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iamnotamerryman's review against another edition
2.0
Interesting because of the history about the mill strike, but I never really cared for either of the main characters. It was kind of a chore to read. I was surprised because I loved this author's other book "Jacob Have I Loved."
ceekay2020's review
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
tanyxscreams's review against another edition
3.0
This is a good book for late elementary or middle school students learning about the industrial revolution. There's mention of death and police brutality but never goes into graphic detail. This focuses on the children of the revolution who were sent away for better care during the Bread and Roses strike.
maidmarianlib's review
4.0
Beautifully told story of the 1912 Labor strikes. Great characters with just enough history added. Told from two viewpoints, boy and girl, so it would be equally appealing.
jomarch436's review against another edition
2.0
I really liked the older couple. Other than that, it wasn't that interesting.
lvandyk's review against another edition
2.0
I guess I expect more from Paterson. The characters were flat and the story was almost boring.
libby_merk's review
1.0
I hadn't put down that I actually finished this book months ago- oops. But it honestly might have taken me that long if it weren't a book I had to read for school.
The characterization in this book was pretty awful. Rosa was also a very flat character, who didn't interest me at all. She felt like a Mary Sue, where her one flaw was… I don't know, wanting to keep her family safe? Is that even a flaw?
Jake was the only person in this book worth reading about- it's a shame that a good two thirds of the book were taken up by Rosa's constant worrying and idiocy. I'd bump my rating up a few stars if we got more about Jake's actual moral and psychological dilemmas, but instead we got Rosa whining about her uneducated family fighting for their rights.
Now, the plot. Oh, boy. It was so incredibly repetitive. Incredibly so. So awful. Too much repetition. No, honestly. It was as repetitive as this paragraph has been over the past couple of sentences. It was agonizing, hearing Rosa's constantly fuss over the existence of the picket lines. She doesn't like her family being there. And, as a result, the reader gets to hear about that for two thirds of the book. And, even though I didn't hate Jake at all, it was irritating to just watch him continuously go through the motions of the picket lines, when all I wanted was a bit more of his internal character. "Wait," you say. "When you picked up this book, didn't you expect there to be a lot about the picket lines? What did you think would be in a book about the Bread and Roses Strike?"
Honestly? I read the blurb, I read the back, and I more or less thought it was going to be about the experiences of two children getting sent to Vermont to get away from the strikes. I thought it would be about their lives there, and how they coped with being stuck away from their city. I thought we'd see Jake and Rosa bond over their time spend there. Boy, was I wrong. Two thirds of this book was spent back in Lawerence, and a good two thirds of THAT chunk was spent hearing about Rosa's miserable, educated life. When I finally got to see them head to Vermont, it was, again, a let down. I got to read about Rosa being super pretentious, with a small piece about Jake growing as a person. And then, there's no great conclusion. It was just… awful. In every way. Please, save yourself some time and don't read this monstrosity.
The characterization in this book was pretty awful. Rosa was also a very flat character, who didn't interest me at all. She felt like a Mary Sue, where her one flaw was… I don't know, wanting to keep her family safe? Is that even a flaw?
Jake was the only person in this book worth reading about- it's a shame that a good two thirds of the book were taken up by Rosa's constant worrying and idiocy. I'd bump my rating up a few stars if we got more about Jake's actual moral and psychological dilemmas, but instead we got Rosa whining about her uneducated family fighting for their rights.
Now, the plot. Oh, boy. It was so incredibly repetitive. Incredibly so. So awful. Too much repetition. No, honestly. It was as repetitive as this paragraph has been over the past couple of sentences. It was agonizing, hearing Rosa's constantly fuss over the existence of the picket lines. She doesn't like her family being there. And, as a result, the reader gets to hear about that for two thirds of the book. And, even though I didn't hate Jake at all, it was irritating to just watch him continuously go through the motions of the picket lines, when all I wanted was a bit more of his internal character. "Wait," you say. "When you picked up this book, didn't you expect there to be a lot about the picket lines? What did you think would be in a book about the Bread and Roses Strike?"
Honestly? I read the blurb, I read the back, and I more or less thought it was going to be about the experiences of two children getting sent to Vermont to get away from the strikes. I thought it would be about their lives there, and how they coped with being stuck away from their city. I thought we'd see Jake and Rosa bond over their time spend there. Boy, was I wrong. Two thirds of this book was spent back in Lawerence, and a good two thirds of THAT chunk was spent hearing about Rosa's miserable, educated life. When I finally got to see them head to Vermont, it was, again, a let down. I got to read about Rosa being super pretentious, with a small piece about Jake growing as a person. And then, there's no great conclusion. It was just… awful. In every way. Please, save yourself some time and don't read this monstrosity.
audieverde's review against another edition
5.0
Many people who know union history have heard of the Bread and Roses strike, and may be aware of the urban legend stating that the name is derived from a photo where a woman in Lawrence, MA is holding a picket sign that says "We want bread, yes, and roses too..."
This book tells the fictional story of the family, and mainly the children, of the woman holding that sign. Paterson weaves accurate history into this fictional account by documenting the strike, those that were framed, the Wobblies role, Big Bill Haywood and Elizabeth Gurley Flynn's involvement -- and more importantly, the surrounding communities that took in the children and housed them as the strike wore on.
In this book we gain an insight to why people who were on the verge of starving chose to strike, how languages and ethnic tensions withered away in the name of solidarity, and how this strike of women, men and children reached international fame.
And at the core, it is the children's story, and their perspective.
This book tells the fictional story of the family, and mainly the children, of the woman holding that sign. Paterson weaves accurate history into this fictional account by documenting the strike, those that were framed, the Wobblies role, Big Bill Haywood and Elizabeth Gurley Flynn's involvement -- and more importantly, the surrounding communities that took in the children and housed them as the strike wore on.
In this book we gain an insight to why people who were on the verge of starving chose to strike, how languages and ethnic tensions withered away in the name of solidarity, and how this strike of women, men and children reached international fame.
And at the core, it is the children's story, and their perspective.
donifaber's review
5.0
This was such a poignant story, masterfully crafted. I didn't even realize some of the symbolism until the very end. I liked how there were two protagonists of varying difficulty in life and accompanying ethics, so that we could be sympathetic to one or the other or both by the end.