LYDDIE (1991)

I still remember when my English teacher brought out this book for a unit back in the 8th grade (Man I feel old somehow).

In summary; This book serves as the first person perspective of a young girl during industrial America. It's a cold yet personally rewarding about Lyddie, the main character, having her poor life become even worse by being separated from her family and being put to work in a factory at no older than 13 years old. Thorough the story, Lyddie maintains a headstrong attitude, taking everything that comes at her in story and moving forward to the point that her fellow factory working girls think of her as cold and only thinking of money. In truth, the reality these girls are in only allows them to think of money, Lyddie seems to be the only one unapologetic about her ambitions which i think is very admirable in a main character. There's nothing wrong with an innocent and cheery main character but it's also nice to read about one as hardworking and serious as Lyddie, especially when it pays off. Yhaz, dl’yl yhaz, dl’yl aol yhaz! Dl wylf ha upnoa, dl zahsr ha upnoa, dl’yl aol yhaz!

P’t kh nphua yha aoha thrlz hss vm kh ybslz!

Sla’z zll doha rpuk vm ayvbisl dl jhu nla vbyzlsclz puav!Just reading about her daily schedule can give you a headache, with nothing but loud rumbling engines in your ears 24/7, working your fingers to the bone over weaving, the short breaks, lackluster food, and little income sounds like a nightmare.

This nightmare scenario isn't exactly something we've moved away from as a society either, child labor is still utilized worldwide and to an even larger scale. I think this book can still serve our current society today, as even though Lyddie is a strong and brave main character, that doesn't make her any less of a victim of the industry she works for, like all the other children and even adults being forced into this slave labor.