A novel of historical fiction asks, who gets to be American?

The novel American Ending by Mary Kay Zuravleff received praise from a number 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.”
What brings readers to connect with Yelena and her family? 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 book's narrative is intertwined with real historical events. The Mariana Mine is featured in the plot of American Ending. The mine was built to be safe, but 152 miners died in an explosion there. The disaster is the tenth deadliest explosion in American mining history.
Another significant historical event featured in Zuravleff's novel is the Expatriation Act. Learn more on NPR’s “Code Switch” and at the National Archives.
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