‘Billy Creekmore’ full of charm

  In Tracey Porter’s novel “Billy Creekmore” readers meet the title character at the Guardian Angels Home for Boys.
  Ten-year-old Billy has been abandoned at the orphanage and his only way out is to work for a glass factory at a time when child labor laws and OSHA standards were not in existence.
  Luckily, Billy escapes the dangerous glass factory when his uncle comes to take him from the orphanage. Billy goes to live with his aunt and uncle and soon begins work in the coal mines of West Virginia. This happy time with his relatives is cut short, though, after a tragic cave in, and Billy hits the road again, this time joining the circus.
  Porter’s tale follows Billy’s search for his mysterious father, a place to call home, and ultimately his own identity.
  Billy’s story is poignant and haunting as the reader imagines what it must have been like being an orphan in the early 1900s. His spirit is reminiscent of Huck Finn as he overcomes the hurdles in his path with wit and charm.