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kathryneh's review
3.0
This story was chock full of history. The copper industry was no different than any other company that mistreated its employees and made huge profits because of their poorly paid employees. This book lacked much of a background story for me. The fiction part didn't pull me as other historical fiction does. A good book, just not a favorite.
jennyyates's review
3.0
This novel centers on Annie Clement, union organizer. She was a brave woman, living in an exciting time. Mother Jones and Ella Bloor also make appearances, as the book takes us through the strike at the copper mines in Michigan in 1913.
The author doesn’t change the main shape of Annie Clement’s life, but she invents other characters, moves things around, and even gives Annie an illicit romance. However Eva, a younger and wholly fictional character, often seems more real, and her story has a better narrative form.
The villain is James McNaughton, the manager of the copper mine, and he was a real person, but he comes off as rather cardboard in this novel. He’s just so cold and selfish, and yet he doesn’t suffer the fate of most villains in melodramas. In one scene, all his household help leave him, and he burns himself in the kitchen, but this doesn’t seem nearly satisfying enough a retribution.
And the author can’t do anything about the sad events which ended the strike. It’s a dramatic, informative, troubling book, flawed as fiction but still worth reading.
The author doesn’t change the main shape of Annie Clement’s life, but she invents other characters, moves things around, and even gives Annie an illicit romance. However Eva, a younger and wholly fictional character, often seems more real, and her story has a better narrative form.
The villain is James McNaughton, the manager of the copper mine, and he was a real person, but he comes off as rather cardboard in this novel. He’s just so cold and selfish, and yet he doesn’t suffer the fate of most villains in melodramas. In one scene, all his household help leave him, and he burns himself in the kitchen, but this doesn’t seem nearly satisfying enough a retribution.
And the author can’t do anything about the sad events which ended the strike. It’s a dramatic, informative, troubling book, flawed as fiction but still worth reading.
bforbes987's review
3.0
I think this historical novel would be an excellent addition to a high school reading list. In the stone age, we read The Jungle, but this retelling of a Michigan miners strike includes the women who were instrumental in organizing the strike.
missywhidden's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
janegonz's review
dark
emotional
informative
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0