Dig too Deep by Amy Allgeyer

Xhaiden | High Technology High School, Grade 9

Rating: *****

Most people would find their lives being turned inside out and upside down if their mother was facing prison time, but not seventeen-year-old Liberty Briscoe. In Dig too Deep by Amy Allgeyer, Liberty feels that her mother was never the closest to her, and was always off somewhere doing some political protest instead of supporting her only daughter. So when charges were pressed against Liberty’s mom, Liberty completely shuns her, cuts off all communication with her, and she begins to refer to her as MFM (my former mother). She then hops on a bus to the small, rural town of Ebbotsville, Kentucky to live with her Granny. However, when she gets there, everything isn’t going too well. The water is neon orange, people are falling sick, and a new mountain removal mining company has opened up. Liberty thinks Peabody Mining is the source of the town’s troubles, but it appears that there is no way that one girl can make a difference against the richest man around, who has an entire town wrapped around his finger.

This book was packed to the brim with excitement. Each moment Liberty finds more evidence against Peabody, you will literally squirm with anticipation. I would recommend this book to teens and up. There is a mention of things like drug abuse, indirect murder, animal cruelty, and violence, but as long as you won’t get too disturbed by it, this book will be an excellent read for you. Apart from being so thrilling and captivating, this book was very inspirational. The whole book revolved around a central theme of how good actions, no matter how small, will still make a difference to somebody, and the end of the book had its own encouraging message. I really enjoyed this book, and I hope you will too.