The Girl in the Triangle by Joyana Peters ~ a Review

by Susan Roberts

The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, on March 25, 1911, was the deadliest industrial disaster in the history of the city, and one of the deadliest in U.S. history.

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June 2021; Amaryllis Press; 978-1736937303
ebook, print (351 pages); historical fiction

I read about the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire in history class - years ago - but The Girl in the Triangle makes it all very real and even more tragic.  This is Joyana Peters's debut novel, and not only is it well researched but the characters are well written and many of them are based on real people.

It's 1909 when Ruth, her mother, and sister arrived in New York City to reunite with their father and Ruth's fiancé.  It had been four long years since the men left Russia to go to America and find jobs so that they could bring the rest of their family.  For Ruth, it's been a long time since she's seen Abraham, and she is worried whether he will still love her or if America has changed him.  He worked at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory and she soon goes to work there to help her family.  She soon makes new friends and gets involved in the strike for better working conditions.  Her new life creates problems with her sister and Abraham.  After so many years in Russia, she feels that she can finally work to make changes - and she wants those changes NOW.

This fast-paced novel is about love in a family no matter the circumstances.  It's also about the lives of immigrants, the fight for rights for women and the working class, and the corruption of the rich that make more money by the terrible working conditions in their factories. There is another theme about the need to keep parts of your culture intact when you move to a new country.  Many of the immigrants left their old customs behind as they began to Americanize their lives.    

The author told the story in chronological order and started each chapter with how many days it was until the fire which increased the apprehension to find out if any of the characters survived. This debut novel was so well written that I'm looking forward to future books from this author.

Buy The Girl in the Triangle at Amazon

(the ebook is a free read for Kindle Unlimited subscribers)

Susan Roberts lives in North Carolina with her husband of over 50 years.  She grew up in Michigan but now calls North Carolina home. Since her travel plans had to be canceled for this year, she is starting to make plans for travel in 2021. She reads almost anything (and the piles of books in her house prove that) but her favorite genres are Southern fiction, women's fiction, and historical fiction. Susan is a top 1% Goodreads Reviewer. You can connect with Susan on Facebook, Goodreads, or Twitter.

 

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