It was okay for what it was.

An interesting read. The books tells much about the life of that time, the working conditions in cotton mills and the conflict between owners and workers. I also enjoyed the story. ( )

Ugh. Stilted and trite with only the setting and the "bones" of history to make it vaguely interesting. I almost bailed on this after 2 sections, but then it morphed into a murder-mystery and I got hooked again, only to be disappointed by the end. It is 1823 or thereabouts, in Lowell, MA and plucky heroine Alice Barrow has just shown up in town to become a mill girl. This is the historic framework the author has chosen for a typical, no-surprises story. Alice has left the farm behind with her jaw set and her head high to start a new life and make money for herself and determine her own future. At her boarding house, she quickly befriends Lovey, Jane, Tilda, Mary O. and others who have the same plans. It's like the author did some cursory research as an outline and then colored it in with typical romance shades. The conditions are terrible, and this is illustrated with little anecdotes of their work days, like the time Delia got her hair caught in the machine, or how Tilda ended up with "Mill lung" the cotton fibers essentially suffocating her. But Alice is a plucky heroine, so she stands up to the factory owner, Hiram Fisk and thereby catches the eye of his handsome son, Samuel who suddenly develops a conscience and a bent for social justice. But they are not destined to be together because their lives are too different! But headstrong Granny dispenses unconventional wisdom to Samuel to follow his heart. Meanwhile, as I said a murder mystery enters the picture. Somehow the Methodists are tied up in this -- another historical tidbit that doesn't present well when fictionalized. It's the Second Great Awakening, but is reduced to tent revivals with a sinister air that cause suspicion among the New England WASPS. You can guess the ending without even having to read. The rest is incidental anyway. Skip! ( )

Working as a mill girl offered women unprecedented freedom, but had terrible downsides. The work could be deadly and mill girls weren’t really part of their communities. The official search for justice for Alice’s friend devolves into a power play/blame game- wealth vs. religion, rich vs. poor. The characters are well developed and heartbreaking. Alice’s cynical dreamer friend Lovey, a company doctor with a cautious conscience, and others leave an impression. Alice’s and Samuel’s developing connection is sweet but tense with the weights of conflicting loyalties. The ending was thought provoking because I had mixed feelings about it and then pondered it.

When Alice arrives in Lowell in 1832, she's left her family's farm behind and dreams of making a new life for herself in the mills. When she arrives at the dormitory, Lovey and the other girls take her under their wing and she soon starts to see the harsh conditions, long hours, and dangerous work they do on the looms. Meanwhile, the owner, Hiram Fiske, is most worried about the bottom line. His son Samuel, however, sees the value in making changes and may have a bit of an interest in Alice herself. Then one of the mill girls is murdered, and the careful balance of power at the factory may shift dramatically.

There were aspects of this that were well done and interesting explorations in power struggles between mill owners, religious leaders, and the workers themselves but I kept wanting more somehow. Alice was a likable enough character, but I never quite "got" how she and Lovey became friends. The author tells more than shows, so I often reacted with a "But why?" when I was told a character felt a certain way, for example. Details about mill work were inserted somewhat awkwardly in conversation at times, as if the author wanted the readers to know a certain list of things but then get on with the story she wanted to tell. I was interested knowing that this was based on a true story - an actual murder trial that occurred in a mill town - and would have liked to have more information in the author's note at the back, which gave very little additional information and no bibliography. ( )