Factory Girl

By Greenwood, Barbara

Publishers Summary:
Twelve-year-old Emily Watson's story is a shocking, compassionate re-creation of daily life for the urban poor one hundred years ago. At the dingy, overcrowded Acme Garment Factory, Emily Watson stands for eleven hours a day clipping threads from blouses. Every time the boss passes, he shouts at her to snip faster. But if Emily snips too fast, she could ruin the garment and be docked pay. If she works too slowly, she will be fired. She desperately needs this job. Without the four dollars a week it brings, her family will starve. When a reporter arrives, determined to expose the terrible conditions in the factory, Emily finds herself caught between the desperate immigrant girls with whom she works and the hope of change. Then tragedy strikes, and Emily must decide where her loyalties lie. With Factory Girl, Barbara Greenwood returns to the unique hybrid of fact and fiction that earned her acclaim for The Last Safe House, A Pioneer Thanksgiving and others. The life of working children in North American cities in the early part of the twentieth century directly inspired young Emily's story. Her fictional experiences are interwoven with nonfiction sections describing family life in a slum, the fight to improve social conditions, the plight of working children then and now, and much more. Rarely seen archival photos accompany this story of the past as only Barbara Greenwood can tell it.

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ISBN
978-1-55337-649-1
Publisher
Kids Can Press


REVIEWS

School Library Journal

Reviewed on May 1, 2007

Gr 4-8 The year is 1912, and Emily Watson has every reason to hope that she will complete her 8th-grade education and enter one of the occupations newly opened to womenclerk, nurse, maybe even teacher. That is, until her fathers letters abruptly stop and her family is thrown into poverty. The 12-year-old is forced to seek employment in a sweatshop, snipping garment threads for four dollars a week. The work is bru...Log In or Sign Up to Read More

Horn Book Guide

Reviewed on January 1, 2007

Twelve-year-old garment worker Emily endures long hours and harsh conditions to help support her family in the early 1900s. The book's s...Log In or Sign Up to Read More

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