The Mill Girls by Tracy Johnson

"Mill Girls" is a compilation of four separate memoirs before and during WW2. It's an interesting read, though not a riveting one. I thought it was noteworthy that in almost every story, all members of the households who were of age, worked. There were no Susie Homemakers here. There wasn't that luxury. And even with several wages coming in, life was stark.

The most memorable passage in here, to me, was in story one, where the woman talked about "making do" with liquid paraffin in place of butter since they were only rationed 2oz per week. That just floored me. But the author stated that with saccharin and a bit of jam it wasn't half bad. (!) I just can't get my mind around that...

Sometimes the stories ran together since they were all describing the same scene (although from different angles and personality) so at times it felt a little repetitive. But overall it's a quick enjoyable read.

MY RATING: PG (for mild profanity)

*I received a free ecopy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.