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Jump to navigationJump to searchFar From Home by Berlie Doherty (view source)
Revision as of 08:23, 18 March 2015
, 08:23, 18 March 2015no edit summary
|genre=Historical Fiction
|rating=4.5
|buy=MaybeYes
|borrow=Yes
|isbn=978-0007578825
Having also been separated from their younger brother, Jim, the girls have to learn how to live their lives not knowing whether he is dead or alive, and not knowing if they will ever see him, or their Mother again.
The girls are made to work in awful conditions from the very first day they arrive at Bleakdale Mill. From the cotton machines to the mill owners, there is danger lurking in every corner and it is only a matter of time before Lizzie is engulfed in the danger and has a life-threatening accident. Having promised each other that neither of them would leave the other behind, Emily is distraught when she finds out her sister has gone to live with Miss Sarah, the mill ownersowner' s daughter. It is only when Lizzie starts to feel better that her memory comes back and she is finally reunited with her sister.
I thoroughly enjoyed how beautifully and evocatively written this book is, however there were a few grammatical errors that were disappointing to come across but fortunately this did not put me off the book itself. The book : it has left me wanting to know more like about what comes next for the girls, what comes next for Jim, and will they ever be reunited as siblings. Hopefully Berlie Doherty will write a sequel so all unanswered questions will finally be answered.
The book in general has quite a dark overtone with characters being beaten for their actions, loved ones dying or going missing, and young children plotting revenge against the adults but the story helps to understand what it was like for young, orphaned children in the Victorian era who had nowhere to go but to the mills to work for very little money to try and build a life for themselves. It made me, as a reader, feel as though I was there in amongst it all and experiencing what the characters felt and went through. The story had a relatively happy ending but will keep readers wanting more. It is well worth a read by both adults and children as there is a lot to learn, especially about how drastically things have changed over time.
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