By Gracie Hart
When Molly finishes school in 1936 she follows her two elder sisters, Rose and Annie, into a job at the Rowntree's Chocolate Factory in York. It's here she meets Connie and they quickly become best friends. Connie comes from a troubled family — her stepfather is abusive and her mother neglectful. She longs for a better life with her baby half-brother Billy.
Rose becomes engaged to Larry but soon catches the eye of dashing Ned, a manager at the factory. Torn between both men, she has a big decision to make. Meanwhile, Annie starts a close friendship with Josh, a mixed-race lad who works on a barge. Can they overcome racial prejudices of the time or will their closeness end before it's hardly begun?
Delightfully uplifting, I loved reading about the sisters, their mother and Connie. It was a departure from my usual reads but one I thoroughly enjoyed. I did, however, find the dialogue a little clunky but it didn't spoil my experience. It was an easy read, set during the period between the Great War and World War II. The story dealt with some very difficult topics sensitively and empathetically. I thought it was heart-warming and enchanting with strong female characters.
Delightfully uplifting, I loved reading about the sisters, their mother and Connie. It was a departure from my usual reads but one I thoroughly enjoyed. I did, however, find the dialogue a little clunky but it didn't spoil my experience. It was an easy read, set during the period between the Great War and World War II. The story dealt with some very difficult topics sensitively and empathetically. I thought it was heart-warming and enchanting with strong female characters.
★★★★☆
- Paperback: 320 pages
- Publisher: Penguin
- Publication Year: 2024
- Genre: Historical Fiction, Women's Fiction, Romance
- Author: Gracie Hart
Synopsis
The aroma of chocolate was as familiar to Molly Freeman as the nose on her face. Living and schooling on Haxby Road alongside the Rowntree's Chocolate Factory, Molly watched the daily trudge of women employed there in their white uniforms as she sat at her school desk.
When Molly secures a job on the production line at the factory, she's excited to become one of these women. As she labours hard at the factory, she meets Connie. Quickly the two form a close friendship, and Molly begins to see the world differently.
Living their lives to the fullest, loving the wrong men, working long hours, and sharing tears of friendship and heartbreak but always being known and being proud to be called The Rowntree's Chocolate Box Girls Molly and Connie make the most of their lives.
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