![]() ![]() Emily is a clipper, working alongside girls her age, whose small, nimble fingers are considered useful by garment employers for performing delicate snipping tasks.Įmily discovers that, unlike herself, many factory girls do not have origins in the British Isles. ![]() When Emily is hired at the Acne Garment Factory, she meets men and women on the assembly line making "shirtwaists" (women's blouses) and other clothing for retail stores such as Eaton's. Ernie becomes a street scavenger and Emily reluctantly leaves school too, though her teacher, Miss Henderson, will support Emily throughout the ordeals to come. The two eldest of the four Watson children are forced to find work. The father, who is working elsewhere in Ontario, has stopped sending paycheques to his wife for an unknown reason (disclosed in the closing chapter). The Watson family's troubles begin as the story opens in 1912. And like in any story told simply and directly, author Barbara Greenwood's blend of fiction, fact and actual photographs of young labourers powerfully illuminates society's capacity to exploit the most vulnerable among us. Alternating chapters explain the true facts behind the lives of working children. But would it hurt to smile?" So began the first day of solemn work, almost a century ago, for 12-year-old Emily Watson, who was learning lessons in a Toronto garment factory instead of a Grade 4 classroom.īut Factory Girl, aimed at readers aged 10 and older, is more than an engaging historic tale. It artfully and appropriately tells the story without sugar-coating the gruesome details."So there Emily had stood ever since, shoulder to shoulder with the girls on either side, part of a group of eight around the table, snipping, snipping, snipping, absolutely mute. This book does an amazing job of detailing what it's like in these kinds of environment. I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone younger because there are a few parts where sexual assault is mentioned and takes place. ![]() I would recommend this book for anyone aged 12 or over. I'll leave the rest of the book for you to discover. But when tragedy strikes the girls are forced to continue working despite their sadness. They are essentially slaves with minimum pay. The girls are forced to work impossibly hard hours in terrible conditions. So fast forward a few chapters and you'll find Roshen and her newfound friends enduring the harsh and strenuous conditions of their factory. They all then make the journey to the bustling city where they'll be working. She starts her journey in a cramped and crowded van amongst 12 other Uyghur girls. Roshen’s story starts in her hometown where she learns that the Chinese government is sending her away to the workforce. I'm going to skip some of the un-important details while summarizing this story. The main character (Roshen) lives in the Uyghur region of Central Asia. This book is an emotional, breathtaking, harrowing tale of one young woman’s fight for survival and sanity in a Chinese labor factory. The ending of this book was confusing and anticlimactic, however it does bring closure to the story so it's not as awful as a book with no closure. The only reason it didn't get five stars was because it had a bad ending. I loved this book! It was amazing! I gave it 4.5/5 stars. Hello Readers, this is a review for the book Factory Girl by Josanne LaValley.
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