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Factory Girls
Factory Girls | Michelle Gallen
'Vital, bang-on, and seriously funny' Roddy Doyle Smart-mouthed and filthy-minded, Maeve Murray has always felt like an outsider in the shitty wee town in Northern Ireland that she calls home. She hopes her exam results will be her ticket to a new life in London; a life where no one knows her business, or cares about her dead sister. But first she's got to survive a tit-for-tat paramilitary campaign as brutal as her relationship with her mam, iron 800 shirts a day to keep her summer job in the local factory, and dodge the attentions of Handy Andy Strawbridge, her dubious English boss. Maeve and her two best friends try to squeeze as much fun as possible into their last summer at home. But as marching season raises tensions among the Catholic and Protestant workforce, Maeve realises something is going on behind the scenes at the factory, forcing her to make a choice that will impact her life - and the lives of others - for ever.
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review
jlhammar
Factory Girls | Michelle Gallen
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Pickpick

Pretty great! I totally get the comparisons to Derry Girls (loved that show), but this is significantly darker. Still very funny, but Maeve is dealing with some heavy stuff. Loved the ending. Definitely want to try Gallen‘s debut, Big Girl, Small Town.

Excited to hear what my IRL book club thinks about this when we meet next week. Should be a good discussion.

EclecticBookLover I‘m reading this, too, and it reminds me very much of Derry Girls, but coarser. I‘m still in the beginning, but I‘m really enjoying it. 1w
batsy This sounds so good! Derry Girls but darker sounds like it will be just right in novel form. 1w
LeahBergen This is my IRL bookclub‘s next read. 👍 7d
See All 6 Comments
jlhammar @LeahBergen Nice! I‘ll have to let you know how the discussion goes for my group. We meet Tuesday. 7d
jlhammar @LeahBergen Our book club discussion was great last night! Everyone liked the book. We also ended laughing about the tv series Derry Girls quite a bit (which most had watched and loved). Hope your group enjoys it as well! 3d
LeahBergen Oh, good! I‘m a big fan of Derry Girls, too. 😄 3d
60 likes6 comments
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jlhammar
Factory Girls | Michelle Gallen
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“Maeve Murray was just eighteen years old when she first met Andy Strawbridge but she knew he was a fucker the minute she laid eyes on him.”

#FirstLineFridays

Soubhiville 🤣 Sometimes you just know. 2w
KathyWheeler What a great first line! 2w
LeahBergen You‘ve reminded me that I still need to buy this. 😆 2w
marleed Oh that‘s a good line! 2w
57 likes2 stack adds4 comments
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EclecticBookLover
Factory Girls | Michelle Gallen
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So some how when I did my #Roll100 I skipped over numbers 36, 42, and 43 🤪. So I'm picking some other books that are close to the numbers. It works out well since I really want to read Daisy Jones before I see the series. My February list isn't going so well, but I think I may be able to knock off just one, for now. Thanks @PuddleJumper for the new numbers!

PuddleJumper 🎉🎉 1mo
22 likes1 comment
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TheKidUpstairs
Factory Girls | Michelle Gallen
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Pickpick

Loved it. The cover seems to promise something lighter and fluffier than it really is, but in a way that reflects Maeve herself. Trying very hard to give no f-s and leave her town and girlhood behind but really struggling to leave it all, her family, friends, and buried traumas.

Hooked_on_books I loved this too! 2mo
72 likes3 stack adds1 comment
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jlhammar
Factory Girls | Michelle Gallen
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Friday #bookmail Part 1! I‘m hoping to get to all of these in March. Tagged is for my IRL book club.

sarahbarnes Trespasses is so good! 2mo
LeahBergen I need to pick up a copy of Factory Girls. 2mo
batsy I want to read the tagged book, as well! Such a fabulous cover. 2mo
60 likes1 stack add3 comments
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Hooked_on_books
Factory Girls | Michelle Gallen
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Pickpick

It‘s the summer of 1994 and Maeve is waiting on her exam results to see if they will enable her to leave Northern Ireland for uni, so she starts working at a factory. This sets the stage to reveal the reality of small town NI during the Troubles, when bombings and murders were normalized. I thought this was fantastic.

LeeRHarry Stacked! 2mo
jlhammar Yay, glad to hear it! This is the next pick for my IRL book club. 2mo
56 likes4 stack adds2 comments
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AmyK1
Factory Girls | Michelle Gallen
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Mehso-so

This was so slow. And when something did finally happen it was a bit of a let down-not all that exciting. I struggled a bit with the dialogue too. The best parts were the references to Dead Poets Society, Pearl Jam and Bon Jovi.

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BookNightOwl
Factory Girls | Michelle Gallen
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Mehso-so

Factory Girls main character is Maeve. All Maeve dreams about is getting out of her little town. She decides to take a summer job at a shirt factory while she waits for her test results to enter university. This book is set in 1994 in Ireland.

BookNightOwl The cast of character where well described and you could easily distinguish who was who. I liked how you followed these group of girls and their lives in and out of the factory. I just felt like the good stuff didn't happen until the end of the book. I gave this book a B- 2mo
49 likes1 comment
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vlwelser
Factory Girls | Michelle Gallen
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Pickpick

I loved this. Don't be fooled by the cheesy cover. 1990s Northern Ireland is the setting. 3 girls are waiting for their end of school test results and end up working in a shirt factory. It's very funny and it definitely does a great job of setting the scene. Definitely recommend.

#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks

#Aardvark

charl08 Such a fun book! 2mo
Suet624 Ireland you say? Yes please.. 2mo
TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 2mo
47 likes3 stack adds3 comments
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Breanne1
Factory Girls | Michelle Gallen
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Mehso-so

I felt like this book dragged on and had a lot of lead up to then quickly transitioning to a rushed ending. I liked the 90s references sprinkled in but honestly found myself rushing through and oftentimes struggling with the dialogue.

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NikkiKey94
Factory Girls | Michelle Gallen
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Pickpick

This book was a pick from Aardvark Book Club and I didn‘t pick it for my box but I decided to borrow it from Libby. I had seen so many good things about this book and it definitely made me want to read it. I enjoyed this book a lot more than I thought I would! It quickly sucked me into the story and these girls in this book were definitely some strong women!

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KimchiPiglet
Factory Girls | Michelle Gallen
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Pickpick

This lrish ditty of a young Catholic woman living in a Northern Ireland town in 1994 is darkly humorous, heartfelt, and surprisingly uplifting. Maeve Murray perseveres through heartbreak and social injustice with a biting, sarcastic attitude that had me laughing out loud throughout the read. This book also gives some insight into the violence surrounding this region during 1994. Some warning though, Maeve is hilarious but crass!

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charl08
Factory Girls | Michelle Gallen
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Wonderfully dark, funny look at life on a summer job in NI c 1994. The Troubles, romance and dysfunctional families. Something of a cross between Derry Girls and Milkman. TW below.

charl08 TWs for suicide, work harassment, sectarian violence. 3mo
Oryx Sounds good. Although I bailed on her previous book, I might need to give it a chance. 3mo
66 likes3 stack adds2 comments
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KimchiPiglet
Factory Girls | Michelle Gallen
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Woo hoo! Starting this book today! I‘ve heard good things. Thanks @AardvarkBookClub

AardvarkBookClub Happy reading!!! We found this one so funny! 3mo
KimchiPiglet Hi! I just completed this! It was super good! Just posted my review! Thanks again @AardvarkBookClub 3mo
2 likes2 comments
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shawnmooney
Factory Girls | Michelle Gallen
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vlwelser
Factory Girls | Michelle Gallen
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#Aardvark December picks are live. I know I'm late to the party but it took me a while to decide.

So I picked this. Even though I sort of detest the cover.

FelinesAndFelonies I can't decide if I love or hate the cover but '90s nostalgia is hitting me hard lately. 😂 4mo
vlwelser @FelinesAndFelonies The description is actually really interesting and I was able to recognize that once I decided to ignore the cover (def not how I normally pick books). 4mo
FelinesAndFelonies I'm not super familiar with The Troubles so I'm looking forward to it. 4mo
40 likes3 comments
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Breanne1
Factory Girls | Michelle Gallen
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Looking forward to my #aardvark December box to arrive!!

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Hooked_on_books
Factory Girls | Michelle Gallen
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I really liked Gallen‘s first book and am excited to see her with a new one, so I decided to give #aardvark a try. I‘m excited to support a new book subscription service and look forward to seeing these two in my first box!

MicheleinPhilly HA! I pulled the trigger today too. 😁 4mo
swishandflick Woohoo! I'm loving to see the Aardvark crew growing 👏🏽 4mo
AardvarkBookClub 🤗❤️ 4mo
40 likes3 comments
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Rhondareads
Factory Girls | Michelle Gallen
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Funny ,real ,dark a novel set in Ireland with characters that will keep you turning the pages.Laugh out loud funny.emotional moving highly recommend @AlgonquinBooks

11 likes2 stack adds
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REPollock
Factory Girls | Michelle Gallen
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Pickpick

I had only vague knowledge of the conflicts between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland in the 80s and 90s (I was a child/teen) and this put a human context on those struggles. Also a great glimpse into what a garment factory in a European nation was like at the time that the industry was largely shifting to manufacturers in Asian countries.

I received an ARC of this novel from #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

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REPollock
Factory Girls | Michelle Gallen
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Next ARC from NetGalley!

13 likes1 stack add