Introduction

Young immigrants Rosie and Maria become friends during 1909's "Uprising of the 20,000" garment workers' strike, and are working at the Triangle Waist Company on March 25, 1911 when a discarded cigarette sets the factory ablaze. 146 people die that day, and even those who survive will be changed forever. A carefully-researched novel of tragedy and hope.

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Excerpt

Rosie
August 22, 1909
"Rosie Lehrer!"
Fear holds me still for a moment, then I realize that if I take too long, I might lose my chance. If I even have a chance.
My legs shaking so much I feel almost as though I'm still on the ship, I manage to walk forward to the girl, a little older than me, who called my name.
"I'm Cecilia Greenstone, Rosie, and this man here is your inspector," she says in Yiddish, gesturing to the stern-faced man in a black suit who sits, perched on a high stool, with one hand resting atop a messy stack of papers on a small desk before him. "I will be your interpreter. Unless you speak English?" ... view entire excerpt...

Discussion Questions

1. How much did you know about the Triangle Waist Company fire before reading this book? Did what you read fit in with what you knew before?

2. What was your favorite historical detail in the book? Why did that particular detail resonate with you?

3. Did any passage or line from the book stand out for you, either positively or negatively? If so, which one, and how did it affect you?

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