A couple of weeks ago as I wandered around Barnes and Noble, I found exactly 3 authors with the initials KP. The first wrote crazy sci-fi books that I didn't think I wanted to read. The second was a pen name for two authors working together and the one book they had seemed like a possibility. The third was good ol' Katherine Paterson.
When I was young (like in second grade), two of my favorite books were The Great Gilly Hopkins and Bridge to Terabithia. I re-read Bridge to Terabithia a couple of years ago, and when I caught the movie on TV recently, it still made me cry. While Barnes and Noble only had a book of short stories by Paterson, Amazon helped me find another one. The book I chose was Bread and Roses, Too by Katherine Paterson.
This book tells a fictional story set in the midst of a historical event. Set in 1912 in Lawrence, Massachusetts, the book focuses on the labor strike at the local mill. Paterson writes of the strike through the perspectives of two characters, Rosa and Jake. Both are children in similar yet very different situations. Rosa's mother and sister are mill workers who decide to strike. Rosa is the smartest girl in her 6th grade class and the hope for the future of their family. Like the majority of the families in this book, Rosa's is a poor immigrant family. Jake, on the other hand, is one of the very few American born people in the town although he does not like to admit it. While he and Rosa are close in age, their lives are quite different. Jake's mother is dead and his father is a drunk. Jake is a mill laborer who chooses to strike as well. While he is hiding from his abusive father, Jake steals food and sleeps anywhere he can find a place (under church pews, in trash heaps, etc).
Throughout the first half of the book, Rosa is upset about the strike. She worries that her family will be hurt, arrested, or even killed once the militia is involved. Eventually the strikers decide to send their young children to stay with other immigrant families in different cities. Rosa is sent to stay with a nice couple in Barre, Vermont. When she gets on the train, she discovers that Jake is a stowaway. Rosa agrees to claim Jake is her brother, Salvatore, in hopes that he can make it out of Lawrence as well.
Before I started reading this, I had only read a few comments about it. I was sure I was in for a story with a very heavy topic that would be a slow read for me. However, I was wrong. Yes, the topic is heavy, but Rosa and Jake are such lovable characters that I was eager to find out what would become of them. Rosa is responsible for the title of the book. Her mother who cannot really read or write in English asks her to make a sign for them to hold up during a march. She wants something that will convey that the strikers want more than just enough to feed themselves. They want enough to add joy to their lives. Rosa creates a sign that says, "We want bread and roses, too." As for Jake, he is a thief and a liar, but you will root for him. You want Jake to succeed and you want Rosa to be reunited with her family.
Many of the people who come to help the laborers with their strike were based on real people. So, while Rosa and Jake were fictional, the story surrounding them was not. While I won't say this is a "must read," I will still recommend it.
3.5 Stars