Horn Book (Sat Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2017)

Forced to move to a coal mining town in rural Kentucky, Liberty is shocked to see that the tap water is orange. While the mining company claims that the water is safe, her granny's worsening health prompts Liberty to ask unpopular--and dangerous--questions. The fast-paced story probes multiple angles of complex topics and conveys the poverty, humanity, and beauty of Appalachia.

Voice of Youth Advocates

Liberty Briscoe went from ace student at a swanky D.C. school to new girl in rural Ebbotsville, Kentucky, almost overnight. When her mother-turned-environmental-protester is imprisoned because of a bombing, Liberty is sent to live with her grandmother, who can barely support herself, let alone her granddaughter. Liberty tries hard to make sure she and her grandmother have enough to eat, but it is difficult when nearly half of the week's grocery money is spent on bottled water because the local mine has turned the well water neon orange. Though the water has been declared "safe," Liberty is suspicious of all of the illnesses and birth defects. Her breaking point comes when her grandmother is diagnosed with cancer. Liberty knows the mine is poisoning the town, but her questions are met only with harassment and threats. Though her very life is in danger, she will not back down until the truth is unearthed.This novel will appeal to a wide range of readers not only for its poignant topic but also for its protagonist. Liberty Briscoe is a hero of a narrator: intelligent, spunky, determined, and relatable. She and her grandmother are so well drawn that the reader cannot help but become emotionally invested in their stories. This humanizes the book's timely subject, as environmental issues, both local and global, occupy headlines and political debates. Dig Too Deep inspires readers to consider the necessity of environmental protection, the impact an individual can have, and the importance of trying to make a difference.Courtney Huse Wika.

ALA Booklist (Tue Mar 01 00:00:00 CST 2016)

Partway through her junior year, Liberty Briscoe is forced to move from D.C. to Ebbotsville, Kentucky, to live with her grandmother, since her mother has been incarcerated. Liberty is puzzled by how much bottled water Granny buys pecially since she's on food stamps t it's the crayon-orange tap water that really raises her suspicion. What's clear as day is that the top of Tanner's Peak is now gone, victim to MTR (mountain top removal) coal mining. Peabody Mining provides jobs for lots of folks in town, but what if that's not the only thing they are doing to Ebbotsville? In Liberty, Allgeyer gives readers a smart, focused hero to root for who struggles to see any of her mother in herself, yet forms a deep bond with the persnickety Granny. Liberty puts family ahead of romance, not letting her crush on cute Cole get in the way of her pursuit of the truth. Allgeyer brings rural Appalachia to life and shines a bright light on a troubling trend in natural resource extraction.

School Library Journal (Mon Feb 01 00:00:00 CST 2016)

Gr 8 Up-Liberty Briscoe has to move from Washington, DC, to the outskirts of Ebbotsville, KY, because her single mom is in jail for a protest gone wrong. Liberty has to go to a new school during her junior year, and she knows no one her age. However, she is looking forward to living with her grandmother. Life in Ebbotsville is an adjustment. Granny is sick, there's a mountaintop removal mine nearby, and the water coming from the faucets is orange. Liberty struggles with taking care of Granny, keeping up in school, and living on food stamps. She is convinced the mine is the reason why Granny and most of the people living on the mountain are sick, no matter who says the water is safe for drinking. As she starts to battle the mine, which provides jobs for the people living in town, she finds that drinking the water is not the only dangerous thing she could be doing. Told from Liberty's point of view, the story starts slow but picks up the pace as the teen starts to take action against the mine. The secondary characters are distinct from one another, but the focus is on Liberty and her family. The author brings important environmental issues to light without being didactic. VERDICT Recommended for fans of Carl Hiassen. Natalie Struecker, Atlantic Public Library, IA