Tenmile by Sandra Dallas. Sleeping Bear Press, 2022. 9781534111622
Rating: 1-5 (5 is an excellent or a Starred review) 4
Format: Hardcover
Genre: Historical fiction
What did you like about the book? It’s 1880.Thirteen-year-old Sissy lives and works with her doctor father in this coal mining/factory town in the mountains of Colorado. Mrs. Greenway (Greenie) serves as a mother and housekeeper. Life is hard in Tenmile; most folks have little to no money, some are sick from working in the mine. Many children are forced to leave school to help make money to support their families. Sissy is very fortunate and she knows it. Like her father she does all she can to help those less favored than she. But, like so many others, she, too, wants to leave Tenmile.
Sissy is a realistic and inspiring heroine. This birds-eye view of life in a mining town in the 1880s is colorful, interesting and well-told. All characters present as white.
Anything you did not like about the book? No.
To whom would you recommend this book? For 4th-6th grade readers who like realistic historical fiction, this is a good choice.
Who should buy this book? Public and elementary school libraries
Where would you shelve it? J Fiction
Should we (librarians) put this on the top of our “to read” piles? No.
Reviewer’s Name, Library (or school), City: Katrina Yurenka, Retired Librarian, Contributor, Youth Services Book Review
Date of Review: February 27, 2023
Youth Services Book Review 
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