The Breaker Boys Paperback – January 28, 2014

It delivered the lines perfectly and made it feel as if you were there. It also almost cry in the best way possible. It’s also very informative. I loved it so much!!!

Good read to learn the history of early days of coal mining from a fictional account of the miners and owners. Really liked the character development of Nate Tanner. Recommend!

Good YA historical fiction

Good book.

This is a great book for young adults particularly for young boys who dislike reading. I am another social studies teacher so I will second the earlier reviewers comments. Currently we are using this book for our 6th grade Pennsylvania and the World course and our students are loving the book. Outstanding novel to learn about child labor, unions and coal country. Highly recommended.

Text Review: The Breaker BoysHistorical Context: Industrialization and Social Class/ Lattimer Massacre, Coal Strikes/ 1896-1900Reviewer: Mr. SprifirMay 30, 2008 In a time of American industrialization and expansion, immigrants flowed in throughout the country to seize opportunities for economic freedom from their home countries. The Breaker Boys by Pat Hughes is a historical fiction novel portraying the struggle of society and the division among the rich and the poor. The main character, Nate Turner is a boy who grows up with a rich family, but struggles to adapt with societies standards. He is looked down upon by not only his family, but by his peer's as well. He is constantly in trouble and finds new ways to disgrace his family names. He soon meets immigrant workers who work for his father at the colliery, and inserts him within their society. Through this novel, readers are able to depict the varying cultures during the late 19th century, ultimately judging for themselves the impact of the immigrant labor. The book could be counted as historically accurate because of its portrayal of the coal mines. The American Pageant skims the surface on labor strikes and unions calling the immigrant workers "aggrieved and indebted."(523) By placing a focus on the Homestead Strike, the history book emphasizes the rise of political power of the Populist party, ignoring the gains of Unions and immigrant workers. The Breaker Boys captures this tension during society and portrays a realistic life during the time of the strikes. It furthermore reveals the terrible conditions of the colliery and how immigrant workers are tied to their work. Through company stores, company houses, and company doctors The Breaker Boys displays the corruptness of business in the North, similar to that of sharecropping in the South. The characters of the novel also seem realistic as well, matching the different racial groups such as Slavs, Poles, and Irish. Although the portrayal of the immigrant boys seems to capture the depravity of life, Hughes almost glorifies them in his novel, emphasizing on their friendship, their generosity as well as their love for family. The only characteristic of the book that seems improbable is that the immigrant workers would be so eager to accept such a wealthy boy, and the social gap among the young would also be an obstacle difficult to overcome. The book would give readers a greater understanding of immigrant life and understand societal issues of that time. The book clearly gives readers two lives that we can compare and contrast. The difference between the rich and the poor gives the readers a flavor of two worlds, the privileged and the American dream, compared to a struggle to gain equality. The Breaker Boys is a book that is easy to read. It has a strong character with a strong mindset as well as personalities. Hughes captures this inner conflict of loyalty to friends and family, that is common in young adolescents growing up, in this intense adventure. The imagery and contrast of the poor and the rich are also a great way to understand why social gaps occurred and why equity and not the same as equality. Although there are many things that are well done in this book, I would not recommend this book to a friend. This is a book with a mediocre story, a character that shows little moral development, and a rushed conclusion that suffocates the reader. The book is strongly prejudice and takes on a bias in favor of the immigrant workers. The main character almost seems too extreme and character flawed to really relate to, and includes too many characters that make it confusing and are not very important to the development of the story. If readers are looking for a quick read to understand collieries, go ahead and skim this book, but if one is looking for a good book to enjoy and recall upon, this is not it.

I'm a read-aloud Mom with a family of boys. I liked this book and I'm glad we read it. We paired it with this book by Michael Burgan on child labor in photography:  Breaker Boys: How a Photograph Helped End Child Labor (Captured History) BUT... and this is important... my kids didn't like the book.It is never revealed why the main character, Nate Tanner, is so moody and discontented. He just lashes out all the time.It isn't clear, either, why the child workers are so discontented. They work in bad conditions, but they are clamoring to work and willing to break the law to do so. Work in America is clearly better (in the opinions of the children's parents)than no work wherever they came from -- Italy or Poland. Clearly better because there is no end of people willing to trade their labor for the wages paid.We have been studying free enterprise as a family, and I (the parent) thought it made sense to study this.It gives you the perspective of how the workers chose violence, and it shows how laborers were manipulated by outside union organizers to transfer power and money to the labor bureaucracy.The choice of Gunga Din as the poem to be memorized was appropriate to the story, because at the end you realize that Nate's grandfather, who has treated his work force well, is akin to the much-maligned and verbally abused Gunga Din. You're a better man than some violent outside union thug agitator, Gunga Din.However, I'm not sure my kids cared all that much about the book, and since it's a book for children, I'm dropping it to three stars.

It's 1897, and everyone is happy because summer vacation is close. Well, not everyone. Twelve-year-old Nathan Tanner just got expelled from boarding school because of his temper and bad behavior. He has no friends and doesn't get along well with his family. While riding his bicycle one day, he meets the Breaker Boys, who do dangerous work in the coal mines for his father, a coal mine operator.Nathan starts hanging out with the Breaker Boys every day and becomes very good friends with them, especially Johnny. However, Nathan must hide the fact that he's the boss's son. As Johnny and Nathan grow closer, Nathan learns that, because of unfair wages and treatment, some of the mine workers are forming unions and going on strike. Because of this, tensions rise in Nathan's family. Will he take his family's side on the issue and help them, or will he betray them to help his friend?In her first novel, GUERRILLA SEASON, Pat Hughes traveled back in time to show readers how different life was because of war, how children's lives were affected by war and why they were forced to become adults so early. THE BREAKER BOYS, which is a fascinating second novel from Hughes, is no different. --- Reviewed by Ashley Hartlaub