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A review by alexblackreads
So Far From Home: the Diary of Mary Driscoll, an Irish Mill Girl, Lowell, Massachusetts, 1847 by Barry Denenberg
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.