Much Ado About Grubstake — Jean Ferris

Grubstake is a grubby down-on-its-luck mining town filled with grubby down-on-their-luck miners. So when a decidedly nongrubby city slicker shows up and offers to buy the tapped-out mines, the miners are sorely tempted. But not Arley, the brash sixteen-year-old girl who runs the boardinghouse. No, Arley smells a rat. What could some fancy-britches rascal want with empty mines? Is there more in those desolate pits than the Grubs realize?

Like Jean Ferris's popular Once Upon a Marigold, this lighthearted, endearingly goofy story is packed with quirky, lovable characters and piercing insights.