Review: Fiery Girls

I’ve been reading Heather Wardell’s novels for a long, long time. And even though I adore everything she writes, Fiery Girls still sat on my TBR for an embarrassingly long time. It was released in March 2021 and I only got around to reading it in June 2022 (and, you know, am reviewing it now because of schoolwork!). Oops! This was Wardell’s first historical fiction. It was a solid effort and was one I enjoyed reading.

Here's the book’s description:

Two young immigrant women. One historic strike. And the fire that changed America.
In 1909, shy sixteen-year-old Rosie Lehrer is sent to New York City to earn money for her family’s emigration from Russia. She will, but she also longs to make her mark on the world before her parents arrive and marry her to a suitable Jewish man. Could she somehow become one of the passionate and articulate “fiery girls” of her garment workers’ union?
Maria Cirrito, spoiled and confident at sixteen, lands at Ellis Island a few weeks later. She’s supposed to spend four years earning American wages then return home to Italy with her new-found wealth to make her family’s lives better. But the boy she loves has promised, with only a little coaxing, to follow her to America and marry her. So she plans to stay forever. With him.
Rosie and Maria meet and become friends during the “Uprising of the 20,000” garment workers’ strike, and they’re working together at the Triangle Waist Company on March 25, 1911 when a discarded cigarette sets the factory ablaze. 146 people die that day, and even those who survive will be changed forever.

While I did really enjoy this story, and had it read quickly because I was so invested, it had some flaws. I struggled with the dual narration and, to some extent, the characters themselves. Something about the two girls just never full clicked for me. Did I have issues with my own contemporary views being pushed onto historical characters? Maybe. Would it have been better if it was only told from one perspective? Perhaps. Having two different immigrant experiences was interesting from a historical point of view but for the storyline and plot? Not sure. (How many more questions can I ask and answer myself? Let's see!)

The historical event the novel explores is not a happy one. It was actually really tough to read the chapters on the fire, as well as the time immediately leading up to it and the aftermath. Wardell doesn’t pull any punches and it’s a gut wrenching, emotional experience reading as the factory caught fire. As hard as it was to read, I’m glad to have learned more about the fire and the circumstances leading up to it, like the unions and fight for rights.

From a historical fiction perspective (and you all know I love me some historical fiction), Fiery Girls is a major winner. It explores a main topic (the Triangle Waist Company fire) I didn’t know anything about as well as giving me more background on some side topics I was only somewhat familiar with (immigration, working conditions, women’s rights). Heather Wardell remains a favourite of mine and I’m looking forward to what she writes next.

*An egalley of this novel was provided by the author via NetGalley in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*