A Spirit to Ride the Whirlwind

This is a fantastic book---well-researched with great characters and a really interesting story. It won several awards when it was released (so you have to wonder: why is it out of print?!). I really recommend it for young girls---Binnie is a great role model and her struggle to find independence and a future in early 19th century America is one which should appeal to most girls. Binnie is a bobbin-girl in a Lowell mill during the 1830s. When the mill-owners cut the women's wages, Binnie and the women who live in her mother's boarding house must decide whether to strike or not. Binnie's decision is colored by both her indignation over the unfairness of the cuts and her concerns about her mother's position (will her mother lose her job as a boarding house operator if her daughter joins the strike?). The questions Binnie confronts and her struggle to address them are incredibly real and well-handled (Lord is a very gifted writer and her characters ring true thro'out the book). The book also provides insights into the position of the Irish in early 19th century America as well as the overall position of women (an especially chilling scene demonstrates how few rights women had---one of the women working in the mill is pursued by an abusive husband who is given the right to seize his wife's hard-earned wages). Buy this book instead of one of the Dear America books. It is so much better!!