Breaker Boy

July 15, 2017
A breaker boy in the Pennsylvania mines learns to overcome his fears. A few months before Corey Adamski, a white boy of Polish and Welsh descent, turns 12, old enough to legally work in the local coal mine, he falls through the ice while skating and nearly drowns. He's saved only by the skilled emergency ministrations of Mrs. Chudzik, a doctor's widow and a solitary woman who's universally shunned as a witch. In the accident's aftermath Corey suffers panic attacks that render him claustrophobic; unable to force himself into a mining shaft, he accepts a job as a breaker boy, someone who plucks waste rock and shale out of conveyor belts of anthracite. When the other boys haze him, he runs away--to be rescued by Mrs. Chudzik again. Inexplicably, he gets to keep his job and is therefore on-site when his father is trapped in a mine explosion and Corey must go to his rescue. Corey isn't a particularly strong-minded or sympathetic character, and many of his interactions with family and friends don't quite ring true. Readers may find themselves wishing for more time with Mrs. Chudzik. Acceptable but far from groundbreaking. (Historical fiction. 8-12)

COPYRIGHT(2017) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

August 1, 2017

Gr 3-5-Corey is just about to turn 12, the age when boys in his town leave school to work in the mines, when he falls through a frozen pond and nearly dies. Luckily, the town's local hellhound and his witch-doctor owner save Corey and they begin a friendship. Although he is still paralyzed with fear and unable to venture into the claustrophobic mines, Corey becomes a breaker boy who sorts rock from coal instead. While moments of drama and excitement pepper the novel, the story moves at a fairly measured pace, often developing Corey's character at the expense of minor ones who could be more fully fleshed out. The details of historic 1900s Pennsylvania and the conditions of the miners and their families will interest history buffs, and the end of the novel includes a harrowing rescue from a mine collapse. While the story ends on an exciting note, there are threads that do not get fully realized as Harlow tries to tackle friendship, prejudice, history, and sports all at once. VERDICT This novel's leisurely pace and abundant plot lines may make it a tough sell to more reluctant readers. Recommended as an additional purchase where historical fiction or Harlow's other titles are popular.-Ellen Norton, Naperville Public Library, IL

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.