Synopses & Reviews
The honest and compelling story of a young girl's newfound independence, from her entrance into a new country to her frightening involvement in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire of 1911.My heart filled with fear and hope at the same time. I had the feeling that I was brought to America for a purpose. Something important would happen to me here.
I remembered the words of the poem, "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses . . ."
"Here we are, America," I whispered. "We're just exactly what you ordered."
When she arrives on Ellis Island as a seventeen-year-old Irish immigrant, Rose Nolan is looking for a land of opportunities; what she finds is far from all she'd dreamed. Stubborn and tenacious, she refuses to give up. Left alone to fend for herself and her younger sister, Rose is thrust into a hard-knock life of tenements and factory work.
When the devastating Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire of 1911 rushes into Rose's life, her confusions are brought to an all-too-painful head. To whom and to what can she turn when everything around her is in ashes?
Review
An ALA Best Book for Young Adults
A Booklist Top Ten Historical Fiction for Youth Pick
A Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People
"Fast-paced, populated by distinctive characters, and anchored in Auch's convincing sense of time and place." —School Library Journal
"Auch supplies vivid period detail and strong female characters. . . . Dear America graduates will be hooked." —Publishers Weekly
"The facts are riveting . . . the prejudice as well as the support the sisters get from other immigrants. . . . A good addition to women's history titles." —Booklist
Synopsis
When Rose Nolan arrives on Ellis Island as a seventeen-year-old Irish immigrant, she is looking for a land of opportunities; what she finds is far from all shed dreamed. Stubborn and tenacious, she refuses to give up. Left alone to fend for herself and her younger sister, Rose is thrust into a hard-knock life of tenements and factory work.
But even as she struggles, Rose finds small bright points in her new life—at the movies with her working friends and in the honest goals of her mentor, Gussie. Still, after her exhausting days as a working girl, Rose must face the confusion of balancing her need for simple fun with her more wary feelings about joining Gussie in her fight for better working conditions.
When the devastating Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire of 1911 rushes into Roses life, her confusions are brought to an all-too-painful head. To whom and to what can she turn when everything around her is in ashes?
Sharp, poignant, and stirringly real, MJ Auch has written a powerful historical novel that is hard to put down.
About the Author
MJ Auch is the award-winning author of One-Handed Catch, Ashes of Roses, Wing Nut, Guitar Boy, and numerous other books for young readers. She lives in upstate New York with her family.