At twelve years old, Elsa immigrates from Germany to New York City. She must leave her childhood behind her to join the work force and from then on, she must work, enduring hardship as the country changes around her.

This is a story that seems to be trying to be an epic tale. It is detailed and I applaud the author for excellent research.

However, I found the narrative to be lacking emotion and focus. The main character is in a horrible factory fire and the incident is described and then moved on from in a matter of a few pages. There simply seemed to be too much crammed into the story. f we had remained with Elsa, perhaps it would have worked, but the perspective changed from her to her mother in the first quarter of the book but then her employer’s daughter later on and also a gentleman.

To be honest, I was bored by the whole thing. The dialogue was awkward, many of the situations these characters became involved in were awkward, and I couldn’t find anything I especially liked.

Others no doubt might enjoy this but it was not for me. ( )