In 2000, Joel Smith is a cocky, adventurous young man who sees the world as his playground. But when the college senior, days from graduation, enters an abandoned Montana mine, he discovers the price of reckless curiosity. He emerges in May 1941 with a cell phone he can’t use, money he can’t spend, and little but his wits to guide his way. Stuck in the age of Whirlaway, swing dancing, and a peacetime draft, Joel begins a new life as the nation drifts toward war. With the help of his 21-year-old trailblazing grandmother and her friends, he finds his place in a world he knew only from movies and books. But when an opportunity comes to return to the present, Joel must decide whether to leave his new love in the past or choose a course that will alter their lives forever. THE MINE follows a humbled man through a critical time in history as he adjusts to new surroundings and wrestles with the knowledge of things to come.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…John A. Heldt is a reference librarian who lives and works in Montana. The former award-winning sportswriter and newspaper editor has loved reading and writing since writing book reports on baseball heroes in grade school. A graduate of both the University of Oregon and University of Iowa, he is an avid fisherman, sports fan, home brewer, and reader of thrillers and historical fiction. THE MINE is his first novel.
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FROM THE BOOK FAERY REVIEWS…THE MINE was nothing compared to what I expected to read about. It is a story of a time travel back in time through an old mine shaft, HOWEVER, it was more about the people Joel came into contact with who became special to him in many ways. The characters Ginny, Tom, Linda, Katie, Grace, and Tom’s parents were individuals you’d have wanted in your own life especially during a time of need. I loved imagining going back in time to a simpler past just before the chaos of Pearl Harbor. It’s no wonder Joel could easily “fit in” even if he didn’t really belong. And that ending? I nearly weeped as Joel had in his room looking at pictures from his Grandmother’s past and when he got in touch with those from the past. If only his Grandmother was around to see it unfold…I will say that I was left with so many questions like Joel when he got back to his time. Why didn’t his grandmother ever talk to him about the experience? Was it because she had an idea of how it might turn out and didn’t want to change the path of his future like he had impacted her past? Perhaps that explains why she didn’t want to talk about her past with her family. Great story! I highly recommend this book to another who enjoys reading stories set in the 40s.
No money was given for our opinion and the opinions stated above are our own.
