1870: Not With Our Blood: A Novel of the Irish in America (Young Founders) [Paperback]

Elizabeth Massie (Author)

Book Description

Series: Young Founders | Publication Date: March 15, 2000

America as seen through the eyes of its young founders.

Seventeen-year-old Patrick O'Neall dreams of going to college one day and becoming a famous writer--until news arrives of his father's death in a place called Gettysburg. Forced off their farm, the family migrates north, hoping to find work in the booming mill towns of industrial New England. What they find in the factory town of Leeland is not a better life, but drudgery and poverty and heartache. Patrick and his family must work long hours in dangerous conditions for miserable pay. They are no better off than slaves.

Patrick's friend has found a shortcut to the good life: robbing the wealthy mill owners. And he wants Patrick to join his gang.

Patrick must choose. He wants to believe in America as the land of opportunity, but is the price of his dream too high?

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 8 Up-After his father's death at Gettysburg, Patrick O'Neill's mother moves the family to New Jersey and then to Leland, MA, to work in the mills. Patrick dreams of going to college and becoming a writer and feels stifled by the oppressiveness of factory work and poverty. When a fellow worker is crippled on the job, he discovers The Worker's Voice (writers needed), but it is not until his sister Abigail is killed in a mill accident that he decides to fulfill his desire to write for the newspaper. The story is filled with inconsistencies, both in detail and in character. In the first chapter, Patrick is 8, but by the third-a year and a half later-he is 12. The story also has far too many coincidences. Even Abigail's death conspires to get Patrick closer to his dream. Overall, Massie tries to do too much, covering conditions in the United States after the Civil War, the dangers of millwork, and the prejudice encountered by immigrants. Readers would be better served by Katherine Paterson's Lyddie (Lodestar, 1991) or James Collier's The Clock (Dell, 1994).
Lisa Prolman, Greenfield Public Library, MA
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"Massie's sharp observations and eye for detail bring her characters to life and lend credence to the unfamiliar surrounding." Publishers Weekly on Sineater

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 13 and up
  
• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Tor Teen; 1st edition (March 15, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812590929
• ISBN-13: 978-0812590920
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,108,317 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Buy it - Read it!, July 12, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: 1870: Not With Our Blood: A Novel of the Irish in America (Young Founders) (Paperback)

This was a wonderful book that I would recommend to any reader interested in a good story and lots of details about life in a mill town after the Civil War. The characters are true-to-life and sympathetic; I cheered for them and hurt for them, especially James, the main character...Don't miss this one!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great story! Read this one!, July 12, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: 1870: Not With Our Blood: A Novel of the Irish in America (Young Founders) (Paperback)

This was a great book about a teenager named Patrick O'neill and his family which is a brother and sister and mother, who move to a town in New England after the Civil War. They get a job in a textile mill even though Patrick wants to be a writer. It was exciting and scary and sometimes funny. It was cool and creepy to see how dangerous the mill was and about street gangs way back in 1870. Patrick was a great character who I wanted to do the right thing! The Clatterbuck girl was so nasty! I wanted it to go on longer to find out what would happen next. Everybody should read this book! Don't take my word for it get it now!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Yet Depressing for Children, May 23, 2007

By 

RincuBuS "Cornelius" (Carbondale, IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 1870: Not With Our Blood: A Novel of the Irish in America (Young Founders) (Paperback)

I had read this book for a class in which I had to read 30 children's stories; two were to be historical fiction, which is where I place this one. This book was a typical Irish story about a boy who has to take care of his family after his father is killed in the Civil War. He is second generation and this book pretty accurately portrays how hate filled and prejudice people were towards immigrants, but specifically the Irish. This is a good story for classes dealing with immigration, life after the Civil War, and early prejudices of American History. See also this book for 19th century immigration, again specifically Irish immigration. Journey of Hope: The Story of Irish Immigration to America