Uprising (book review)

Uprising, by Margaret Peterson Haddix, is the story of the Triangle Shirtwaist fire in New York City. The book alternates between the points of view of three girls. Bella is an immigrant who has just arrived in a strange new land. She's relieved when her cousin gets her a job right away at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory. Yetta is a Russian Triangle worker fighting for union rights. And Jane is a wealthy society girl who's run away from home to escape her oppressive father. When the three girls meet, they form an unbreakable bond, deciding that whatever happens, they will go through it together. And indeed they do. On March 25, 1911, when Bella and Yetta are working and Jane is visiting, a spark ignites a piece of cloth and soon the whole factory is ablaze. All three girls show remarkable courage and bravery, fighting for the lives of the other workers-and meanwhile two of them will lose theirs in the process.

This was really an amazing book. It was historical fiction, but although the three protagonists were fictional many of the events that happened in the book, including, of course, the fire, are real. I could hardly put the story down, it was so good. It may just be the best historical fiction book I have ever read!