What readers think of The Hollow Ground, plus links to write your own review.

I asked to review this book because I had never read a book on the lives of those who lived and worked near the mines. What a tragic story. The author did a very good job with the character developments and in her description of the difficult way of life. This family so dysfunctional that you only hoped there would be a little happiness at the end. Yet the young daughter, Brigid, proved to be a very intelligent young lady and tried so hard to save the family she so loved. A very hard life.

I was interested to read a book set against the backdrop of the Centralia mine fires. But this book turned out to be less than I hoped for. I found it distracting to set the story in the context of a real historical event and then make up place names for it. In terms of the story itself, I felt no real connection to the characters. The only one that I felt came close to being fleshed out was the narrator. And her story was so overly melodramatic that I found myself thinking what more could possibly happen to this kid.

Uncontrolled fires burn beneath the decaying town of Barrendale, PA, creating an apt metaphor for the secrets simmering just below the surface of the 'cursed,' coal-mining Howley family in this bleak coming-of-age novel. The unusual and atmospheric setting, and the resulting below/above-the-façade tension, are the novel's strong suit; less so the characters (sorry, but Brigid is no Scout Finch) and somewhat predictable mechanisms of the plot. Final analysis: good, but not great.

I measure a book by whether I can't put it down as soon as I start it. I could not get into this book. It jumped around too much and was depressing, The book moved along towards the end. I felt sorry for the daughter Brigid but even her character was confusing. I will not recommend this book to my book club.