The Queen of the Big Time by Adriana Trigiani

Nella Catelucca is thrilled at the possibility that she might be able to attend the real high school in the small town three miles from the farm in eastern Pennsylvania where she lives with her sisters. She desperately wants to be a teacher, a seemingly impossible dream for a young girl in her situation in 1911. As it turns out she does walk the 3 miles in all weather just to go to school but circumstances land her in the local blouse factory anyway. There is love, and loss and some surprises but mostly it is a delightful window into this very Italian immigrant, very Catholic piece of Americana. Nella’s spirit and intelligence cannot be defeated even by the dust and grime of the factory. I cared so much about Nella that I stayed up to read the book clear to the end and was delighted to learn that the story was based on the author’s real grandmother.