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

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.

This book, So Far From Home, is really good. I love the way it is written. It's about a girl called Mary Driscoll who moves from Ireland to America because of the potatoe famine. She does not go with her parents. In America she meets really nice people and makes some friends. She works in the Mills and tries to raise money for her parents so they can join her in America. This book shows America through an immagrint's point of view and how the life of a mill worker is. Whenever I read this book I cry at the end because it is so hopeful and pretty sad. This book is just pure beautiful. That might sound corny, but it is. It has funny parts and can be sad. You should NOT read this book if you are sensitive. This book is very sad and has some disturbing parts in it, like when people eat pig droppings. You should try this book because it ROCKS!

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!

This latest addition to the popular Dear America series chronicles the hardships faced by a young Irish immigrant girl working in the Lowell mills. Mary Driscoll was eager to leave famine stricken Ireland to go to America - a place where there is always enough to eat and poor Irish people like herself are paid fair wages working at decent jobs. But life in America is not what Mary expected. She must slave away long hours in a hot, filthy, crowded mill for low wages. And then, a letter comes from Ireland with terrible news. So Far from Home gives an insight into the terrible working conditions of the Lowell mills through the diary of Mary Driscoll, a young Irish immigrant who hopes and prays on the way to the "golden land," and survives terrible working condtions by keeping alive the dream that someday her family will be together again in America.