Whistle in the Dark

What Clem wants for his thirteenth birthday is a dog. What he gets is a miner's cap. It's the 1920s in Leadanna, Missouri, and money is tight in the Harding household. So, Clem, a gifted student and talented writer, must leave school and join Pap in the lead mines, spending his days digging in the suffocating dark beneath the crushing weight of the earth.

While searching for another way to help support his family — Grampy's suffering from miner's consumption and little sister Esther with epilepsy — Clem meets Lindy, the daughter of a local moonshiner, whose face bears a scar from a terrible accident. The two become friends, but soon a series of disasters strike, including a devastating tornado.

Clem's friendship with Lindy and the devotion of a remarkable stray dog help him to reconcile his dreams with the reality of family responsibility and face some hard decisions about his future.

This beautifully written coming-of-age novel shines with true characters, a vivid setting, and heart-felt relationships.

Clem wants a dog for his thirteenth birthday, but what he gets is a miner's cap. It is the 1920's in Leadanna, Missouri, and Clem must become a man, leaving school and joining Pap in the lead mines money is tight in the Harding household. Meanwhile, Lindy, whose face bears a scar from an accident that left her motherless, is forced to help her abusive father sell moonshine. As Clem searches for another way to support his family, the two become friends. Then disaster strikes: a death, a mining accident, and then a tornado. In the aftermath, Lindy takes advantage of her chance to flee Leadanna, and Clem is torn between following her and staying behind to help his family.

This beautifully written coming-of-age novel shines with true characters, a vivid setting, and heart-felt relationships.

"

Susan Hill Long is the author of Whistle in the Dark, a middle-grade historical novel. Susan has also written books for beginning readers under the name Susan Hill, including Black Beauty and the Thunderstorm and Black Beauty: Stolen! (illustrated by Bill Farnsworth) which were named Best Books by Bank Street College of Education; Peter Pan: Lost and Found, and The Wind in the Willows: A Fine Welcome (both illustrated by Michael Hague). She lives in Portland, Oregon, with her husband and two daughters.