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zenithharpink's review against another edition
2.0
2.5 stars. This book was BRUTAL! So short that there was barely a story, and it was heartbreaking at every turn. While interesting in how life was in 3 keys phases of life in the mid-nineteenth century: 1) an Irish famine, 2) sea life in a hip bound for America, and 3) mill work as well as general life in America.
It's like the author hated his heroine, or at least during the course of his research decided there was nothing redeeming about the Irish migrant experience and wrote a depressing story to correspond.
I don't recommend this book.
It's like the author hated his heroine, or at least during the course of his research decided there was nothing redeeming about the Irish migrant experience and wrote a depressing story to correspond.
I don't recommend this book.
littleseal's review against another edition
The author of this book has written some other 'Dear America' books, but this one has been my favorite of his so far. It's fitting I read this one the month before going out to Ireland.
I knew of the Great Famine, but this got me interested to learn more about it, and it doesn't surprise me about what ended up happening later with Ireland wanting their independence from England (with how England handled the famine of Irish folk).
I knew of the Great Famine, but this got me interested to learn more about it, and it doesn't surprise me about what ended up happening later with Ireland wanting their independence from England (with how England handled the famine of Irish folk).
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Death, Xenophobia, Abandonment, Ableism, Animal death, Child death, Alcohol, Chronic illness, Classism, Hate crime, Death of parent, Religious bigotry, Terminal illness, Excrement, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Vomit
peytonktracy's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
This Dear America book was speedy. And not very plot heavy, truthfully. More like, an account of someone bearing witness to a moment in history, but without a lot of meat about the person themselves. We meet Mary Driscoll suffering from the famine in Ireland, follow her on her journey across the Atlantic to Boston, and then learn about what life was like for Irish immigrants in the early industrial revolution towns. You frankly don't have time to get invested in any of the characters in particular, you just don't see them enough. It well written, well researched, and I was able to empathize with the difficult experiences faced by many 19th century women immigrants, like Mary, but I didn't really connect with her as a character - she was just too placid. The epilogue was very unexpected though, so that was an appreciated twist from the historian in me!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief and Death of parent
Minor: Injury/Injury detail and Violence
alexblackreads's review against another edition
3.0
Another lovely addition to this series, and another by Barry Denenberg. As I collect and read more of these books, I'm realizing how many he wrote.
I loved the character of Mary. She's smart and funny and worth following as she struggles through life in America. The emotion really does hit you. Sad things happen, and I love how much you feel the sadness.
I struggled with the abruptness of this book. It felt very short in terms of the events that happened. Like there wasn't enough time to write the story Denenberg had in mind, so he'd throw things in very quickly and end plotlines without much development. I've felt this way in some of his other books as well. Middle grade can be short without feeling so cut off.
I also didn't feel like we got to see much of Mary's situation. I loved the characters, but as far as historical elements, I didn't feel like we really saw much of what was going on at the time. I wanted a lot more of that.
But I'd recommend this. It's a solid book and worth reading if you like the Dear America series. And it holds up well enough reading (possibly rereading) as an adult.
I loved the character of Mary. She's smart and funny and worth following as she struggles through life in America. The emotion really does hit you. Sad things happen, and I love how much you feel the sadness.
I struggled with the abruptness of this book. It felt very short in terms of the events that happened. Like there wasn't enough time to write the story Denenberg had in mind, so he'd throw things in very quickly and end plotlines without much development. I've felt this way in some of his other books as well. Middle grade can be short without feeling so cut off.
I also didn't feel like we got to see much of Mary's situation. I loved the characters, but as far as historical elements, I didn't feel like we really saw much of what was going on at the time. I wanted a lot more of that.
But I'd recommend this. It's a solid book and worth reading if you like the Dear America series. And it holds up well enough reading (possibly rereading) as an adult.
huncamuncamouse's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars
This was another weird one--and I guess that might just be a theme for Barry Denenberg's contributions to the series. I remembered this one. If "Across the Wide and Lonesome Prairie" could have been renamed "The One with the Hemlock Soup," well, then this one could be colloquially called "The One Where The Girl Gets Scalped in the Mill." The fact that so many people recall this specific scene when the series is discussed speaks to how many people read it and found the story memorable.
As an adult who has never experienced food scarcity, reading about the potato famine is even more disturbing than it was as a child. The scene where two strange children are literally eating slop out of the Driscoll family's pig trough shocked and upset me, and highlighted how desperate the situation was. It's easy to see why Mary (and others like her) were willing to accept abuse and exploitation from their employers in America, although their willingness to accept what Americans considered subpar treatment did not make them popular with their American coworkers to say the least. Denenberg does a good job of bringing nuance to the complicated power struggle.
Some say this book reads like an ad for capitalism, and I disagree. It's clear that the author understands the mill girls were exploited and describes ways in which eventually women advocated for better working conditions, organized, engaged in lectures/readings/programs that encouraged creativity and free thinking, and asserted their independence. He states outright that corporations cared far more about profits than human workers. It would have been more interesting to read a diary from someone interesting in changing their workplace.
However, it also makes complete sense why Mary is a "don't rock the boat" type. She's terrified of losing the job--terrible as it is. She's known real starvation, she is trying to save her parents who are still literally starving at home, and if having this job means she gets to eat, she doesn't want to make trouble. These motivations make perfect sense and illustrate just how workers are trapped in capitalism's hamster wheel (or sewing machine or whatever).
She also knows more independence than she had before. She isn't living in her boss's home like her sister, or in a boarding house. (Aunt Nora is pretty freaky, right? What was with that whole thing with the bully teacher's death, btw?). It's fair to say that she's living a better life than in a long time--again illustrating the point of how this traps workers into complacency and obedience.
Just like in Denenberg's first book, there's a potentially queer-coded older girl character. This time, her name is Annie. Something about the epilogue saying she remained childless in her marriage makes me think Annie enjoyed a lot of close friendships if you know what I mean . . .
The problem is this book ends just as it starts really getting going, which I know has a tendency to happen in some of these books. I was not a fan of the rushed "big event" that pulls her away from Lowell. This book was pretty short, and there could have been much more material. In the epilogue, we find out that Mary dies two years later at 17, but it doesn't shed much light on what she did until then, which I found disappointing.
Who is Mary, really? I finished this book, and it's the first one where I don't have a strong sense of who she was and what she wanted from life. Sure, she dies young, but there could have been more indicators, especially after the parents die, and her original purpose in coming to America has to change. Also . . . Mary is kind of mean. Her sister Kate probably was really annoying, but there seems like an unnecessary amount of vitriol for her. Similarly, Mary hates Clarissa (scalped girl) from the get-go, despite the fact that she didn't really do anything? Later, she makes horrendous, racist comments, but until then, it all just reads as over-the-top.
Dead Parent Count: 2. Thanks potato blight!
Bonus Deaths: People on the boat die, there's the weird thing with the teacher???, and of course, we know all about Scalp girl.
This was another weird one--and I guess that might just be a theme for Barry Denenberg's contributions to the series. I remembered this one. If "Across the Wide and Lonesome Prairie" could have been renamed "The One with the Hemlock Soup," well, then this one could be colloquially called "The One Where The Girl Gets Scalped in the Mill." The fact that so many people recall this specific scene when the series is discussed speaks to how many people read it and found the story memorable.
As an adult who has never experienced food scarcity, reading about the potato famine is even more disturbing than it was as a child. The scene where two strange children are literally eating slop out of the Driscoll family's pig trough shocked and upset me, and highlighted how desperate the situation was. It's easy to see why Mary (and others like her) were willing to accept abuse and exploitation from their employers in America, although their willingness to accept what Americans considered subpar treatment did not make them popular with their American coworkers to say the least. Denenberg does a good job of bringing nuance to the complicated power struggle.
Some say this book reads like an ad for capitalism, and I disagree. It's clear that the author understands the mill girls were exploited and describes ways in which eventually women advocated for better working conditions, organized, engaged in lectures/readings/programs that encouraged creativity and free thinking, and asserted their independence. He states outright that corporations cared far more about profits than human workers. It would have been more interesting to read a diary from someone interesting in changing their workplace.
However, it also makes complete sense why Mary is a "don't rock the boat" type. She's terrified of losing the job--terrible as it is. She's known real starvation, she is trying to save her parents who are still literally starving at home, and if having this job means she gets to eat, she doesn't want to make trouble. These motivations make perfect sense and illustrate just how workers are trapped in capitalism's hamster wheel (or sewing machine or whatever).
She also knows more independence than she had before. She isn't living in her boss's home like her sister, or in a boarding house. (Aunt Nora is pretty freaky, right? What was with that whole thing with the bully teacher's death, btw?). It's fair to say that she's living a better life than in a long time--again illustrating the point of how this traps workers into complacency and obedience.
Just like in Denenberg's first book, there's a potentially queer-coded older girl character. This time, her name is Annie. Something about the epilogue saying she remained childless in her marriage makes me think Annie enjoyed a lot of close friendships if you know what I mean . . .
The problem is this book ends just as it starts really getting going, which I know has a tendency to happen in some of these books. I was not a fan of the rushed "big event" that pulls her away from Lowell. This book was pretty short, and there could have been much more material. In the epilogue, we find out that Mary dies two years later at 17, but it doesn't shed much light on what she did until then, which I found disappointing.
Who is Mary, really? I finished this book, and it's the first one where I don't have a strong sense of who she was and what she wanted from life. Sure, she dies young, but there could have been more indicators, especially after the parents die, and her original purpose in coming to America has to change. Also . . . Mary is kind of mean. Her sister Kate probably was really annoying, but there seems like an unnecessary amount of vitriol for her. Similarly, Mary hates Clarissa (scalped girl) from the get-go, despite the fact that she didn't really do anything? Later, she makes horrendous, racist comments, but until then, it all just reads as over-the-top.
Dead Parent Count: 2. Thanks potato blight!
Bonus Deaths: People on the boat die, there's the weird thing with the teacher???, and of course, we know all about Scalp girl.
mcchancey's review against another edition
2.0
I like most of the Dear America books that I have read, but this one is not very good. The story is interesting, but the way in which this story in particular is written is choppy and does not flow well. The ending is much too sudden, and the epilogue in impersonal and disappointing.
biblio_reckah's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
A re-read for a book challenge. I loved it as a kid, not so much now.