January 6, 2026 by Scholastic Press
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
Gus and Ollie are brothers living in Gatchett's Gulch, Colorado in 1893. They are unable to leave this silver mining town even though their father was killed in an explosion, because their mother doesn't have the money to move, even though she is barely able to keep everyone afloat by doing laundry for miners. Since they are the only children in the area, aside from Alys Thomas, there is no school for them to attend, and neither boy can read or write. Mr. Gatchett keeps a stranglehold on the town, forbidding anyone from doing any prospecting, claiming all the land around is his, and running anyone who crosses him out of town. When Gus and Ollie are out with a divining rod looking for silver, their dog, Poco discovers a cave-- of course, there is a run in with a snake before the boys are able to get in. Once they do, they are amazed to find a large space with what they suspect is silver ore. They ask a newcomer to town, Bertram Blake, how to stake a claim, since he is a well educated geologist who teaches at a university. Mr. Blake is interested in their discovery, and goes with them to look at the rocks. He concurs that there is probably silver, but since Mr. Gatchett's henchmen overheard Ollie talking to Blake, Gatchett soon shows up at Ollie's house threatening to run the whole family out. After Blake talks to Ollie's mother, the group decides to borrow Alys' family's wagon and go to Franklin, 25 miles away, to file a claim. However, when they set out, Gatchett's me refuse to let them pass. Later, Ma tells Gus and Ollie that Mr. Blake has asked to marry her, and if it's okay with them, she would like to. The family will have to move, but there will be more financial security, and Blake seems like a good guy. The couple sneaks off to walk to Franklin to get married, and leave the boys behind with orders to lay low. Ollie, who just really wants to strike it rich with a silver mine, despite the fact that Blake has warned him that silver may soon not have as much value, decides to take a rock with ore in it to the saloon, at night (when they are forbidden from going), to try to see if the miners will join his cause. This doesn't go well, and soon the news comes by stagecoach that the price of silver has fallen so much that all the miners have stopped shipping ore, the smelter has shut down, and the coach and mules who have been bringing supplies to Gatchett's Gulch will do so no more. Ma and Mr. Blake aren't back yet, but the town clears out. Alys and her mother take off for Alys' sister's in Denver, and Gatchett even blows up his mine as well as the cave! Will Gus and Ollie's mother come back to take them away from what has become a ghost town?
Strengths: There aren't as many books set in the American west written now; when I was growing up, there were tons, both historical and involving the ghost towns that events like the silver panic of 1893 created. (Didn't both the Brady Bunch AND the Partridge Family visit ghost towns?) Avi has investigated a lot of history from the 1800s (think Gold Rush Girl, as well as The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle), so his details of daily life, as well as the larger historical context, are fabulous. Modern middle schoolers probably have no idea about what life was like in a mining camp, and how hard children their own age had to work. Of course Ollie wants to strike it rich, but it is reassuring that even though he doesn't, the kind Mr. Blake comes through for his family.
Weaknesses: My students aren't great fans of books set in the West, even though I would like them to be, so I am debating purchase. Once Mr. Blake offered to marry the mother, I couldn't get too invested in Ollie's quest, especially since there was no way he could stand up to Mr. Gatchett, but young Readers won't have that objection.
What I really think: While there are some titles about gold mining (like the late Will Hobbs' City of Gold and Rose's Jasper and the Riddle of Riley's Mine), I haven't read any about silver mining. If you're looking for an adventure set in the West to go along with other books by Avi like Avi's The Secret School or Dallas' TenMile, this is a good choice.
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
Gus and Ollie are brothers living in Gatchett's Gulch, Colorado in 1893. They are unable to leave this silver mining town even though their father was killed in an explosion, because their mother doesn't have the money to move, even though she is barely able to keep everyone afloat by doing laundry for miners. Since they are the only children in the area, aside from Alys Thomas, there is no school for them to attend, and neither boy can read or write. Mr. Gatchett keeps a stranglehold on the town, forbidding anyone from doing any prospecting, claiming all the land around is his, and running anyone who crosses him out of town. When Gus and Ollie are out with a divining rod looking for silver, their dog, Poco discovers a cave-- of course, there is a run in with a snake before the boys are able to get in. Once they do, they are amazed to find a large space with what they suspect is silver ore. They ask a newcomer to town, Bertram Blake, how to stake a claim, since he is a well educated geologist who teaches at a university. Mr. Blake is interested in their discovery, and goes with them to look at the rocks. He concurs that there is probably silver, but since Mr. Gatchett's henchmen overheard Ollie talking to Blake, Gatchett soon shows up at Ollie's house threatening to run the whole family out. After Blake talks to Ollie's mother, the group decides to borrow Alys' family's wagon and go to Franklin, 25 miles away, to file a claim. However, when they set out, Gatchett's me refuse to let them pass. Later, Ma tells Gus and Ollie that Mr. Blake has asked to marry her, and if it's okay with them, she would like to. The family will have to move, but there will be more financial security, and Blake seems like a good guy. The couple sneaks off to walk to Franklin to get married, and leave the boys behind with orders to lay low. Ollie, who just really wants to strike it rich with a silver mine, despite the fact that Blake has warned him that silver may soon not have as much value, decides to take a rock with ore in it to the saloon, at night (when they are forbidden from going), to try to see if the miners will join his cause. This doesn't go well, and soon the news comes by stagecoach that the price of silver has fallen so much that all the miners have stopped shipping ore, the smelter has shut down, and the coach and mules who have been bringing supplies to Gatchett's Gulch will do so no more. Ma and Mr. Blake aren't back yet, but the town clears out. Alys and her mother take off for Alys' sister's in Denver, and Gatchett even blows up his mine as well as the cave! Will Gus and Ollie's mother come back to take them away from what has become a ghost town?
Strengths: There aren't as many books set in the American west written now; when I was growing up, there were tons, both historical and involving the ghost towns that events like the silver panic of 1893 created. (Didn't both the Brady Bunch AND the Partridge Family visit ghost towns?) Avi has investigated a lot of history from the 1800s (think Gold Rush Girl, as well as The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle), so his details of daily life, as well as the larger historical context, are fabulous. Modern middle schoolers probably have no idea about what life was like in a mining camp, and how hard children their own age had to work. Of course Ollie wants to strike it rich, but it is reassuring that even though he doesn't, the kind Mr. Blake comes through for his family.
Weaknesses: My students aren't great fans of books set in the West, even though I would like them to be, so I am debating purchase. Once Mr. Blake offered to marry the mother, I couldn't get too invested in Ollie's quest, especially since there was no way he could stand up to Mr. Gatchett, but young Readers won't have that objection.
What I really think: While there are some titles about gold mining (like the late Will Hobbs' City of Gold and Rose's Jasper and the Riddle of Riley's Mine), I haven't read any about silver mining. If you're looking for an adventure set in the West to go along with other books by Avi like Avi's The Secret School or Dallas' TenMile, this is a good choice.
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