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Ashes of Roses
De MJ Auch
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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?
Actions du livre
Commencer à lireInformations sur le livre
Ashes of Roses
De MJ Auch
Description
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?
À propos de l'auteur
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Avis
One of my favorite books ever. Tells the story of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire and how the women who lost their lives in that factory helped to create workplace safety laws in the 1900's. Some information is graphic during the fire scenes, so just use caution when sharing with students and leave room for discussion.
Rating: 5I would have liked to give this 3 1/2 stars, but unfortunately that is not possible on this site.
The story moved quickly and was interesting. I just wish there had been more about the tragedy of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire and it's aftermath. If so, I would have given it even more stars. The cover of the book shows an old photograph of the factory, which, along with the title, led me to believe the story of the fire would be a greater part of the story. However, the main character, Rose, does not even begin to walk to her first day of work at the factory until the chapter beginning on page 154 in a 250 page book!
When I read historical fiction, I hope to learn something about a time period/event in history while enjoying the plot of a good fictional story at the same time. I was able to do that with this book, but the reader has to wait until more than halfway through the book to get to the fire at the factory. The first half of the book was interesting though, and through Rose, the reader learns what is what like to enter America through Ellis Island and try to live (particularly as an immigrant) in the bustling city of New York in the early 1900s.
It is evident that the author did her research on life in New York in 1911 and the fire itself through her descriptions of certain scenes throughout the story. An early traumatic scene in a sweatshop is described vividly and the whole part of the story dealing with the fire and it's aftermath is heart wrenchingly realistic.
I would recommend this book to those interested in this time period of American history, or Irish immigration to NYC. I chose this book since I couldn't find any adult historical fiction on the Shirtwaist Factory fire (a problem I also had when searching for a book on the Navajo Code Talkers of WWII, and found a good YA book for that). While it took more than half of the story for Rose to even start working at the factory (deplorable working conditions), I did still find the book worth the read and enjoyable.
Rating: 3The story moved quickly and was interesting. I just wish there had been more about the tragedy of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire and it's aftermath. If so, I would have given it even more stars. The cover of the book shows an old photograph of the factory, which, along with the title, led me to believe the story of the fire would be a greater part of the story. However, the main character, Rose, does not even begin to walk to her first day of work at the factory until the chapter beginning on page 154 in a 250 page book!
When I read historical fiction, I hope to learn something about a time period/event in history while enjoying the plot of a good fictional story at the same time. I was able to do that with this book, but the reader has to wait until more than halfway through the book to get to the fire at the factory. The first half of the book was interesting though, and through Rose, the reader learns what is what like to enter America through Ellis Island and try to live (particularly as an immigrant) in the bustling city of New York in the early 1900s.
It is evident that the author did her research on life in New York in 1911 and the fire itself through her descriptions of certain scenes throughout the story. An early traumatic scene in a sweatshop is described vividly and the whole part of the story dealing with the fire and it's aftermath is heart wrenchingly realistic.
I would recommend this book to those interested in this time period of American history, or Irish immigration to NYC. I chose this book since I couldn't find any adult historical fiction on the Shirtwaist Factory fire (a problem I also had when searching for a book on the Navajo Code Talkers of WWII, and found a good YA book for that). While it took more than half of the story for Rose to even start working at the factory (deplorable working conditions), I did still find the book worth the read and enjoyable.
If this were classified as a Young Reader book I would have given it four stars. It is classified as YA as a bookseller, I am leery about suggesting this to a teen. While it is a great story, I feel it is not "meaty" enough for a teen reader. That being said, this is such a tragic story and it's ramifications brought changes to the work force. It's a good story for girl power. Gussie fought for better working conditions no matter what the other girls were saying about her. Then after the tragedy, Rose followed in those footsteps. Rose and Maureen show such bravery and strength. A good empowerment story for young girls, but teens?
Rating: 3This was a little slower than the other books I have read this summer, but was a necessary pace to set up the story and introduce the reader properly to the characters. I felt both compassion and disdain for them, and by the end of the book, found it to be a satisfying read. A good young adult book.
Rating: 3Sad, enlightening, amazing. An Irish girls struggle to survive and thrive in America's Industrial Revolution. I read it more than once as a young teen.
Rating: 4Ashes of Roses is the color of Rose's best dress, stitched by her own mother, before the family left Ireland to immigrate to America in 1911. Finally arrived at Ellis Island, baby Joseph is rejected because of an eye infection, and Da must take him back home to Limerick. They cannot all afford the travel back, so Ma and the three girls make their way to the home of Da's brother. There they find a cold welcome from his wife and her daughters. When things come to a head, Uncle Patrick purchases tickets for the four of them to return to Ireland. At the pier, Rose, 16, asserts her young adult-hood and her mother finally bows to her oldest child's desire to become an American. Her headstrong second daughter, Maureen, 12, wins her way as well, and Ma, with her remaining child, a toddler, get on board. The girls find a room for rent with a Russian Jewish family. Gussie takes Rose under her wing and finds her a job where she works, at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory. There Rose makes other new friends, two other Roses among them. The Roses take their lunches together, and with them, Maureen and Rose see their first moving picture at the nickelodeon. Waiting in line for the elevator, as she leaves work with her first pay, there are screams of 'fire'. The horrors of the disaster at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory on March 25, 1911, are handled well; not too gory for the young reader, yet with a solidly rendered impact of the catastrophe and the causes of it. The issue of unions is discussed via the character of Gussie, who is trying to better working conditions in these sweatshops. Homesickness, split families, immigration, the daily workings of the sewing trade, and of Ellis Island all figure in this story. The author lists some of her sources in her 'Author's Note', including online resources. Even though this is a young adult book, having everything falling into place for the girls in finding a room, food, and jobs, didn't feel 'real', when history shows that much of the immigrant experience did not go so smoothly. All-in-all, though, I found this book to be a good introduction to the subject for the young reader.
Rating: 4Excellent book that details the events surrounding the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire in New York, 1911. The story is told through the eyes of Rose, a newly arrived Irish teenager and her journey to find work to support herself and younger sister. The hardships of immigrants coming to America are a focus of the first third of the book which includes the ship voyage, the Ellis Island process, and the first impressions of being in America. The second part of the book deals with Roses search for a job, being seen as a greenhorn by other immigrants, and finding a way to survive in the big city. The last part of the book details the workers and conditions of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory and the results of the tragic fire which claimed 146 lives. The book is well researched and is written in an easy to read language. The disaster is explained in detail without being too graphic, still some may find it hard to read if they are sensitive to such details. Would make a great book for a discussion group.
Rating: 5Ashes of Roses is a heartbreaking tale of the struggles many americans faced as they immigrated to America in the early 1900s. The story focuses on a family on Irish immigrants and the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire. A great book to read when studying about labor laws or immigration.
Rating: 4The Nolan family travel from Ireland to America for a better life. But baby Joseph didn’t pass the eye exam, so Joseph and his father head back for their homeland. The Nolan women are to stay at their Uncle Patrick’s home until the rest of their family is to return back to America. Margaret, the mother is very unhappy with how their life is so far in America compared to the life they had in Ireland and wishes to go home. Rose and Maureen, the two eldest of Margaret’s daughters, plead their mother to let them stay in America; their mother agrees. Rose and Maureen find a place to rent with a Jewish man and his daughter Gussie as their landlords. Gussie befriends the two Nolan sisters and helps them find a job at the Triangle Shirtwaist Company. On March 25, 1911 a terrible fire broke out at the Triangle Shirtwaist Company. It brought 146 people to their death by either jumping out of the building’s windows or by burning to death because all of the buildings doors were locked. Rose and Maureen survived the fire, but Gussie and their others friends did not. It was after surviving that tragedy that Rose decided to fight for union rights and labor laws.The piece of history this book focuses on I found very interesting when my history class last semester discussed it and couldn’t wait to read this book. The story was very compelling and even made me cry towards the end.Extension Ideas1. Discuss how the immigration laws have changed over the course of the United States and why.2. Discuss the Women’s Movement.
Rating: 5This is one of my favorite books! It is well constructed through-out the entire story, with vivid storytelling and endearing, realistic characters. It portrays the commonly told struggle of Irish-American immigrants in a fresh, engaging way.However, it is not until the last few chapters of this book - the climax - that you see how amazing of an author Mary Jane Auch can be. She writes with such tragic power and raw emotion that I could not stop crying reading this book.To this day, it remains the one fictional novel that moved me so extremely. A sad, powerful, and deeply written book that is one of my favorites.Excellent book!
Rating: 5I had to read this book for History, and I thought 'Oh, this is goind to be boring.' But instead I open the book and find an interesting story waiting in the pages. The telling of the crisis, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in New York is so creative, through a young Irish immigrant girl, and the tale of her working at the Factory.
Rating: 3This work of historical fiction is aimed at the middle grades. Follow Rose as she emigrates from Ireland and ends up working at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York City. This novel portrays the struggles faced by immigrants in the early twentieth century.
Rating: 4This is one of my favorite books ever! It was well written, and always interesting. The plot was never expected, it kept me guessing. There is not a boring page in this book.
Rating: 5