The new novel American Ending by Mary Kay Zuravleff received praise from a range of critics. Oprah selected it for her Best Books for Spring reading list. Kirkus Reviews gushed that the voice of the young narrator, Yelena, is so vivid, “it feels like Zuravleff is channeling a real person.”

But there must be something beyond the irresistible writing that makes us care so much about Yelena and her family. After all, these characters, most of them immigrants, lived more than a century ago in a mining town at the southwestern edge of Pennsylvania. What do they have in common with us?

The Mariana Mine is part of the story. The mine was built to be safe, but 152 miners died in an explosion there. It was the tenth deadliest explosion in American mining history.

Another significant historical event featuring as part of Zuravleff's novel is the Expatriation Act. Learn more on NPR’s “Code Switch” and at the National Archives.

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