River Runs Deep

This gripping historical adventure plunges readers into the dark, damp world of 19th-century Mammoth Cave, where a young boy's fight for his health becomes a fight for freedom. Sent to the famous Kentucky caverns to cure his consumption, twelve-year-old Elias finds the initial novelty of cave life quickly replaced by a suffocating boredom—until he stumbles upon a dangerous secret hidden in the labyrinthine passages.

Bradbury masterfully weaves a tense narrative of suspense and moral courage as Elias discovers a hidden community of freedom-seekers using the cave system as a station on the Underground Railroad. The claustrophobic setting becomes a powerful character in itself, ratcheting up the stakes as Elias must choose between his own safety and the lives of others. Young readers who crave historical fiction with high-stakes adventure and complex ethical dilemmas will find this underground journey utterly compelling.