A hard life story of NYC in the 1880's. Mollie (a pickpocket) and Annabelle (a prostitute) are just trying to survive, while fantasizing about a new life in Brooklyn. That is until a wealthy do-gooder offers a way to earn a respectable living. Pretty good, I just wanted more story, more engagement with the do-gooder and the training. ( )

Mollie Flynn was born on the streets of New York City in the 1800’s. She grew up bouncing from charity houses to the streets where she found a friend in Annabelle Lee, who works the streets as a whore. Mollie earns her living as a pickpocket. Together, the two girls forge their way in the Bowery, making enough money to keep a roof over their heads in a small tenement and dealing with the many feuding gangs. After Annabelle’s release from prison, Mollie believes things will turn around; the two girls want to fulfill their dream of leaving the city behind and going to Brooklyn with the completion of the Bridge. However, Annabelle comes out of prison pregnant and now wants to better her life for her baby. Annabelle and Mollie enroll in Emmeline DuPre’s Cherry Street Settlement House hoping to better themselves and find honest work. Escaping from life in the Bowery proves harder than either of the girls expected.
An honest look at what life was like for young women in poverty in one of the roughest parts of New York City in the early 19th century. Both Mollie and Annabelle are dynamic and unique, hopeful but seemingly stuck in their situations, the have a conscious and dreams of a better future. Mollie and Annebelle’s professions of pickpocket and whore are not overshadowed, neither are the consequences of these positions or the pay. Mollie points out that one quick pickpocket victim could land her as much money as a 12-hour day in her typewriting position. Life in their dismal tenement was also highlighted, a dead horse at the end of the street, walls plastered in book pages, children playing on a pile of trash all painted a historically accurate picture of the living situation at the time. Overall, Bowery Girl is a story rich in hopes and dreams which displays a snapshot of life in this tumultuous place and time in New York City; a quick read perfect for those who want to dig into the history of 19th Century New York City or The Gangs of New York.
This book was received for free in return for an honest review. ( )

The year is 1883 and the Bowery section of NY thrives with a seedy sub culture of gangs, prostitutes, pickpockets and hustlers who do what they can to simply survive.

The streets are a tough place to live. The tenement houses team with rats. Filth, vulgarity and obscenities reside with the masses. Urine slides down alleywayswhere in dark corners prostitutes provide services which hardly pay for the day's food.

Two orphan teenagers Annabelle, a prostitute and Mollie, a pickpocket live together in slum housing. Barely eking a living, they have unrealistic dreams of escaping to Brooklyn where they believe life will be better. Instead of rags, they will dress in finery. Against incredible odds, they long for a life of respectability.

When Annabelle becomes pregnant the odds of escape seem insurmountable. Strong willed Emmeline DuPre runs a settlement house wherein the girls can learn to type and speak proper English. As Annabelle and Mollie try to better themselves they must choose to obey the rules or return to the only life they have ever known.

With the backdrop of the building of the Brooklyn bridge, this book is an excellent reflection of a hard scramble life and the hope of a new pathway out of darkness.

While categorized as YA, because of the obscenities and vivid descriptions, I would not recommend this to some age groups. It is clearly for adult population.

Recommended ( )

This is a great work of juvenile literature in a much needed genre. It is hard to find good historical fiction for kids that is both informative and written well enough to maintain a child's interest. This book meets those standards and will keep its readers at the edge of their seats as they cheer on the two girls who are just trying to make their way in hard times. ( )

Interesting book. I like historical fiction and enjoyed reading about what life was like for the poor in 1883. The characters were very likeable even if their lifestyle was deplorable. ( )