Maeve Murray is waiting for her GCSE scores to determine where she will go to college. She's grown up in a small town in Northern Ireland during the Troubles, and she's got her sights set on London. Factory Girls by Michelle Gallen follows Maeve and her two best friends in their potentially final summer in their hometown in that run up to receiving their scores. The three gals all get jobs at the local shirt factory and their eyes are opened to a big dose of reality. 

Despite growing up near Protestants, casually called Prods, Maeve hasn't really ever been around any until she starts work at the factory. Nor has she ever had to work a ten hour day with her salary dependent on how quickly she can iron freshly made shirts. But Maeve is also grieving the death of her older sister and wondering what will become of herself when she goes off to college- if her grades are good enough. Her two friends also get plenty of page time and development, and I loved each character very much- flaws and all. 

I think what I loved about this book is that it takes a terrible time in Irish history (and let's be clear- there are a lot of bad times in their history) and tells a gentle story about three girls trying to finagle between their desire to leave and their love for their town and families. The story is gentle and funny, but it doesn't down play the very real trauma of the time and the unpredictable danger they are surrounded by at all times. Another part that I loved is how it's a coming of age novel that stops before the resolution, ending with questions and just another beginning. And isn't that more realistic to life? Seasons of our lives don't always feel so cut and dry when they are happening and growth and personal realization is usually nonlinear and not on a novel's timeline. 

So while I think this one is a real banger, keep it mind it's low on plot until the final quarter and there's lots of dialect which may be challenging for some readers. I can't capture everything that made this one special in a review, but it has a special place in my heart and that'll have tae do.