It's the summer of 1925 in the anthracite region of Northeastern Pennsylvania, and 15-year-old Sam di Cantini is looking forward to long days of swimming in the river with his friend Will, camping out as often as his mother will stand for it, and maybe making some time with Ellie Maynard, daughter of the high school principal. His uncle and older brother Vincenzo work down the mines, but Sammy has plans to finish school, leave home, and maybe become the first boy from the patch to go to college. His mother approves; with two men in the household working, a house owned free and clear, and a son "in business" in New York who occasionally sends money, the dream has legs. But since their father's death in a mine cave-in, Vincenzo has become an agitator for better working conditions and more safety regulations in the mines, and the summer begins heating up in more ways than one. This novel has some very minor first novel issues, but Parini's roots in the region lend credibility to the setting, Sammy is a very sympathetic protagonist, and the writing is lovely, often verging on the poetic. I loved this book, and highly recommend it. It was named a 1986 Best Book for Young Adults by the Young Adults Services Division of the ALA. Fair warning, however, it contains a good bit of profanity and adolescent sex talk. ( )