a half days. Coal miners, their families, the horrible working conditions and the cruel insensitive mine owners. Child labor, children as young as 6 years old being sent into the mine to work so that they can contribute to the family income and yet the families are starving. The end is a nice turn around and some good changes are made

Reviewer: TV Viewer and Reader ;Linda
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Coal River: Another riveting story by Ellen Marie Wiseman
Review: I had previously read Ms Wiseman's "The Lost Girls of Willowbrook", which intrigued me enough that I wanted to know more about mental hospitals. This story of Coal River miners was another that had me looking into the Pennsylvania mines of the past. Emma Malloy lived in Coal River when she was 10 and her 8 yr old brother drowned. When she was 19 her parents died in a Manhattan theater fire. She must return to Coal River to live with her aunt and uncle or else be sent to the poorhouse. Uncle Otis is the foreman of the mine owned by Hazard Flint. Both men are ruthless money grubbers who don't care about how cruel the miners and breaker boys lives are. Clayton Nash is a miner who is trying to unionize the miners. Emma sees so many maimed young breaker boys she feels she must help them. In her efforts she ends up being thrown out of her uncle's house. She goes to stay with Clayton and the orphan children he supports. The characters are all very well written. The story will have you on the edge of your seat when the "Black Maria" hearse comes to the miners' village to bring home a miner's body, wondering who it is. You'll root for Emma in her brave pursuits. You won't be expecting the shocking courtroom scene. I found myself hating to be interrupted while reading this amazing and enlightening tale. I highly recommend this story. I read more about the breaker boys and this unforgettable time in America's history.Ellen Marie Wiseman is a very inspiring author.

Reviewer: Franniez
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: I enjoy reading novels about the history of North America. Coal mining occurred all over the continent and I can't imagine how many families were impacted by the lack of enforcement of child labour laws.

Reviewer: Sandra
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: A nice change to read for me. Hard to believe those things happened to children in the coal mines and society let it happen.

Reviewer: Caroline
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Fantastic

Reviewer: Sharon
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: This author has me right in the palm of her hands from the first page of her books...I have read them all and waiting for her new one to come out I believe in August. Coal Mining was something I knew little to nothing about, and if this is how it was, which I can surely imagine it must have been, her story again, is so fictionally true to life "as it was". I always feel if a book I reach teaches me something, or I gain tremendous knowledge about a subject I knew nothing about, then the writing abilities are great. Thank you Ellen Marie for again opening up that "window to the past".

Reviewer: SaJoy
Rating: 3.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: The historical aspects of this novel were interesting. However, the plot was rather predictable and it was hard to believe some of the twists - I’m not sure anyone would choose to live the life of a miner’s wife in the shanty town.