Hear My Sorrow: The Diary of Angela Denoto, a Shirtwaist Worker

by Deborah Hopkinson

One of our final two Dear Americas, drama and history meet in this moving diary of an Italian immigrant girl who works in a shirtwaist factory in New York, as the labor unions begin to organize.... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0439221617
• ISBN13: 9780439221610
• Release Date: October 2004
• Publisher: Scholastic
• Length: 188 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.4" x 7.7"
• Age Range: 9 to 14 years
• Grade Range: Grades 4 to 9

Customer Reviews

If kids think life’s hard now read this book

This book opened my eyes about emigration and child labor. Also it opened my eyes to unions and why were needed back then! I read this book in two days and I have since become addicted to finding the facts surrounding this book from the Fire to emigration housing. This is one book that needs to be put into print again. Every boy and girl should read this book and thank God for their education and appreciate the world that surrounds them. It reminded me of my great grandmother who worked in a cotton mill. She was so young they had to find a box for her to stand on so she could reach her work station! This is the best Dear America book I have read. It is hard to find! If you can’t get a book then get it in an e-book type form. Just read it!

Insightful

The Dear America series has always been a good way to not only read about a section of history, but really get an inside look to how daily life would look like for American families living in that era. Hear My Sorrow is an insightful and deeply moving book, and there were many scenes that brought me to tears. It was almost as if I was there! I was cheering for Angela almost immediately, something that I find myself rarely doing these days. It's easy to love and care for this protagonist, so when the sadder scenes hit, it REALLY hits. ;-; The narrator's voice is clear and easy to follow, which is necessary when doing a diary format. Dear America has certainly spoiled me in that regard as I've yet to encounter a book of their's that would've been better off not a diary! TL;DR: Awesome protagonist, very captivating, and a good read for any age!

Five Stars

Another wonderful addition to the Dear America Series. Angela must leave school to go to work to support her family since her father is no longer able to. Angela goes to work at a shirtwaist factory where she's surprised by the horrible working conditions and becomes involved in the unions. She also records the fire at the infamous shirtwaist factory fire.

A Wonderful Work of Historical Fiction

This is the fourth Dear America book I've read with a story and characters set in turn-of-the-century or early twentieth century New York City. In what I believe is Deborah Hopkinson's first attempt at fiction, she has wonderfully captured the people and events, the trials and triumphs, the tragedies and hopes of a most fascinating period and place. Other reviews have summarized the story throughly, so I won't go into that here. I wish rather to say that as a lover of both historical fiction and an aspiring novelist, I admire and appreciate Ms. Hopkinson's work. Scholastic Inc., should consider expanding its Dear America line. I had heard that the company only accepts agented manuscripts for consideration for the Dear America series, but further inquiry revealed that even those are not being considered. It seems that at the present, only a handful of previously published children's authors are being allowed to write new additions to the series. I hope that will change soon. Again, I congratulate Ms. Hopkinson on her excellent and meticulously researched book. That and "The Journal of Finn Reardon" should be part of every public library in America.

A compelling entry in the Dear America series

The early 20th century was a fascinating time period in American history. Thousands of immigrants flooded New York City, escaping poverty and religious persecution in their homelands. Young women, most in their teens, worked long hours in garment factories and sweatshops. HEAR MY SORROW paints a gripping picture of the era, including the Uprising of the Twenty Thousand and the Triangle factory fire, pivotal events in U.S. history.

A powerful look into the past

1909 is a time of bustling activity and change in New York City. For fourteen-year-old Angela Denoto, an Italian immigrant, things are changing too. Her family is extremely poor and live in a tenement building in the Lower East Side. When her father loses his job, Angela must stop school, something she desperatly wants to do, and goes to work in a shirtwaist factory to support her family. Angela begins to record her secret desires of school in her diary, given to her from her teacher. Conditions in the factories are very poor and the long hours cripple many of the girls. However, change is on the way. Labor unions are popping up all over New York City, and soon Angela and other workers strike to protest the wages and conditions. Even though the strike doesn't work, Angela knows the the labor unions have proven that they are a force to be reckoned with. Unfortunately sorrow soon follows as Angela records the loss of family and friends along with the terrible tragedy of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire where her sister works. I enjoyed this diary very much. It was probably one of the saddest Dear Americas out there but it really accurately described the situations in the factories. I recommend fans of Dear America to read this book.

A wonderful new book from the Dear America series.

It's 1909 in New York City, and fourteen-year-old Angela Denoto has just left school to get a job so she can help support her Italian immigrant family, even though secretly she longs to continue her education. Before she leaves, her teacher gives her a diary as a gift, and Angela begins to write in it. She describes how she gets a job at a shirtwaist factory and faces long working hours in terrible conditions. When the workers go on strike, Angela joins them, but in the end they accomplish little but to show their strength. She also describes personal tragedies, the loss of family and friends to illness, and then the devastating fire in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, where her sister and some of her friends work. I really enjoyed this new book from the Dear America series. I recommend it to all readers who enjoyed other books in the series, or who enjoy historical fiction or who are interested in this time period in history. Deborah Hopkinson has done a wonderful job at bringing Angela's story to life.