The Road from Nowhere

Gr 4-7–For brothers Ollie and Gus, “nowhere” is Gatchett’s Gulch, a remote, distressed mining camp in 1893 Colorado. Ollie, 13, believes their only hope is prospecting his own silver mine and striking it rich: he’d be able to move Gus, 11, and his mother to a better life. Ollie isn’t deterred even though he’s a kid who can’t read or write, and mine owner Elijah Gatchett illegally controls all prospecting in the area. Ollie’s fortunes shift when Bertram Blake, a geologist and teacher at the State School of Mines, arrives at the camp. Blake, a wealth of information for Ollie—and readers—explains how to “read” the rocks as well as the government’s involvement in silver mining and agrees to help the boy stake a claim. The novel’s leisurely pace peaks at Ollie’s bold attempt to hire miners away from Gatchett and start his own mine, quickly thwarted by Gatchett’s armed thugs. A hopeful future is in store for the family. Perhaps it’s not what readers might envision, but they’ll understand what Ollie means: “there was more than one way to get rich.” Ollie’s first-person narrative vividly recreates a world far from modern-day comforts, sure to captivate fans of historical fiction. Back matter includes an author’s note on resources and an intriguing Q&A about his writing process. Ollie and Gus are cued white.