It's 1910, and thirteen-year-old Raisa has just traveled alone from a small Polish shtetl all the way to New York City. It's overwhelming, awe-inspiring, and even dangerous, especially when she discovers that her sister has disappeared and she must now fend for herself. She finds work in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory sewing bodices on the popular shirtwaists. Raisa makes friends and even — dare she admit it? — falls in love.
But then 1911 dawns, and one March day a spark ignites in the factory. One of the city's most harrowing tragedies unfolds, and Raisa's life is forever changed... One hundred years after the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire, this moving young adult novel gives life to the tragedy and hope of this transformative event in American history.
"Raisa's overwhelming loneliness as she tries to adjust and find her sister permeates the story. The frustration she feels and the seemingly insurmountable challenge of succeeding spills dramatically from the pages despite some contrived twists and turns.... This would be a fine companion to Margaret Peterson Haddix's Uprising and Mary Jane Auch's Ashes of Roses." — School Library Journal
"Friesner’s sparkling prose makes the immigrant experience in New York’s Lower East Side come alive.... The devastating Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire tragedy resonates heartbreakingly, and although the happy ending is contrived, readers will turn the pages with rapt attention to follow the characters’ intrepid, risk-all adventures in building new lives. " — Booklist
Recommended Age | 10 and up |
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Author | Esther Friesner |
ISBN | 0670012459 |
Publication Date | Nov 24, 2010 |
Publisher | Viking Juvenile |
Language | English |