Families who loved Factory Girl by Josanne La Valley often look for books with a similar feel. These 20 recommendations were selected for their similarity in style, theme, and reading level.
Reach for this book when your teenager is beginning to question the ethics of global consumerism or expressing a desire to understand the hidden human costs behind the items they use every day. It is an essential choice for a child who feels a deep sense of justice and wants to understand how systemic oppression affects peers in different parts of the world. The story follows Roshen, a sixteen year old Uyghur girl who leaves her family farm for a factory in southern China to pay off a crushing debt. This is a sober, realistic portrayal of labor exploitation and ethnic discrimination, balanced by the powerful emotional themes of sisterhood and cultural preservation. Parents will find it an excellent bridge for discussing human rights, religious freedom, and the resilience of the human spirit in high school aged readers.