Uprising by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Genre: Historical Fiction

Publishing year: 2007

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Rating: 4/5

Synopsis:

In 1911, a fire broke out at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York City, and took the lives of 146 immigrant workers. This novel is told in alternating points of view and explores the lives of Bella, Yetta, and Jane. Bella is an Italian immigrant who comes to America in order to provide for her family that is still in Italy. Yetta is a Russian immigrant who has been in America longer than Bella and is a crusader for labor rights. Jane is the daughter of a wealthy businessman who feels stifled in her sheltered lifestyle. Both Yetta and Bella know each other from working at Triangle and while picketing Yetta meets Jane, and the three girls quickly become fast friends. On March 25, 1911 the day of the fire, all three are in the factory.

Review:

Haddix happens to be one of my favorite young adult authors. I grew up with the Shadow Children series and I’ve loved every standalone novel she has published including this one. Always a history buff, I’ve taken to historical fiction with fervor. Uprising does more than spew facts in a dry fashion or simply use the history as a background for a simple plot. The characters are well rounded, each has clearly defined goals and motivations and we see conflict throughout the story. Bella, Jane, and Yetta breathe life into this slice of American history and through the eyes of Bella and Yetta, we see what life as an immigrant was like in the early 1900s. It wasn’t easy learning to speak English, and on a humorous note Bella actually learns bits of Yiddish believing it to be English.

We see the struggle of living in poorly kept and overcrowded conditions. Before modern labor laws, employers could treat their employees like dirt without fearing retribution. Workers endure long hours for poor pay and often times they would be forced to work extra hours without any pay. At some point, each worker has been cheated and this spurns Yetta to encourage a strike and her determination is admirable. She marches in extreme cold, trying to draw attention to her cause and even when faced with police brutality she doesn’t waiver.

Bella sees everything in America as something new and unusual. She comes from a rural part of Italy and is shocked at the sheer amount of people capable of squeezing onto the streets of New York. She suffers without complaint the harsh conditions of factory life believing that it will save her family. When tragedy strikes, Bella joins Yetta in the picket lines.

Jane is born to a wealthy family and while she seems much more naïve than the others do, she shows the most change by the end of the story. She leaves her father’s house, unable to live with a man who opposes both the labor movement and women’s suffrage.

From the very beginning, we know two of the girls will perish in the fire, and one will live to be interrogated by Harriet, one of the daughters of a co-owner of the Triangle Waist Company. This woman, identified as Mrs. Livingston, is a mystery until the end of the book. Who will make it out alive? Will it be Yetta, who is slowly warming up to Jacob, a fellow worker at Triangle? Maybe Bella, who is slowly making a new life for herself in America or perhaps Jane, will come out unscathed and much wiser for the experience.

For me it was unusual not to guess the ending of a book, midway through. Lately books have been so predictable that this one took me by surprise. It was impossible for me to guess which one of the girls would live to become Mrs. Livingston and I think a large part of the reason I like this novel so much is the clever maneuverings of Haddix as she writes the tragic endings of two of our main characters. Right up to the last moment of each, I believed they would be the one to survive.

I would have given this book 5 out of 5, but I do think it would have added to the story if life after the fire had been addressed in more detail. Nightmares are mentioned along with reactions to newspaper articles and media attention in the aftermath but I think it could have been elaborated on.

Question: Do you enjoy historical fiction? Why or why not?