Review: Enjoyed this book more than I thought
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 07 11, 2012
The Mine has its ups and downs but in the end it comes off as a truly entertaining, adventure mixed with historical fact and sprinkled with a dash of romance. College senior Joel Smith is inadvertently cast as the protagonist in this exciting, time traveling story, so one could call him the reluctant protagonist. He's just a regular guy who finds himself on an irregular journey that anyone can relate to. I don't know if author John Heldt intended Joel to come across as such, but there it is.Now before you go thinking "Eh, this is just another time traveling sci-fi book, I'll pass" let me just say, The Mine has emotional side. It's not just some college hotshot time traveling and having the time of his life. Joel knows a lot of the people he meets, he knows what is going to happen or not going to happen to them in the future and he is powerless to stop it. As the reader, I began to get attached to these people, just like Joel did even against my better judgement. Author John Heldt didn't write a story about some hot shot college kid that time travels, he wrote a well thought out story with human emotions. Joel isn't some unfeeling, punk kid that doesn't learn from his experiences, sure Joel starts off as your typical college kid but he grows as a character. He comes to truly care for Grace, Katie and Tom which makes it that much harder for him not to interfere with the past. How many people can honestly say that they wouldn't at least try to rewrite their own history or that of a loved one?While at the beginning, The Mine starts off as an adventure and is all fun and games, it later develops into a deeper, more meaningful story that becomes harder and harder to put down. There is a sadness and finality to Joel's visit to the past, you just know what he's going to have to do and you're drawn into his emotional conflict of whether or not to leave the past and return to the future when he has found so much love, acceptance and life in 1941.The love story between Joel and Grace was just one of those ones you know is doomed to fail, they're from different times, literally but they're just so perfect together that you can only hope they'll find some way to end up with a happy ever after. I held my breath towards the end because I wanted, more than anything for Joel to find happiness in the present, even though it was hopeless as he was desperately in love with Grace and she was in the past. The suspense and angst I felt in the last 50 or so pages was unexpected, John Heldt, you put me through an emotional ringer in only 50 pages and I loved it!!!Overall, The Mine may sound like your everyday, run of the mill time traveling story but it is actually the emotional journey of one young man who learns about life, love, hard work and what's really important.