Rebecca Nolen: 2 books

West Virginia, 1895 A deathly dry spell has left the earth parched and souls desperate. When young Elliot Sweeney discovers the search for his missing father has been called off, he boards a tain alone to find him. His quest leads Elliot to a world far below the coal mines where monstrous...

It is 1895 West Virginia in the coal mine country and a young boy searches for his father and discovers him in a world deep underground overrun with giant insects.