In this novel, Grace is the second-best reader in the mill school, but she yearns for something to keep her body as busy as her mind. What she gets is a job in the textile mill, grueling work that isn't designed for a bright, imaginative 12-year-old. Grace hates the job and hates what her poor performance means to her family, who are barely surviving on the mill wages. She also worries about her friend, Arthur, the first best reader in the mill school, who will do anything - anything - to get out of the mill and continue his education. The children quickly learn hard lessons about power, consequences, and duty. When they set their hopes on the child labor reformers, they also learn how slowly the wheels of change may turn.

Despite the harshness of their situation, Winthrop manages to create a novel with humor, hope and amazingly complex characters. The novel also comes with a fascinating "about" section that shares more on the real history of the mill children, Lewis Hines, and the child labor reform movement. All in all, it is a fascinating and powerful look at a pivotal time in American History. I enjoyed it.