What do you think?
Rate this book
The Factory Witches of Lowell
C. S. Malerich's The Factory Witches of Lowell is a riveting historical fantasy about witches going on strike in the historical mill-town of Lowell, Massachusetts.
Faced with abominable working conditions, unsympathetic owners, and hard-hearted managers, the mill girls of Lowell have had enough. They're going on strike, and they have a secret weapon on their side: a little witchcraft to ensure that no one leaves the picket line.
For the young women of Lowell, Massachusetts, freedom means fair wages for fair work, decent room and board, and a chance to escape the cotton mills before lint stops up their lungs. When the Boston owners decide to raise the workers’ rent, the girls go on strike. Their ringleader is Judith Whittier, a newcomer to Lowell but not to class warfare. Judith has already seen one strike fold and she doesn’t intend to see it again. Fortunately Hannah, her best friend in the boardinghouse—and maybe first love?—has a gift for the dying art of witchcraft.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
Faced with abominable working conditions, unsympathetic owners, and hard-hearted managers, the mill girls of Lowell have had enough. They're going on strike, and they have a secret weapon on their side: a little witchcraft to ensure that no one leaves the picket line.
For the young women of Lowell, Massachusetts, freedom means fair wages for fair work, decent room and board, and a chance to escape the cotton mills before lint stops up their lungs. When the Boston owners decide to raise the workers’ rent, the girls go on strike. Their ringleader is Judith Whittier, a newcomer to Lowell but not to class warfare. Judith has already seen one strike fold and she doesn’t intend to see it again. Fortunately Hannah, her best friend in the boardinghouse—and maybe first love?—has a gift for the dying art of witchcraft.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
127 pages, Paperback
First published November 10, 2020
67 people are currently reading
2092 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 279 reviews
Want to read
December 10, 2019
November 8, 2020
Updated review, older review below.
I received an e-arc from Tor through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. And if you ever doubted my honesty, get ready for this review.
The Factory Witches of Lowell by C.S. Malerich is a historical fantasy novel out on November 10th. It is a fictionalized account of the beginning of Lowell’s mill women’s union, following the events of a strike.
As soon as I heard about this book a few months ago, I knew I had to read it. I mean, sapphic working class witches? Could I ask for anything more targeted toward my tastes? Apparently I could.
The Factory Witches of Lowell has an incredibly historical tone and almost feels like reading a period text. This unfortunately includes all of the hallmark sexism and racism. Something you might not expect from a book mainly featuring a cast of women. It also leaves the text feeling dry and uninspiring, which isn’t great for a book of only 80 pages. It really failed to draw me in.
The language used about some of the characters feels strangely demeaning, even in parts where it isn’t from the perspective of the religious, white, male mill owners. There is a lot of lightly sexist language that belittles the choices the characters are making, even though they are working toward rights for working women...which should be something we, in the modern era, respect.
And then, on to the racism. The story doesn’t feature, but does reference, slaves and does so really poorly.
C.S. Malerich has created a magic system that is strictly hierarchical. You can only perform magic on those who agree to be part of it, or on people or things you own or have dominion over. This is a key part of the plot, and not just a passing reference as it seems at first. In fact, this magic system is used to explain why (and I quote) “the enslaved wretches that pick cotton” can’t hex “the whole White race.” Yes, white was capitalized.
Part of the reason I like magic is that it can impact boundaries and barriers, that it can bring power to people who don’t have it within their society.
But oh, it gets worse.
There is an entire scene dedicated to explaining how one character, who can see the magic essences of other people/objects/etc, “cannot be near subjugated creatures, man nor beast” that basically equates Black people who have been sold into slavery where they are exploited, opressed, and abused to farm animals. I was totally blown away by that statement and the fact that right now, when Black Lives Matter has been even bigger in the media than usual, when people are reading anti-racism textbooks, that no one caught the racist fucking tones of this section beforehand. I can’t say I was surprised, but I was incredibly disappointed.
All in all, I would not recommend The Factory Witches of Lowell. There are better books for your queer witch needs.
____
Full review to come, but wow does this tiny novella manage to really fit in some fucking racism and sexism.
So apparently witchcraft is all about ownership, which is why "the enslaved wretches who pick cotton" can't hex "the whole White race" ....like, do I even have to explain why that's bad??? And yes, they capitalized white....
And then there is a whole giant paragraph about how one of the characters "cannot be near subjugated creatures, man nor beast" that basically equates Black people being sold into slavery where they are exploited, oppressed, and abused to people owning farm animals. As if that's the same. As if that comparison isn't fucking racist as all hell.
And then, because the book has this super historical voice, it ends up reading quite sexist for a book written by a woman about women. It went too far down the historical accuracy train.
I received an e-arc from Tor through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. And if you ever doubted my honesty, get ready for this review.
The Factory Witches of Lowell by C.S. Malerich is a historical fantasy novel out on November 10th. It is a fictionalized account of the beginning of Lowell’s mill women’s union, following the events of a strike.
As soon as I heard about this book a few months ago, I knew I had to read it. I mean, sapphic working class witches? Could I ask for anything more targeted toward my tastes? Apparently I could.
The Factory Witches of Lowell has an incredibly historical tone and almost feels like reading a period text. This unfortunately includes all of the hallmark sexism and racism. Something you might not expect from a book mainly featuring a cast of women. It also leaves the text feeling dry and uninspiring, which isn’t great for a book of only 80 pages. It really failed to draw me in.
The language used about some of the characters feels strangely demeaning, even in parts where it isn’t from the perspective of the religious, white, male mill owners. There is a lot of lightly sexist language that belittles the choices the characters are making, even though they are working toward rights for working women...which should be something we, in the modern era, respect.
And then, on to the racism. The story doesn’t feature, but does reference, slaves and does so really poorly.
C.S. Malerich has created a magic system that is strictly hierarchical. You can only perform magic on those who agree to be part of it, or on people or things you own or have dominion over. This is a key part of the plot, and not just a passing reference as it seems at first. In fact, this magic system is used to explain why (and I quote) “the enslaved wretches that pick cotton” can’t hex “the whole White race.” Yes, white was capitalized.
Part of the reason I like magic is that it can impact boundaries and barriers, that it can bring power to people who don’t have it within their society.
But oh, it gets worse.
There is an entire scene dedicated to explaining how one character, who can see the magic essences of other people/objects/etc, “cannot be near subjugated creatures, man nor beast” that basically equates Black people who have been sold into slavery where they are exploited, opressed, and abused to farm animals. I was totally blown away by that statement and the fact that right now, when Black Lives Matter has been even bigger in the media than usual, when people are reading anti-racism textbooks, that no one caught the racist fucking tones of this section beforehand. I can’t say I was surprised, but I was incredibly disappointed.
All in all, I would not recommend The Factory Witches of Lowell. There are better books for your queer witch needs.
____
Full review to come, but wow does this tiny novella manage to really fit in some fucking racism and sexism.
So apparently witchcraft is all about ownership, which is why "the enslaved wretches who pick cotton" can't hex "the whole White race" ....like, do I even have to explain why that's bad??? And yes, they capitalized white....
And then there is a whole giant paragraph about how one of the characters "cannot be near subjugated creatures, man nor beast" that basically equates Black people being sold into slavery where they are exploited, oppressed, and abused to people owning farm animals. As if that's the same. As if that comparison isn't fucking racist as all hell.
And then, because the book has this super historical voice, it ends up reading quite sexist for a book written by a woman about women. It went too far down the historical accuracy train.
Read
March 16, 2021A story about factory workers who unionise. In this alt-US witchcraft depends on ownership: “You have to have a claim to something before you can cast spells over it, even your own self.” Because the workers have worked on the looms, they have that claim and are able to bewitch the looms to strike with them—preventing the owners from bringing in scabs and forcing them to give in to the weavers’ demands.
These are cotton weavers, using cotton picked by slaves. So the obvious question is, if the weavers magically own the means of production, why slaves can’t exert a similar power over the cotton they pick, and wage a similar fight?
I am putting the rest of this in spoiler tags because it is offensive and disturbing.
You cannot just drop something like this as a throwaway line to fix a plot hole and ignore its ramifications. Granted, if enslaved people could take magical ownership of their labour, it would change the entire world of the book and thus torpedo its premise. But the answer to that is to rethink the damn premise, not to chuck in something so horrifying as barely more than an aside. As worldbuilding to support the real story.
I am astonished that nobody in the entire editorial process seems to have questioned this.
If you want a ‘queer unionised witches’ story where solidarity isn't just for white people, I highly recommend Hunger Makes the Wolf / Blood Binds the Pack instead.
These are cotton weavers, using cotton picked by slaves. So the obvious question is, if the weavers magically own the means of production, why slaves can’t exert a similar power over the cotton they pick, and wage a similar fight?
I am putting the rest of this in spoiler tags because it is offensive and disturbing.
You cannot just drop something like this as a throwaway line to fix a plot hole and ignore its ramifications. Granted, if enslaved people could take magical ownership of their labour, it would change the entire world of the book and thus torpedo its premise. But the answer to that is to rethink the damn premise, not to chuck in something so horrifying as barely more than an aside. As worldbuilding to support the real story.
I am astonished that nobody in the entire editorial process seems to have questioned this.
If you want a ‘queer unionised witches’ story where solidarity isn't just for white people, I highly recommend Hunger Makes the Wolf / Blood Binds the Pack instead.
November 22, 2021
lesbian communist witchy organizing against the capitalists ftw!!!!!
March 10, 2021
It was okay, didn't blow me away! Characters just didn't captivate me and I couldn't really tell them apart! It was an okay read but nothing too special!
October 22, 2020
The Factory Witches of Lowell is a spirited look at the Lowell Mill Girls that were so prominent in the 1800s. It starts when two close friends (and I mean that in the sapphic sense) resort to witchcraft in order to strike against the unfair working conditions in the mills (after all, with everyone bound together by magic, no one can break the strike), and follows them through to the end of their collective action. This book has all my favorite things; witchcraft, unions, lesbians, and local flavor (as someone who grew up not too far from Lowell, I’ve always been fascinated by the mill girls).
Saying all that, I expected to like this book much more than I did. I think it suffers somewhat from being a novella. While it’s a great idea, very little of it is actually fleshed out. Parts that should hold emotional weight fly by too quickly to actually resonate. Additionally, the way this book talks about genius (the essence if human life) in how it relates to slavery is...at best misguided and at worse actually dehumanizing. And it comes up multiple times for virtually no reason.
Additionally, I felt like the length of the book and the neatness of the ending did a disservice to the actual girls who faced these horrible working conditions.
Update: After seeing the finished copy, and thinking about it a lot, and reading up on the author I'm changing my rating because the way the book handles genius in relation to slavery is actually actively dehumanizing. The life force of enslaved people is equated to that of domestic farm animals. The line is unnecessary and could easily have been cut.
Saying all that, I expected to like this book much more than I did. I think it suffers somewhat from being a novella. While it’s a great idea, very little of it is actually fleshed out. Parts that should hold emotional weight fly by too quickly to actually resonate. Additionally, the way this book talks about genius (the essence if human life) in how it relates to slavery is...at best misguided and at worse actually dehumanizing. And it comes up multiple times for virtually no reason.
Additionally, I felt like the length of the book and the neatness of the ending did a disservice to the actual girls who faced these horrible working conditions.
Update: After seeing the finished copy, and thinking about it a lot, and reading up on the author I'm changing my rating because the way the book handles genius in relation to slavery is actually actively dehumanizing. The life force of enslaved people is equated to that of domestic farm animals. The line is unnecessary and could easily have been cut.
November 17, 2020
Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
3.5 stars. The Lowell mills are a marvel, producing loads and loads of bolts of woven cotton. Young women work long, long hours each day at the horrendously loud looms, fibres hanging in the air and making their way into the women’s lungs, sickening and killing them too soon. The conditions are a health and safety nightmare, but the Boston owners’ profits are paramount, and there’s always another new girl to replace a sick or dead one.
At the same time, working at the looms is attractive for the pay, and for the small financial independence it gives these young women.
The Boston bosses demand good and godly comportment from the girls, with their behaviour monitored by the matrons of the boarding houses they live in.
Then, the bosses demand greater output with higher boarding room fees, and barely a pay raise.
The women decide to rebel, forming a union, and refusing to work until they receive a pay raise.
C.S. Malerich’s characters are modelled on the 1830s young women who took the unprecedented, and to the mills’ owners, despicable step to band together for a pay increase. That these women did this when they were still considered property themselves in the eyes of the law, and could not vote, was pretty amazing.
The young women here are led by Judith and Hannah. Judith is the organizer, while Hannah’s a Seer, and together they craft the resistance.
This could just be a historical story, but Malerich adds a little witchery to the proceedings, with the girls weaving a spell to ensure they all stick to their plan.
This is a novella, so there’s not that much time to provide a lot of depth to the characters, but I actually found that the person who was most vivid and complete in my mind was Mrs. Hansen, the main characters’ boarding house matron. I had a harder time getting a feel for Judith and Hannah, while Mr. Boott was mostly just self-interested, and I questioned whether he would really have jumped to “witchcraft!” as what was holding the young women together.
So the characterization was a little lacking, but I still mostly liked this, and love that I felt compelled to learn a bit about the real efforts of the Lowell women who organized the first union in the US.
3.5 stars. The Lowell mills are a marvel, producing loads and loads of bolts of woven cotton. Young women work long, long hours each day at the horrendously loud looms, fibres hanging in the air and making their way into the women’s lungs, sickening and killing them too soon. The conditions are a health and safety nightmare, but the Boston owners’ profits are paramount, and there’s always another new girl to replace a sick or dead one.
At the same time, working at the looms is attractive for the pay, and for the small financial independence it gives these young women.
The Boston bosses demand good and godly comportment from the girls, with their behaviour monitored by the matrons of the boarding houses they live in.
Then, the bosses demand greater output with higher boarding room fees, and barely a pay raise.
The women decide to rebel, forming a union, and refusing to work until they receive a pay raise.
C.S. Malerich’s characters are modelled on the 1830s young women who took the unprecedented, and to the mills’ owners, despicable step to band together for a pay increase. That these women did this when they were still considered property themselves in the eyes of the law, and could not vote, was pretty amazing.
The young women here are led by Judith and Hannah. Judith is the organizer, while Hannah’s a Seer, and together they craft the resistance.
This could just be a historical story, but Malerich adds a little witchery to the proceedings, with the girls weaving a spell to ensure they all stick to their plan.
This is a novella, so there’s not that much time to provide a lot of depth to the characters, but I actually found that the person who was most vivid and complete in my mind was Mrs. Hansen, the main characters’ boarding house matron. I had a harder time getting a feel for Judith and Hannah, while Mr. Boott was mostly just self-interested, and I questioned whether he would really have jumped to “witchcraft!” as what was holding the young women together.
So the characterization was a little lacking, but I still mostly liked this, and love that I felt compelled to learn a bit about the real efforts of the Lowell women who organized the first union in the US.
November 9, 2020
I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.The nitty-gritty: Malerich brings some interesting ideas to the table, but the novella format was just too short in this case, and didn’t allow for much story or character development.
The Factory Witches of Lowell takes place in nineteenth century Lowell, Massachusetts (the exact date is never mentioned) during the boom in the production of textiles, when young girls were employed as cheap labor to operate the large looms necessary in the production of cotton fabric. However, as you probably guessed from the title, there is a speculative element to the story, as a group of disgruntled girls decide to use witchcraft to bind themselves together and go on strike until their demands for better working conditions are met. I thought this was an interesting idea, and I was intrigued by the setting and the time period, a part of American history that I didn’t know much about. However, despite enjoying certain elements, I ended up being mostly underwhelmed by the story itself, the characters, and especially the witchcraft.
I want to start with the positives, because as I mentioned, there are things I liked about this book. The first chapter is simply magical: a group of girls has decided enough is enough, and so they gather in the attic of their boarding house, cut off locks of their hair, and weave them together into a rough fabric of sorts, all while chanting a spell of solidarity. Each girl is given an armband from the woven together hair and vows to wear it and uphold the strike until Mr. Boott, the mill owner, agrees to increase their pay and cut back their hours. But is this magic strong enough to turn the tide in their favor? At first the girls are worried because Mr. Boott simply goes out and hires more girls to take their places. But then Judith, the ringleader of the group, comes up with a radical idea that might give them an advantage.
The story focuses on two of the girls, Judith and her friend Hannah, who has the “sight” and claims she can see demons in the looms, demons who are literally stealing the girls’ lives away. I love that the author added interesting historically accurate details about the hard life of factory workers into her story. Hannah is ill and coughs nonstop, due to long hours inside the mill, breathing cotton particles into her lungs. Malerich mentions something called the “kiss of death,” part of the weaving process where the girls must suck threads through a shuttle in order to thread the loom, and small particles of thread enter their lungs each time. This is a horrifying yet fascinating bit of history that worked really well in this story.
The author adds a queer romance between Judith and Hannah into her tale, and while I appreciated the idea, like many other aspects of the story, this one just didn’t have enough time and space to properly develop. In fact, the novella’s length is the story’s main downfall, unfortunately. It was too short to explore all the interesting aspects—the author even brings up slavery a couple of times in respect to the bails of cotton that are being used in the mills, but there just aren’t enough pages to fully integrate this into the story. And I’ve read some amazing novellas this year, so you can’t really blame the format.
Ultimately though, I mostly found the story to be just OK. I thought it would be easy to read this all in one sitting, but it failed to really capture my attention, and so I kept setting it aside. I was hoping for a story focused more on witchcraft, but those elements turned out to be rather sparse. If you’re interested in a historical witch-centric story, you’re much better off reading The Once and Future Witches , which also deals with women’s rights but is much more successful.
With thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.This review originally appeared on Books, Bones & Buffy
The Factory Witches of Lowell takes place in nineteenth century Lowell, Massachusetts (the exact date is never mentioned) during the boom in the production of textiles, when young girls were employed as cheap labor to operate the large looms necessary in the production of cotton fabric. However, as you probably guessed from the title, there is a speculative element to the story, as a group of disgruntled girls decide to use witchcraft to bind themselves together and go on strike until their demands for better working conditions are met. I thought this was an interesting idea, and I was intrigued by the setting and the time period, a part of American history that I didn’t know much about. However, despite enjoying certain elements, I ended up being mostly underwhelmed by the story itself, the characters, and especially the witchcraft.
I want to start with the positives, because as I mentioned, there are things I liked about this book. The first chapter is simply magical: a group of girls has decided enough is enough, and so they gather in the attic of their boarding house, cut off locks of their hair, and weave them together into a rough fabric of sorts, all while chanting a spell of solidarity. Each girl is given an armband from the woven together hair and vows to wear it and uphold the strike until Mr. Boott, the mill owner, agrees to increase their pay and cut back their hours. But is this magic strong enough to turn the tide in their favor? At first the girls are worried because Mr. Boott simply goes out and hires more girls to take their places. But then Judith, the ringleader of the group, comes up with a radical idea that might give them an advantage.
The story focuses on two of the girls, Judith and her friend Hannah, who has the “sight” and claims she can see demons in the looms, demons who are literally stealing the girls’ lives away. I love that the author added interesting historically accurate details about the hard life of factory workers into her story. Hannah is ill and coughs nonstop, due to long hours inside the mill, breathing cotton particles into her lungs. Malerich mentions something called the “kiss of death,” part of the weaving process where the girls must suck threads through a shuttle in order to thread the loom, and small particles of thread enter their lungs each time. This is a horrifying yet fascinating bit of history that worked really well in this story.
The author adds a queer romance between Judith and Hannah into her tale, and while I appreciated the idea, like many other aspects of the story, this one just didn’t have enough time and space to properly develop. In fact, the novella’s length is the story’s main downfall, unfortunately. It was too short to explore all the interesting aspects—the author even brings up slavery a couple of times in respect to the bails of cotton that are being used in the mills, but there just aren’t enough pages to fully integrate this into the story. And I’ve read some amazing novellas this year, so you can’t really blame the format.
Ultimately though, I mostly found the story to be just OK. I thought it would be easy to read this all in one sitting, but it failed to really capture my attention, and so I kept setting it aside. I was hoping for a story focused more on witchcraft, but those elements turned out to be rather sparse. If you’re interested in a historical witch-centric story, you’re much better off reading The Once and Future Witches , which also deals with women’s rights but is much more successful.
With thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.This review originally appeared on Books, Bones & Buffy
April 14, 2021
1.5 stars
Read for Snakes and ladders book bingo 2021
Read for Snakes and ladders book bingo 2021
March 17, 2021
Rep: wlw mcs
November 24, 2025
this was an interesting short read. the way that slavery was incorporated into it was weird, and overall did not make that much sense to me, especially because they were able to overcome the issues that conversation brought up? I did not super enjoy this, but I also didn't hate it. I have pretty neutral feelings overall lol, but this is one of the few times that I feel like the whole story was actually contained in this novella form and it didn't feel like anything was lacking in terms of how much narrative space was given to it.
January 24, 2021
The premise of this was super exciting, about striking mill workers using magic to help their cause, but unfortunately it just wasn't executed that well. I love novellas but this was just too short to really develop the characters at all so they all seemed very flat and although the plot revolved around showing the harsh conditions the women had to deal with, none of that was really shown at all or just had throwaway lines referring to it which doesn't really build an accurate picture if you weren't already aware of how bad conditions could be. It felt more like reading a rough outline rather than an in-depth story which is a shame as it could have been done really well. There are also some reviews that bring up the fact that there are some racist scenes explaining magic (which are used to establish backstory for a character), I understood that the author was likely trying to explain why slaves hadn't used magic to escape slavery, but it was poorly done and not necessary for the story.
November 12, 2020
I enjoyed the story and found it interesting, but found myself wanting more. I think it could have made a more compelling novel if provided more background and character development. For a novella, it was good.
October 22, 2022
De unga kvinnorna som jobbar på textilfabriken i Lowell, Massachusetts, har fått nog. De kräver samma lön som sina manliga kollegor, färre arbetstimmar och en säkrare arbetsplats. De går ut i strejk, och till sin hjälp har de en liten gnutta häxkonst för att lyckas med det de kräver… Kommer de lyckas, eller blir de hängda för sina gåvor?
Det är minst sagt modigt att skriva en kort bok. Att inte låta orden sprutas ut, istället hålla sig kort och rak och målinriktad. Oftast är kortare böcker bättre än de riktigt långa, kan jag tycka.
Men den här gången hade jag önskat mer. Jag hade gärna lärt känna flickorna bättre, gått djupare in i förståelsen av Hannahs gåva, sett mer kamp med strejken och låtit Judiths och Hannahs relation stärkas.
Det finns så mycket bra i den här boken som spelas över alldeles för snabbt? Karaktärerna hinner inte utvecklas och jag hinner aldrig komma in ordentligt i mina känslor för dem. Historien blir ganska platt.
Jag önskar att någon hade bett C. S. Malerich att skriva en längre bok innan den gavs ut. Jag tror verkligen den hade tjänat på det.
Det är minst sagt modigt att skriva en kort bok. Att inte låta orden sprutas ut, istället hålla sig kort och rak och målinriktad. Oftast är kortare böcker bättre än de riktigt långa, kan jag tycka.
Men den här gången hade jag önskat mer. Jag hade gärna lärt känna flickorna bättre, gått djupare in i förståelsen av Hannahs gåva, sett mer kamp med strejken och låtit Judiths och Hannahs relation stärkas.
Det finns så mycket bra i den här boken som spelas över alldeles för snabbt? Karaktärerna hinner inte utvecklas och jag hinner aldrig komma in ordentligt i mina känslor för dem. Historien blir ganska platt.
Jag önskar att någon hade bett C. S. Malerich att skriva en längre bok innan den gavs ut. Jag tror verkligen den hade tjänat på det.
November 11, 2021
I have to admit that one of the reasons this book irked me is because the Industrial Revolution and the theft from England of the plans for mills happened here in Rhode Island up in Pawtucket before Lowell did the same with his mill towns in Massachusetts. Samuel Slater, an Englishman, memorized the plans for the looms and went into business with Moses Brown, and they opened the first water-powered textile mill in America in the 1790s, well before Lowell did the same.
At any rate, I wanted to love this book based on its premise. I always love a book in which young women stick it to the literal Man, and adding a sapphic love interest and a little bit of magic should have sealed the deal. However, as a novella, this book just doesn’t deliver. It’s too short to really get to know any of the girls, and because they’re described more by their hair color than anything else, it’s difficult to differentiate between them. I was also annoyed by the description of one girl as having a rosebud mouth, which came up every time she spoke.
Unfortunately, I found this novella disappointing.
At any rate, I wanted to love this book based on its premise. I always love a book in which young women stick it to the literal Man, and adding a sapphic love interest and a little bit of magic should have sealed the deal. However, as a novella, this book just doesn’t deliver. It’s too short to really get to know any of the girls, and because they’re described more by their hair color than anything else, it’s difficult to differentiate between them. I was also annoyed by the description of one girl as having a rosebud mouth, which came up every time she spoke.
Unfortunately, I found this novella disappointing.
February 1, 2023
Yeah this was a disappointment to me. I really wanted to like this based on the concepts It’s barely fleshed out, which is a function of how short it is but I’ve read much more successful novellas. I did really love the like unionization magic weaving scene and though that was a really evocative image - however the rest of the magic is a little eh. The characters are rather flat and so the romance doesn’t work here.
It also just doesn’t grapple with slavery well - the author put in a couple lines about slavery in relation to the magic in the book and they are ill conceived at best and offensive at worst. Other negative reviews of this book break that down a lot better than I could so I would go look at those.
This book is so bare bones and it suffers for it.
It also just doesn’t grapple with slavery well - the author put in a couple lines about slavery in relation to the magic in the book and they are ill conceived at best and offensive at worst. Other negative reviews of this book break that down a lot better than I could so I would go look at those.
This book is so bare bones and it suffers for it.
December 2, 2021
Gay socialist witches! What’s not to love?
Read
June 7, 2023Hmmmm……. Witches fighting for wage and labour rights but don’t understand intersectional identities and end up being discriminatory to Black folks. Sounds like white feminism.
December 16, 2020
Tell me there’s a book out there that offers a fictionalized account of early unions, fighting to gain new rights that will allow their members to live happier healthier lives. Tell me there’s a book that heavily involves the history of the textile industry. Tell me there’s a book out there where people can solve their problems by use of practical believable magic. Now tell me there’s something that combines all three of those things, and why yes, I do want to read that!
Enter The Factory Witches of Lowell.
The women and girls working at a textile mill in Lowell decide, not unreasonably, that they deserve more than what the company is willing to give them. Better pay, greater workplace safety, the usual things people have to fight for under a system that declares that “the winner” is whoever can give the least while getting the most. But the ensure solidarity, to ensure that all of them are together in the fight, they turn to witchcraft to bind themselves to the goal. It’s a rough trade, given that many of them work to earn money to send back to their families, and striking means no money. But a price must be paid for change, and the women know their value to the company, and compromises must be made to ensure that everybody can move forward again.
This novella could have been 100% real, a true account of a strike at a textile mill in a factory town, were it not for the magic element. I think that’s what makes it so compelling. I love historical fantasy and magical realism, things that are so grounded in the mundane that it makes the extraordinary that much more believable. Malerich did a really job job blending the mundane and the fantastical here; credit where credit is due, that’s a hard balance to strike.
We often take textiles for granted these days, what with new clothes being easy to come by and even easier to throw out most of the time. But Malerich shines a light on the dangers of the early mass production in the textile industry in The Factory Witches of Lowell. Low pay and long hours are obvious problems, and that was (and still is) common in a lot of work. But then there’s the young age of some employees, the danger of losing body parts if one isn’t quick enough with the large mechanical looms, the constant inhalation of tiny fibres that eventually destroy the lungs. It’s that inhalation that partly allows for the clever piece of sympathetic magic to work in the story. Cotton is in all of the employees, literally breathed in every day they work there, and that connection gave them a degree of power over each other and over the work itself. Between that and weaving parts of themselves into a piece of cloth, it made for a powerful binding, and I loved seeing such subtle magic work in tangible and believable ways.
The Factory Witches of Lowell isn’t a long read; I finished reading it in and afternoon, and I enjoyed every moment I spent with it. Malerich’s writing is clear and approachable, the story was interesting and contained aspects that are still relevant today despite the historic setting, and yes, being a geek for textiles made this novella that much better for me. If you’re a fan of historical fantasy and magical realism, then this is one book to look into sooner rather than later.
(Book received in exchange for an honest review.)
Enter The Factory Witches of Lowell.
The women and girls working at a textile mill in Lowell decide, not unreasonably, that they deserve more than what the company is willing to give them. Better pay, greater workplace safety, the usual things people have to fight for under a system that declares that “the winner” is whoever can give the least while getting the most. But the ensure solidarity, to ensure that all of them are together in the fight, they turn to witchcraft to bind themselves to the goal. It’s a rough trade, given that many of them work to earn money to send back to their families, and striking means no money. But a price must be paid for change, and the women know their value to the company, and compromises must be made to ensure that everybody can move forward again.
This novella could have been 100% real, a true account of a strike at a textile mill in a factory town, were it not for the magic element. I think that’s what makes it so compelling. I love historical fantasy and magical realism, things that are so grounded in the mundane that it makes the extraordinary that much more believable. Malerich did a really job job blending the mundane and the fantastical here; credit where credit is due, that’s a hard balance to strike.
We often take textiles for granted these days, what with new clothes being easy to come by and even easier to throw out most of the time. But Malerich shines a light on the dangers of the early mass production in the textile industry in The Factory Witches of Lowell. Low pay and long hours are obvious problems, and that was (and still is) common in a lot of work. But then there’s the young age of some employees, the danger of losing body parts if one isn’t quick enough with the large mechanical looms, the constant inhalation of tiny fibres that eventually destroy the lungs. It’s that inhalation that partly allows for the clever piece of sympathetic magic to work in the story. Cotton is in all of the employees, literally breathed in every day they work there, and that connection gave them a degree of power over each other and over the work itself. Between that and weaving parts of themselves into a piece of cloth, it made for a powerful binding, and I loved seeing such subtle magic work in tangible and believable ways.
The Factory Witches of Lowell isn’t a long read; I finished reading it in and afternoon, and I enjoyed every moment I spent with it. Malerich’s writing is clear and approachable, the story was interesting and contained aspects that are still relevant today despite the historic setting, and yes, being a geek for textiles made this novella that much better for me. If you’re a fan of historical fantasy and magical realism, then this is one book to look into sooner rather than later.
(Book received in exchange for an honest review.)
March 22, 2021
When I first saw this title pop up on Tor's Instagram, I clicked "want to read" on goodreads as quickly as humanly possible. Working girls forming a union? Witchcraft is involved? A real-life New England mill city? Sisters doing it for themselves? Hell yeah, sign me up!
There are Mill Girls woven into the tapestry of my family history, and I am a child and life-long resident of New England. My husband was living steps from the mills of Lowell when we met, and we moved soon after to the former mill lodgings along the Merrimack in Manchester, New Hampshire. I went on field trips to mills in elementary school. You say mill, and I say "tell me more!"
Well, "tell me more" speaks to my all-together experiences with The Factory Witches of Lowell. This is a story that suffers greatly from it's novella-length; there just wasn't enough time for satisfying descriptions of the world or the women (and witches) within. There is a rich history to be found in the mills and the girls that worked them, but C.S. Malerich spends their time barely sketching one girl from the next. The only difference from one girl to the next is the color of their hair.
The mill girls of Lowell are mighty; they are unionizing and using their collective power AND magical powers to force the hand of the fat cats who lord beyond the mills. They are seizing the powers of production through spell-craft. They are binding themselves to one another through spit, blood, and woven hair. Why then is this story so drab? The characters blend into one another, the action is repetitive, and motives are fickle and fleeting. Powers oscillate between being kitchen magic and being otherworldly might. People are dedicated to the cause on one page and utterly confused and uninterested on the next.
There's a promise of queer romance that also gets muddied and cast aside until the very end. One does not need to engage in physical acts of love or intimacy to "prove" any sort of queerness- in fact, the idea that "no sex = not queer" makes me irrationally irate - but the relationship between the girls within this book is both tacked on and cast aside. Our main duo are bound together, sure, but we really do not get a picture of who they are other than "witch" and "agitator", why they connect so deeply, or what they see in each other other than the practical role that they each play in the mill strike.
For such a short book, there is a startling absence of both characterization and plot. We know the girls by hair color. That's about it. One is described as having a "rosebud mouth" as her defining feature, and every single time that character speaks or enters the scene there is another comment about that "rosebud mouth". I am ready for thorns and vines to spring forth from that mouth, choking out the mundane and repetitive beats brought out time and again by Malerich.
I wish this book had been more. I wish the mill girls were more than just that: a collective label on a group of women and children who broke themselves upon the altar of capitalism. The Factory Witches of Lowell could have been something special, but it's just another slice of history where we think "oh, what about witchcraft?" instead of honoring the actual work, sacrifice, and power given by the women within.
There are Mill Girls woven into the tapestry of my family history, and I am a child and life-long resident of New England. My husband was living steps from the mills of Lowell when we met, and we moved soon after to the former mill lodgings along the Merrimack in Manchester, New Hampshire. I went on field trips to mills in elementary school. You say mill, and I say "tell me more!"
Well, "tell me more" speaks to my all-together experiences with The Factory Witches of Lowell. This is a story that suffers greatly from it's novella-length; there just wasn't enough time for satisfying descriptions of the world or the women (and witches) within. There is a rich history to be found in the mills and the girls that worked them, but C.S. Malerich spends their time barely sketching one girl from the next. The only difference from one girl to the next is the color of their hair.
The mill girls of Lowell are mighty; they are unionizing and using their collective power AND magical powers to force the hand of the fat cats who lord beyond the mills. They are seizing the powers of production through spell-craft. They are binding themselves to one another through spit, blood, and woven hair. Why then is this story so drab? The characters blend into one another, the action is repetitive, and motives are fickle and fleeting. Powers oscillate between being kitchen magic and being otherworldly might. People are dedicated to the cause on one page and utterly confused and uninterested on the next.
There's a promise of queer romance that also gets muddied and cast aside until the very end. One does not need to engage in physical acts of love or intimacy to "prove" any sort of queerness- in fact, the idea that "no sex = not queer" makes me irrationally irate - but the relationship between the girls within this book is both tacked on and cast aside. Our main duo are bound together, sure, but we really do not get a picture of who they are other than "witch" and "agitator", why they connect so deeply, or what they see in each other other than the practical role that they each play in the mill strike.
For such a short book, there is a startling absence of both characterization and plot. We know the girls by hair color. That's about it. One is described as having a "rosebud mouth" as her defining feature, and every single time that character speaks or enters the scene there is another comment about that "rosebud mouth". I am ready for thorns and vines to spring forth from that mouth, choking out the mundane and repetitive beats brought out time and again by Malerich.
I wish this book had been more. I wish the mill girls were more than just that: a collective label on a group of women and children who broke themselves upon the altar of capitalism. The Factory Witches of Lowell could have been something special, but it's just another slice of history where we think "oh, what about witchcraft?" instead of honoring the actual work, sacrifice, and power given by the women within.
November 10, 2020
This is such a creative idea with great scenes and fascinating characters. The choice of historical setting melding with fantasy elements is just wonderful. The difficulty is that the tale itself is sluggish and suffers from a writing style that is too fusty; the author chose to write in the style of the times she was describing, and it bogged down. I would have loved a more energetic voice and fewer characters to keep track of, it would have felt more action-oriented. I received my copy from the publisher through NetGalley.
January 4, 2021
Loved the premise. Everything else was rather disappointing.
January 6, 2021
So mad I didn't think of it first!
February 9, 2024
Edited February 2024
Nope, still not done with this because another book I was reading capitalized 'Black' which reminded me of the hue and cry this book received for capitalizing 'White' and seeing an odd choice a second time so closely together made me do a quick google search which netted this quote direct from the American Psychological Association in an article on Racial and Ethnic Identity.
When you are writing, you need to follow general principles to ensure that your language is free of bias. Here we provide guidelines for talking about racial and ethnic identity with inclusivity and respect.
Further down the article, the pertinent quote is thus:
Racial and ethnic groups are designated by proper nouns and are capitalized. Therefore, use “Black” and “White” instead of “black” and “white” (do not use colors to refer to other human groups; doing so is considered pejorative).
So... ... Yeah. I thought the choice was a little odd because I had never seen it before. Turns out, the author made the right choice. That is, being respectful and free of bias in this instance.
(If you want to read the whole article, you can find it here. https://apastyle.apa.org/style-gramma...)
edited to add:
After reading some of the low reviews, I have to ask: am I oblivious? I mean, I don't pick up on a lot of racist and sometimes sexist issues that other people do - and the things that do bother me often doesn't bother anyone else. I don't know what to think about this situation that I now find myself in because, yes, there were some uncomfortable moments in this book - but as someone that has read a lot of books about literal demons, I didn't view this quite the same way as 'slaves are now soulless' as other people had that as the takeaway.
I'm not saying my impression is right and theirs is wrong - I'm just trying to wrap my head around my feelings towards this book - and the things that, yes, did make me uncomfortable (like everyone's propensity for violence) but that were not mentioned in favor of things that I didn't even see. I don't know. I feel like I need to sit on this rating and review as well as reread this book to see if I can see what other people have. None of which I will do, to be fair.
I don't know, but this book and others reviews has given me food for thought - even if that wasn't the purpose.
Original, first impression review below.
Edited once more to add:
Upon more thought, and thinking about my impressions as I was reading, I viewed the scene with the demon feeding on the slave at auction as the demon being a manifestation of the slave's hopelessness. I didn't really view it as an actual demon - though there are questions I have about the word choice here and other places. Also, if they really are demons, why would a succubi be feeding on cattle? I mean, really. I don't know if this was how it was meant to be taken, but that was how I saw it.
The other scenes that were brought up by other reviewers... When it was said that that's why the slaves don't hex the whites (yes, whites was capitalized, which I admit I did not notice and is an odd choice, but at the same time I'm not sure I would have more than a raised eyebrow as someone that finds a lot of books capitalize other races, but not humans) I took that to be more because they do not own the cotton, not that they do not own themselves.
Finally, the whole 'subjugated' and including slaves and livestock... I mean, yes, that's a poor choice of wording and everything. I don't disagree. But...I don't really know how to take it, because that is the kind of thoughts that a white girl from that era could totally possibly have. I'm not trying to say that makes it okay. Because it obviously doesn't. And yet, at the same time, I disagree with whitewashing parts of history because we know better now.
I do not know if it was the author's intent - and I do not know if author intent actually counts for anything once the book is released to the wild - but I have been given much food for thought from this short little tale.
I am not going to change my rating or my original review - and in truth, I'll probably have no idea why this review has so many edits when I do my year end surveys and wrap-up for my blog - because it was my first impression thoughts.
Original review to follow.
Edited one final time (hopefully) to add:
After sleeping on it, I have decided to do something I have never done before: drop the rating of this book. So, I still don't see the same problems others do - but that anyone saw it like that is a problem. One that I maybe don't understand as well as those that saw it, but that I do agree that is a problem.
So...
Also, though, some of this is on me. Completely. Because I have not had a good year so far with books. I've only read two and one was a two star and I've already had two DNF's this year. I was trying so hard to make this a good book for me that I ignored things that did bother me somewhat - and there's no reason to think that I didn't ignore - or explain away - the problems that other people did see.
My issues with this book was 1: the level of violence and/or violent thoughts. There were at least two instances that the POV character wanted to severely hurt another, and once instance where our de facto hero slaps another girl that part of her 'union' and, ostensibly one of her friends. The other girl apologizes for what she said that 'caused' the slap. Our hero does not apologize for slapping her.
And, 2: the magic. Look, this wasn't a group of witches banding together to stick it to the man. This was one magic girl creating a spell that a non-magic girl could cast on all of them to make them loyal. It wasn't 'look what us women can do' so much as it was 'us women can't be trusted without magic forcing us'. And the penalty of wanting to break the magic binding is getting your hair magically picked out of your scalp.
Look, both these things made me uncomfortable when I read them, but I refused to see them as problematic because I wanted a good book (also, likely, because I read this all in one day without, really, giving myself time to think about it) - but they are problematic, at least for me.
Now, after more attention than this short book probably ever thought it would get, and a close examination of myself, I am ready to put this book fully behind me.
Original, now defunct, review below.
I love high fantasy books, but for me there's just always something unexpectedly fun about magic where you least expect it - like in a cotton mill where girls decided to use magic to unionize for 1: no increase of boardinghouse cost without relevant increase in pay; 2: limited working hours to only 10 per 24 hours; 3: safe and proper ventilation; and 4: women getting equal wages to men.
Over all, I thought this book was fun and sweet and the weakest link was actually the romance. I wouldn't mind if it had been longer and I can definitely see a sequel as being worthwhile. (I think I'm a little in love with Lydia, honestly.)
Nope, still not done with this because another book I was reading capitalized 'Black' which reminded me of the hue and cry this book received for capitalizing 'White' and seeing an odd choice a second time so closely together made me do a quick google search which netted this quote direct from the American Psychological Association in an article on Racial and Ethnic Identity.
When you are writing, you need to follow general principles to ensure that your language is free of bias. Here we provide guidelines for talking about racial and ethnic identity with inclusivity and respect.
Further down the article, the pertinent quote is thus:
Racial and ethnic groups are designated by proper nouns and are capitalized. Therefore, use “Black” and “White” instead of “black” and “white” (do not use colors to refer to other human groups; doing so is considered pejorative).
So... ... Yeah. I thought the choice was a little odd because I had never seen it before. Turns out, the author made the right choice. That is, being respectful and free of bias in this instance.
(If you want to read the whole article, you can find it here. https://apastyle.apa.org/style-gramma...)
edited to add:
After reading some of the low reviews, I have to ask: am I oblivious? I mean, I don't pick up on a lot of racist and sometimes sexist issues that other people do - and the things that do bother me often doesn't bother anyone else. I don't know what to think about this situation that I now find myself in because, yes, there were some uncomfortable moments in this book - but as someone that has read a lot of books about literal demons, I didn't view this quite the same way as 'slaves are now soulless' as other people had that as the takeaway.
I'm not saying my impression is right and theirs is wrong - I'm just trying to wrap my head around my feelings towards this book - and the things that, yes, did make me uncomfortable (like everyone's propensity for violence) but that were not mentioned in favor of things that I didn't even see. I don't know. I feel like I need to sit on this rating and review as well as reread this book to see if I can see what other people have. None of which I will do, to be fair.
I don't know, but this book and others reviews has given me food for thought - even if that wasn't the purpose.
Original, first impression review below.
Edited once more to add:
Upon more thought, and thinking about my impressions as I was reading, I viewed the scene with the demon feeding on the slave at auction as the demon being a manifestation of the slave's hopelessness. I didn't really view it as an actual demon - though there are questions I have about the word choice here and other places. Also, if they really are demons, why would a succubi be feeding on cattle? I mean, really. I don't know if this was how it was meant to be taken, but that was how I saw it.
The other scenes that were brought up by other reviewers... When it was said that that's why the slaves don't hex the whites (yes, whites was capitalized, which I admit I did not notice and is an odd choice, but at the same time I'm not sure I would have more than a raised eyebrow as someone that finds a lot of books capitalize other races, but not humans) I took that to be more because they do not own the cotton, not that they do not own themselves.
Finally, the whole 'subjugated' and including slaves and livestock... I mean, yes, that's a poor choice of wording and everything. I don't disagree. But...I don't really know how to take it, because that is the kind of thoughts that a white girl from that era could totally possibly have. I'm not trying to say that makes it okay. Because it obviously doesn't. And yet, at the same time, I disagree with whitewashing parts of history because we know better now.
I do not know if it was the author's intent - and I do not know if author intent actually counts for anything once the book is released to the wild - but I have been given much food for thought from this short little tale.
I am not going to change my rating or my original review - and in truth, I'll probably have no idea why this review has so many edits when I do my year end surveys and wrap-up for my blog - because it was my first impression thoughts.
Original review to follow.
Edited one final time (hopefully) to add:
After sleeping on it, I have decided to do something I have never done before: drop the rating of this book. So, I still don't see the same problems others do - but that anyone saw it like that is a problem. One that I maybe don't understand as well as those that saw it, but that I do agree that is a problem.
So...
Also, though, some of this is on me. Completely. Because I have not had a good year so far with books. I've only read two and one was a two star and I've already had two DNF's this year. I was trying so hard to make this a good book for me that I ignored things that did bother me somewhat - and there's no reason to think that I didn't ignore - or explain away - the problems that other people did see.
My issues with this book was 1: the level of violence and/or violent thoughts. There were at least two instances that the POV character wanted to severely hurt another, and once instance where our de facto hero slaps another girl that part of her 'union' and, ostensibly one of her friends. The other girl apologizes for what she said that 'caused' the slap. Our hero does not apologize for slapping her.
And, 2: the magic. Look, this wasn't a group of witches banding together to stick it to the man. This was one magic girl creating a spell that a non-magic girl could cast on all of them to make them loyal. It wasn't 'look what us women can do' so much as it was 'us women can't be trusted without magic forcing us'. And the penalty of wanting to break the magic binding is getting your hair magically picked out of your scalp.
Look, both these things made me uncomfortable when I read them, but I refused to see them as problematic because I wanted a good book (also, likely, because I read this all in one day without, really, giving myself time to think about it) - but they are problematic, at least for me.
Now, after more attention than this short book probably ever thought it would get, and a close examination of myself, I am ready to put this book fully behind me.
Original, now defunct, review below.
I love high fantasy books, but for me there's just always something unexpectedly fun about magic where you least expect it - like in a cotton mill where girls decided to use magic to unionize for 1: no increase of boardinghouse cost without relevant increase in pay; 2: limited working hours to only 10 per 24 hours; 3: safe and proper ventilation; and 4: women getting equal wages to men.
Over all, I thought this book was fun and sweet and the weakest link was actually the romance. I wouldn't mind if it had been longer and I can definitely see a sequel as being worthwhile. (I think I'm a little in love with Lydia, honestly.)
November 11, 2020
Being from Lowell, Massachusetts and having worked as a seasonal Park Ranger at the Lowell National Historical Park in college, I was dying to read this as soon as I saw the cover! Overall, it was an interesting story and I liked the ways witchcraft was used to bolster their strike and Union. This story takes place in the 19th century and incorporates accurate depictions of life as a Mill Girl, buildings/landmarks, and even some significant historical figures. The story mostly follows Mill Girls living in a boardinghouse, including: young, determined Judith who fights against poor working conditions; and Hannah, a Seer, who helps teach the girls spells. The writing style was a bit difficult to read as it seems like it could’ve been written in the period it depicted. For that reason, I felt a bit disconnected from the characters. I also wished this was a longer story, so it would be easier to get to know characters better. It’s clear Malerich has done a lot of research about Lowell and the life of a Mill Girl, which really made the burgeoning city come to life! Many of the textile mill buildings still exist in Lowell, so it was fun for me to picture what things were like in the 19th century.
Thank you NetGalley and TorDotCom for providing this digital ARC.
Thank you NetGalley and TorDotCom for providing this digital ARC.
November 11, 2020
Read an ARC via NetGalley
Content warning: Workers' rights violations, terminal illness
In Lowell, Massachusetts, weavers are fed up with long hours, unfair and unequal wages, and terrible working conditions. Judith and Hannah, literal witches, band their boarders together with witch craft and hope, starting a union to fight back against their managers.
This novella is just fun. The witchcraft is very real and well-defined on the page. There is a delightful camaraderie between all the girls (and yes, there are girls who kiss in this book). What stood out to me the most about the magic was the fact that it was consent-based. You couldn't just cast a spell on an object if it wasn't yours, and you couldn't cast a spell on a person if they didn't want it. This type of system lent itself well to the unity experienced by the unionizing girls.
It really leans into its historical period by contextualizing the plight of the young factory workers while also anchoring the events in the context of how work is valued. The cultural and historical context is rich here, which makes it an engaging read from start to finish.
Content warning: Workers' rights violations, terminal illness
In Lowell, Massachusetts, weavers are fed up with long hours, unfair and unequal wages, and terrible working conditions. Judith and Hannah, literal witches, band their boarders together with witch craft and hope, starting a union to fight back against their managers.
This novella is just fun. The witchcraft is very real and well-defined on the page. There is a delightful camaraderie between all the girls (and yes, there are girls who kiss in this book). What stood out to me the most about the magic was the fact that it was consent-based. You couldn't just cast a spell on an object if it wasn't yours, and you couldn't cast a spell on a person if they didn't want it. This type of system lent itself well to the unity experienced by the unionizing girls.
It really leans into its historical period by contextualizing the plight of the young factory workers while also anchoring the events in the context of how work is valued. The cultural and historical context is rich here, which makes it an engaging read from start to finish.
November 29, 2020
The Factory Witches of Lowell is a fictional account of the beginning of the Lowell’s Mill strike, which was organized by the women working in the factories. At first, I was intrigued by the premise and enjoyed meeting the different characters. Hannah and Judith were interesting but I never really felt like I knew them (and even got them confused with other characters at times). Overall, there was very little character development in this story. The magic system wasn’t really that well-developed, it felt like it was just tossed in there to try to add something new to the story. Additionally, I felt incredibly unsatisfied when the story ended because it felt like so much of the story was missing. Overall, I’m not quite sure that I would recommend this one.
*Disclaimer: I received an advance digital copy of this book for free from the publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
*Disclaimer: I received an advance digital copy of this book for free from the publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
July 1, 2021
3.5 stars
A fast paced, easy read. As expected, a strong thread of feminism, fair treatment of workers and workers rights, racism, and relationships between women.
The characters are fairly well developed and interesting. It was difficult to follow how MANY characters there are, for such a short story, but that works itself out as you read on.
A big critique I would add is that there are a few references about Hannah's gifts and experiences/feelings around slavery. I think these could have been handled better, and that it just comes off very awkward. Either the whole book needed to be much longer so these thoughts could be explored in more depth and with more sensitive nuance. Or they needed to be removed.
A fast paced, easy read. As expected, a strong thread of feminism, fair treatment of workers and workers rights, racism, and relationships between women.
The characters are fairly well developed and interesting. It was difficult to follow how MANY characters there are, for such a short story, but that works itself out as you read on.
A big critique I would add is that there are a few references about Hannah's gifts and experiences/feelings around slavery. I think these could have been handled better, and that it just comes off very awkward. Either the whole book needed to be much longer so these thoughts could be explored in more depth and with more sensitive nuance. Or they needed to be removed.
September 13, 2022
3.5. This is too short not to like, and conceptually so great. A group of young women working in the Lowell Mills in Massachusetts band together to unionize and demand better working conditions.. using witchcraft? Yeah I’d join that union for sure.
The writing was a little hard to get into. It was stiff in a way clearly meant to emulate the way women of that era talked but it felt like more of a blocker than an enhancer of the story.
I also can’t help but wish this was a bit longer, so the love story had time to better develop. But, alas we can’t have it all.
If you are interested in… unionization? Witches? Cotton mills? I would recommend it to you. Might be a hard one to recommend widely, it’s just a little less than what I wanted it to be.
The writing was a little hard to get into. It was stiff in a way clearly meant to emulate the way women of that era talked but it felt like more of a blocker than an enhancer of the story.
I also can’t help but wish this was a bit longer, so the love story had time to better develop. But, alas we can’t have it all.
If you are interested in… unionization? Witches? Cotton mills? I would recommend it to you. Might be a hard one to recommend widely, it’s just a little less than what I wanted it to be.
October 4, 2022
“Flog them, hang them, drown them like rats. It won’t change the facts: we are the ones who poured our sweat and souls into your looms. We have rights to expect a little loyalty.”
In Lowell, Mass, witches are on strike. Factory girls upset with their wages--watching their friends suffer disease and malnutrition, unable to send much home to their families--decide to take matters into their own hands. They're the ones who do the work, so they can get the looms to do their bidding. Right? But a strike, just like the spell they cast, can only work if everyone is on board. If even one person decides to renege, what they have worked for will be lost.
A short, sweet novella that's lovely for the autumn.
In Lowell, Mass, witches are on strike. Factory girls upset with their wages--watching their friends suffer disease and malnutrition, unable to send much home to their families--decide to take matters into their own hands. They're the ones who do the work, so they can get the looms to do their bidding. Right? But a strike, just like the spell they cast, can only work if everyone is on board. If even one person decides to renege, what they have worked for will be lost.
A short, sweet novella that's lovely for the autumn.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 279 reviews