First published 2004
Aunt Honora sees fortune in Conn Kilroy's tea leaves. She tells him his destiny waits in the west, where he will ride the world's greatest wheel. Conn knows his small Irish village cannot contain his future. When Uncle Michael writes from America with an offer to join his New York contracting business, Conn seizes the chance. He crosses the ocean and begins his western journey. But Uncle Patrick soon calls him farther west to Chicago. There Conn joins the construction crew building what critics call Ferris's Folly. They are creating the first Ferris wheel, the largest wheel ever built. The massive structure will anchor Chicago's 1893 World's Columbian Exposition. Conn works alongside other determined laborers to complete this engineering marvel. His aunt's prophecy drives him forward as the great wheel takes shape.
Genres: american-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, adventure, 19th-century
Vibes: emotional-atmospheric, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: destiny, fish-out-of-water
Setting: Ireland, New York, Chicago, World's Columbian Exposition
Period: 1893
192 pages · Paperback · Bloomsbury USA Childrens