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heykellyjensen 's review for:
The Factory Girls: A Kaleidoscopic Account of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire
by Christine Seifert
This YA nonfiction read is well-organized and crafted and offers insight not only into the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory disaster -- something YA has a couple of nonfiction titles covering -- but it also looks at the political, social, and economical factors at the time which contributed to it. It really is a kaleidoscopic account and gave some fascinating insight into the ways young girls protested for fair labor, the way certain rich women helped support these girls, and even why it was that the shirtwaist became such high fashion.
But what took this from being good to being quite good is that Seifert absolutely addresses race here. She notes more than once, and in a section dedicated to it, that racism was abound and that the bulk of the story here focuses on working class white women...and why that's the case. It's a nice balance, given that she spends a good amount of time talking, too, about Russian Jewish girls who were a good swath of the factory workers; these identities are all named and discussed. There was one part where Seifert mentions that young Cuban girls in Florida working in cigar factories having it far worse than the girls in NYC had it and now I really hope that there's a YA book that explores life as a young Cuban girl in Florida during this time of industrialization and growing wealth gaps.
Great for readers who like history, who are interested in girls doing things and being given credit for it, as well as those who want more insight into one of the worst tragedies in American history. This would pair well with FLESH AND BLOOD SO CHEAP, THREADS AND FLAMES, and AUDACITY -- there is a nice section here about Clara Lemlich.
My only minor complaint is, at times, the author's asides get annoying, rather than come off as clever as she hoped they would. But those are few and far between.
But what took this from being good to being quite good is that Seifert absolutely addresses race here. She notes more than once, and in a section dedicated to it, that racism was abound and that the bulk of the story here focuses on working class white women...and why that's the case. It's a nice balance, given that she spends a good amount of time talking, too, about Russian Jewish girls who were a good swath of the factory workers; these identities are all named and discussed. There was one part where Seifert mentions that young Cuban girls in Florida working in cigar factories having it far worse than the girls in NYC had it and now I really hope that there's a YA book that explores life as a young Cuban girl in Florida during this time of industrialization and growing wealth gaps.
Great for readers who like history, who are interested in girls doing things and being given credit for it, as well as those who want more insight into one of the worst tragedies in American history. This would pair well with FLESH AND BLOOD SO CHEAP, THREADS AND FLAMES, and AUDACITY -- there is a nice section here about Clara Lemlich.
My only minor complaint is, at times, the author's asides get annoying, rather than come off as clever as she hoped they would. But those are few and far between.