The Ladder

There is only one rule in the Mines: No one climbs the Ladder. Sixteen year-old Joe has spent his life laboring underground with hundreds of other kids. He�s obeyed the rule and done his job slinging mud in dim and dirty tunnels. But at night he dreams of a high blue sky, green fields and a gleaming, distant city. The dreams are as real as the Ladder, tempting him to climb to a better life. But how can someone dream about a place they�ve never seen? Why are the dreams so compelling? And is the Ladder really the way to freedom�or to something worse than a life underground?