Blood and Silver by Vali Benson
What is a twelve-year-old girl to do when she finds herself in the silver boomtown of Tombstone, Arizona, in 1880, and her only home is a brothel, and her only parent is a drug-addicted mother? If she is Carissa Beaumont, she outsmarts the evil madam and figures a way out.
After tricking the madam, Miss Lucille, into summoning a doctor for her mother, Lisette, she discovers that Miss Lucille has been drugging her. She and the kind doctor make a plan to try to save Lisette by dosing her down on the drug.
Doctor Henderson tells Carissa that the only source for the drug is a Chinese immigrant named China Mary, who lives in Hoptown, at the other end of Tombstone. Carissa has no choice but to go to the powerful woman for help. Many say that China Mary is the one who controls Tombstone.
China Mary admires Carissa’s brave spirit and uses her influence to get her a job at the new Grand Hotel, freeing Carissa from her many duties at Miss Lucille’s. She will work along with Mary’s twelve-year-old niece, Mai-Lin. The two girls become fast friends.
Then, disaster strikes, and the two girls must work together to stay alive.
With a host of colorful characters and meticulous attention to period detail, Blood and Silver is a story of the best and worst of human nature, the passion for survival, and the beauty of true friendship.
In June 2021, Blood and Silver won first place in two categories at the San Francisco Book Festival. Blood and Silver was named a Winner at the 2021 New York Book Festival the following month. In August of 2021, the book took home top honors at the American Fiction Awards.
