Uprising, by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Haddix, Margaret Peterson (2007). Uprising. NY: Simon and Schuster. 352 pages.
Is anyone besides me relieved that the “Shadow Children” series has finally concluded? I’ve got to say, if it was the completion of that series that kept Haddix from writing fiction like this, I blame the publisher who insisted that the series continue as long as it did for Haddix’s lack of recent literary winners.
This new historical fiction title by Haddix is pitched a bit older than the “Shadow Children” and follows three young women of the early 20th century as they become involved in the workers’ rights movement. While this sounds like a pretty boring premise, Haddix situates two of these characters within the group of strikers and would-be union members from the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, so our extra-textual awareness of the factory’s eventual fate becomes part of the suspense that moves the story. Bella and Yetta are immigrants from Italy and Russia, respectively, who work at the factory and become involved in the labor movement. Haddix details the young women’s struggles as each tries to be loyal to the union but must temper their desire to strike with their very real need for jobs and the meager paychecks factory work provides. When Jane, a wealthy debutante, learns of the workers’ struggle, she becomes involved in the movement and eventually turns her back on her family and its privilege to become part of the group.
Narrated in the third-person from the alternating perspectives of each girl, this novel provides a clear picture of the time period. At times, the narrative drags a bit; since we all know what’s going to happen with the factory and the fire, we kind of want it to go ahead and burn already. When the inevitable does happen, however, Haddix’s description of the panic and confusion, as well as of the young women who jumped from the upper floor windows of the factory to escape the smoke and flames, evokes eerie memories of 9/11. This resemblance (whether intentional or not) brings the struggle for workers’ rights to the present in what I judged to be a very effecting way.
A concluding description of Haddix’s research and recommendations for further reading follow the fictional narrative.