So Far From Home: The Diary of Mary Driscoll, An Irish Mill Girl, Lowell, Massachusetts, 1847 (Dear America Series) [Library Binding]

Barry Denenberg (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 9 and up

Critically acclaimed author Barry Denenberg turns a sharp eye on life for a young Irish immigrant at the Lowell Mill.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-8. The story of 14-year-old Mary Driscoll's escape from the famine in her native County Cork, Ireland, and her new life working in a textile mill in Lowell, MA, is presented in brief diary entries dated from April to November 1847. The purpose of using a diary format seems to be to allow enough white space on the page to keep readers from being daunted by the flat language and plodding plot. The author uses expressions and Irish-like syntax to give the effect of an Irish's girl's language. Unfortunately, the effort does not convey the rhythm of Irish speech. Despite the book's shortcomings, it is chock-full o' historical facts and background. Denenberg works in the natural and political causes of the Irish potato famine, the dangers and discomforts of overseas passage, and class differences in 1840s America, among other themes. An appendix includes more historical information, such as a popular song of the day and pictures of the architecture and fashions.?Rebecca O'Connell, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Library Binding: 170 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic Inc. (October 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0590926675
• ISBN-13: 978-0590926676
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (53 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #614,747 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Real life in 1847, January 25, 2001

By 

Kurt A. Johnson (North-Central Illinois, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: So Far From Home: The Diary of Mary Driscoll, An Irish Mill Girl, Lowell, Massachusetts, 1847 (Dear America Series) (Library Binding)

This book is one of the Dear America Series, which is a collection of historical fiction books, written in the form of diaries of young girls living during different periods in American history. This book tells the story of Mary Driscoll, a young Irish girl who comes to America to escape the dreaded Potato Famine. It is Black '47, and Mary sees the death and social damage that the Great Hunger is inflicting on her country. She then experiences emigration to America, with all of its hazards, and gets a job in a pre-safety laws textile mill.

This book is not for one wanting happy stories and happy endings. Holding back no punches, it portrays mid-Nineteenth Century life is all of its unvarnished actuality. Containing no sex or unnecessary violence, it is suitable for young readers, the 9-12 category probably being just right. I would recommend it for any reader, young or old, who wants a short, truthful look at life in 1847.

By the way, the hardcover binding is of top-notch quality, and the attached bookmarker ribbon makes reading this book a real pleasure.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Irish girl comes to America seeking a better life., August 4, 2000

By 

Rebecca Herman (USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: So Far From Home: The Diary of Mary Driscoll, An Irish Mill Girl, Lowell, Massachusetts, 1847 (Dear America Series) (Library Binding)

Fourteen-year-old Mary Driscoll and her family have lived in terrible poverty in the Irish countryside every since the potato famine began several years ago. When Mary is offered a chance to join her aunt and older sister in America, the land of opportunity, she jumps at the chance to seek a better life for herself. But after a long, stormy, and miserable ocean voyage, Mary arrives in America to find that it is nothing like she expected. She takes a job in a textile mill in Lowell, Massachusetts, where she is scorned by most of the American workers and expected to work long hours under terrible, unsafe conditions. There are few bright spots in this account of the life faced by many girls in New England cities during the mid-nineteenth century, and most of what happened to the fictional character of Mary happened to various girls who lived back then and worked in factories and mills. I would reccomend this to readers interested in this particular time period in history, or to those readers who are fans of the Dear America series.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 2 thumbs up!, November 13, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: So Far From Home: The Diary of Mary Driscoll, An Irish Mill Girl, Lowell, Massachusetts, 1847 (Dear America Series) (Library Binding)

I love this book!It gave me a true understanding of the Irish.My father is Irish and so is my grandfather.My grandmother told me alot about what had happen to the Irish.I was amazed!I learned that Mary would miss her Mureen and may never see her and her parents again.I highly recomend this to all people who like the Dear America books and who are IRISH!