Rockbuster

Rating:
Summary: Rockbuster review
Review: "A women gets to choose a husband and I thank god for that choice". This is said by Fiona Quinlan, Thomas Quinlan's mother. Tom is a coal miner in Castlegate, Utah. He is in a rip between the unionized miners and the wooblies after two detectives murder his uncle {a union man} when he was ten.
If you want to read a good historical fiction with teenage issues like love, hate, and obligation to family and work then this is the book for you. I loved this book because of the rapid change of events that cause major conflict. i can also relate to this book considering I am 15 and tommy goes from ten to eighteen in this book.
If you are a teenager {boy or girl} and in the mood for a book of action, suspense, question and love pick up Rockbuster by Gloria Skurzynski today.

Rating:
Summary: A must read!
Review: I was pleasantly surprised to find out that this book, despite the setting of age level, was to my liking. Gloria Skurzynski is a wonderful author. This book talks about the the differences between the working class and the upper class of the 1900's. It also talks about love, poverty, and regret. I implore you, especially if you are between the ages of 12 and 14, to buy this book. You will be amazed by the messages it conveys.

Rating:
Summary: Rockbuster review
Review: Rockbuster has just been included on the Tayshas list for recommended books for Texas high school students. Teaching himself guitar while working in the pitch-black of the mines gives Tommy a chance to get out of the hell underground--the hell that the new labor unions of the early 1900s is trying to relieve. Tommy's uncle dies for the unions, but Tommy sees their flaws clearly and must decide how his loyalties lie to his family, his girlfriend, and himself. The author has a done a superb job with history, growing up, shouldering guilt and responsibilities, falling in love, and living in the 1900s.

Rating:
Summary: Winning book!
Review: Rockbuster has just been included on the Tayshas list for recommended books for Texas high school students. Teaching himself guitar while working in the pitch-black of the mines gives Tommy a chance to get out of the hell underground--the hell that the new labor unions of the early 1900s is trying to relieve. Tommy's uncle dies for the unions, but Tommy sees their flaws clearly and must decide how his loyalties lie to his family, his girlfriend, and himself. The author has a done a superb job with history, growing up, shouldering guilt and responsibilities, falling in love, and living in the 1900s.

Rating:
Summary: ROCKBUSTER succeeds on both historical and narrative levels.
Review: Tommy Quinlan's life is filled with the color black. As a worker in a coal mine in the years leading up to World War I, Tommy spends the majority of his time in the dark and emerges from the mine covered in coal dust. His widowed mother spends her days doing laundry for the both the miners and mine owners, trying to wash out the blackness. In Gloria Skurzynski's novel, ROCKBUSTER, Tommy rises above the various hardships that threaten to overwhelm him and refuses to see the world in simple black and white. Instead, he looks beyond the stereotypes that cause conflicts between miners and mine owners.

Tommy's life is punctuated by tragedy. First, his father was killed in a mining accident. Then, on the way to the trial of a union leader, Tommy's beloved uncle is killed by Pinkerton detectives for his part in various union activities. As if that weren't enough sadness for one young life, Tommy's mentor, Peter, loses a leg in a mining accident. Through all of these trials, as well as through a layoff at the mine, Tommy is sustained emotionally and financially by his talent for playing the guitar and singing. Indeed, Tommy is so talented that he is chosen as the new voice for the union --- after union hero and folk singer Joe Hill is condemned to death.

Joe Hill is a historical figure whose real-life trials provide an important backdrop to the action of ROCKBUSTER. One of the great strengths of the book is the subtle ways in which Skurzynski reveals historical detail. Instead of filling the pages with all the things she discovered about early 20th century coal mining towns, Skurzynski lets the details work into the story naturally. From small details (Tommy's search for an outhouse after a snow storm) to larger historical events (Tommy attends the trials of Hill), Skurzynski teaches history without slowing the story.

That's good, because Tommy's story is a good one. While it is made up of some fairly common themes --- young man overcomes hardship to help his family, win the girl and discover his destiny --- Tommy is a compelling character whom the reader comes to see as a friend. His joys and sorrows are felt by the reader, and his indecision about his future is agonizing for the reader as well. His commitment to bridging the gap between the haves and the have-nots leads to a logical and satisfying conclusion to the novel.

ROCKBUSTER succeeds on both historical and narrative levels and should be enjoyed by anyone drawn to strong characters and good storytelling.

--- Reviewed by Rob Cline ([e-mail])