Bread and Roses, Too

By Katherine Paterson

A girl fears losing her family to a dangerous strike and meets a mysterious boy with secrets.

3.8/5 Goodreads · 2,747 ratings

288 pages· 60,875 words· Est. 7 hour read

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Bookroo's summary

Rosa's world is upended when her mother and sister join a perilous strike against mill owners. Sent to Vermont for safety, Rosa fears for her family's fate. On the train, a mysterious boy asks her to pretend he's her brother, hinting at hidden secrets. Can Rosa protect him while grappling with her own fears of never seeing her family again? Set against the backdrop of the 1912 Bread and Roses strike, this tale of courage and friendship explores the risks of standing up for justice and the bonds that form in the face of adversity.

From the publisher

2013 Laura Ingalls Wilder Award Rosa’s mother is singing again, for the first time since Papa died in an accident in the mills. But instead of filling their cramped tenement apartment with Italian lullabies, Mamma is out on the streets singing union songs, and Rosa is terrified that her mother and older sister, Anna, are endangering their lives by marching against the corrupt mill owners. After all, didn’t Miss Finch tell the class that the strikers are nothing but rabble-rousers–an uneducated, violent mob? Suppose Mamma and Anna are jailed or, worse, killed? What will happen to Rosa and little Ricci? When Rosa is sent to Vermont with other children to live with strangers until the strike is over, she fears she will never see her family again. Then, on the train, a boy begs her to pretend that he is her brother. Alone and far from home, she agrees to protect him . . . even though she suspects that he is hiding some terrible secret. From a beloved, award-winning author, here is a moving story based on real events surrounding an infamous 1912 strike.

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