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Children of the Famine #2
Wildflower Girl
The second book in the Famine Trilogy begun with Under the Hawthorne Tree. At seven, Peggy made a terrifying journey through famine-stricken Ireland. Now thirteen, and determined to make a new life for herself, she sets off alone across the Atlantic to America. Will she ever see her family again? An extraordinary story of courage, independence and adventure
173 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 1991
83 people are currently reading
750 people want to read
About the author
Marita Conlon-McKenna
30 books221 followersBorn in Dublin in 1956 and brought up in Goatstown, Marita went to school at the Convent of the Sacred Heart, Mount Anville, later working in the family business, the bank, and a travel agency. She has four children with her husband James, and they live in the Stillorgan area of Dublin.
Marita was always fascinated by the Famine period in Irish history and read everything available on the subject. When she heard a radio report of an unmarked children's grave from the Famine period being found under a hawthorn tree, she decided to write her first book, Under the Hawthorn Tree.
Published in May 1990, the book was an immediate success and become a classic. It has been translated into over a dozen languages, including Arabic, Bahasa, French, Dutch, German, Swedish, Italian, Japanese and Irish. The book has been read on RTÉ Radio and is very popular in schools, both with teachers and pupils. It has been made a supplementary curriculum reader in many schools and is also used by schools in Northern Ireland for EMU (Education through Mutual Understanding) projects. It was also filmed by Young Irish Film Makers, in association with RTÉ and Channel 4. This is available as a DVD.
Marita has written more books for children which were also very well received. The Blue Horse reached No. 1 on the Bestseller List and won the BISTO BOOK OF THE YEAR Award. No Goodbye, which tells of the heartbreak of a young family when their mother leaves home, was recommended by Book Trust in their guide for One Parent Families. Safe Harbour is the story of two English children evacuated from London during World War ll to live with their grandfather in Greystones, Co Wicklow and was shortlisted for the BISTO Book of the Year Award. A Girl Called Blue follows the life of an orphan, trying to find who she really is in a cold and strict orphanage. Marita has also explored the world of fantasy with her book In Deep Dark Wood.
Marita has won several awards, including the International Reading Association Award, the Osterreichischer Kinder und Jugendbuchpreis, the Reading Association of Ireland Award and the Bisto Book of the Year Award.
Marita was always fascinated by the Famine period in Irish history and read everything available on the subject. When she heard a radio report of an unmarked children's grave from the Famine period being found under a hawthorn tree, she decided to write her first book, Under the Hawthorn Tree.
Published in May 1990, the book was an immediate success and become a classic. It has been translated into over a dozen languages, including Arabic, Bahasa, French, Dutch, German, Swedish, Italian, Japanese and Irish. The book has been read on RTÉ Radio and is very popular in schools, both with teachers and pupils. It has been made a supplementary curriculum reader in many schools and is also used by schools in Northern Ireland for EMU (Education through Mutual Understanding) projects. It was also filmed by Young Irish Film Makers, in association with RTÉ and Channel 4. This is available as a DVD.
Marita has written more books for children which were also very well received. The Blue Horse reached No. 1 on the Bestseller List and won the BISTO BOOK OF THE YEAR Award. No Goodbye, which tells of the heartbreak of a young family when their mother leaves home, was recommended by Book Trust in their guide for One Parent Families. Safe Harbour is the story of two English children evacuated from London during World War ll to live with their grandfather in Greystones, Co Wicklow and was shortlisted for the BISTO Book of the Year Award. A Girl Called Blue follows the life of an orphan, trying to find who she really is in a cold and strict orphanage. Marita has also explored the world of fantasy with her book In Deep Dark Wood.
Marita has won several awards, including the International Reading Association Award, the Osterreichischer Kinder und Jugendbuchpreis, the Reading Association of Ireland Award and the Bisto Book of the Year Award.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 100 reviews
October 29, 2011
‘Wildflower Girl’, by Marita Conlon McKenna is the much-loved sequel to ‘Under the Hawthorn Tree’. It is set in post-famine Ireland; a time of hardships, emigration and uncertainty. The book begins with Peggy, the central character, receiving news that her and her siblings have been offered a free passage to America. Peggy is thrilled, she dreams about the New World where she will make her fortune, but her sister Eily does not share her excitement. Eily is anxious about what will become of the family, once upon a time they were separated and she doesn’t want this fate to become them again. She feels responsible for their elderly aunt who so kindly took them in during the dark days of the Irish Famine. Her predicament heightens when the family learn that their rented bakery shop is being sold and so they will all be left homeless. Bleakness abounds their little village, there are few jobs and relatively no hope for many of the neighbouring families and so many decide to take up the offer of emigration. Eventually Eily reluctantly gives in and tells 14 year old Peggy that she too can go to America. Peggy is apprehensive about making the journey alone and feels slightly betrayed by her siblings - her brother Michael finds a job locally and Eily decides to marry the man she loves. This point in book is heartbreakingly sad, the author captures the thoughts and feelings of the characters excellently and the reader can really empathize with the O’Driscoll family and the pain with which impending separation brings. The journey across the Atlantic is horrendous; Peggy has to endure sea-sickness, cabin fever and watch her friends attempt to survive in cramped, over-crowded conditions. On arriving in America she finds a job immediately and is thrilled at her good fortune. However, her new position as a kitchen-maid proves to be far more demanding than any work she did for her aunts back in her hometown of Castletaggart. She works long hours and at night-time longs for the comfort and security of her family. Towards the end of the book Peggy’s situation brightens somewhat though the book’s ending tells us a lot about the feelings of the central character as well as the time that she lived in. The book is beautifully written; McKenna enchants us into the novel with her lavish descriptions of the Irish countryside and brilliantly portrays the simple lifestyle of the O’Driscoll family. This book would be suitable for able readers in Year 5 and upwards.
February 27, 2020
Set seven years after "Under the Hawthorn Tree", this books follows the journey of young Peggy as she leaves Ireland and travels to America in search of a better life. Throughout the book, Peggy faces many hardships including seasickness, loneliness, homesickness and abuse from horrible employers.
Despite Peggy being my least favourite character in the first book, her determination and strength of character quickly won me over and I admired her courage, compassion and determination.
Once again, a beautifully written book by the author, and now I am off to find the last novel in this terrific trilogy.
Despite Peggy being my least favourite character in the first book, her determination and strength of character quickly won me over and I admired her courage, compassion and determination.
Once again, a beautifully written book by the author, and now I am off to find the last novel in this terrific trilogy.
September 14, 2021
Set 7 years after 'Under the Hawthorn Tree,' Peggy, the youngest of the O’Driscoll children, takes passage on a ship to America to start a new life. The story tells of her experiences, leaving her family, journeying in awful conditions and trying to find her feet in a job amongst abusive and snobbish employers.
This was a different book to the first in the series, but equally brilliant. This series is exactly what I look for in historical fiction. We live the historical events with Peggy, and come to understand something of what it meant to be alive at this time in history (1840s/50s).
Conlon-McKenna perfectly strikes the balance of providing younger readers (I'd recommend for ages 9+) with an appreciation of the realities of the hardships Peggy faces, without overdoing the violence, abuse and danger she faces. Thus the novel feels ultimately safe, with small joys and oases of security and kindness giving an overall optimistic feel to the story.
Life Lessons:
This book really made me appreciate how fully our lives are shaped by when, where and to whom we are born. It reminded me to be grateful for my own privilege, and to always remember the greater hardships others face - to live with empathy and generosity.
This was a different book to the first in the series, but equally brilliant. This series is exactly what I look for in historical fiction. We live the historical events with Peggy, and come to understand something of what it meant to be alive at this time in history (1840s/50s).
Conlon-McKenna perfectly strikes the balance of providing younger readers (I'd recommend for ages 9+) with an appreciation of the realities of the hardships Peggy faces, without overdoing the violence, abuse and danger she faces. Thus the novel feels ultimately safe, with small joys and oases of security and kindness giving an overall optimistic feel to the story.
Life Lessons:
This book really made me appreciate how fully our lives are shaped by when, where and to whom we are born. It reminded me to be grateful for my own privilege, and to always remember the greater hardships others face - to live with empathy and generosity.
January 25, 2025
Aw. I want Peggy to do well more than I want me to do well.
August 7, 2022
Despite giving Under The Hawthorne Tree 5 stars, I personally felt that Wildflower Girl didn’t quite hit the 5 stars - it was, however, a solid sequel and I still gave it 4 stars!
In Wildflower Girl, we follow Peggy as she leaves Ireland, boards The Fortunata and sets sail for Boston for a new life in America. I found this book well written and well researched and you really felt like you were there with Peggy during her voyage and settling into working life. I felt Wildflower Girl gave an accurate description of what the voyage to America on the ship would have been like - such as seasickness and living in close quarters for weeks on end. Once she landed in America, Peggy starts working as a kitchen maid and I enjoyed seeing her mature and make friends such as Kitty and Sarah. It was also nice for Peggy to receive the letters from Ireland to tie in how Eily, Michael and Nano were.
All in all, I felt Wildflower Girl was a solid sequel and I did enjoy it - it’s perhaps a little more character driven than Under The Hawthorne Tree but I did still enjoy it and will be reading the final book, Fields of Home, too! I definitely think these books should be recommended reading for younger audiences as they showcase snippets of history in an accessible way.
This review is 100% my own opinion!
In Wildflower Girl, we follow Peggy as she leaves Ireland, boards The Fortunata and sets sail for Boston for a new life in America. I found this book well written and well researched and you really felt like you were there with Peggy during her voyage and settling into working life. I felt Wildflower Girl gave an accurate description of what the voyage to America on the ship would have been like - such as seasickness and living in close quarters for weeks on end. Once she landed in America, Peggy starts working as a kitchen maid and I enjoyed seeing her mature and make friends such as Kitty and Sarah. It was also nice for Peggy to receive the letters from Ireland to tie in how Eily, Michael and Nano were.
All in all, I felt Wildflower Girl was a solid sequel and I did enjoy it - it’s perhaps a little more character driven than Under The Hawthorne Tree but I did still enjoy it and will be reading the final book, Fields of Home, too! I definitely think these books should be recommended reading for younger audiences as they showcase snippets of history in an accessible way.
This review is 100% my own opinion!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 25, 2017
Wildflower Girl is a follow-on sequel to Under the Hawthorn Tree and is set seven years after the Great Famine of Ireland which saw the O'Driscoll children travelling across the country to reach he safety of their great aunts. In Wildflower Girl, another part of Irish history is explore with Peggy travelling alone to America to find work and a better life than one she would lead in Ireland and the small town of Castlehaggart.
I listened to this on audiobook and can highly recommend the version narrated by Caroline Lennon. She does a fantastic job telling Peggy's story.
This book is set in the 1840/50s and shows some of the earlier emigration completed by Irish people to America and this book shows the horror and stress of the journey but again in a way that children can read it and understand. It's what I love about these books is that the story is told in a way that's accessible to children but at the same time the importance of the story and its place in Irish history can be understood by young readers.
I got oddly emotional with this book when Peggy was on the ship to America, surrounded by other people. She was 13 years old and knowing so many young girls and boys like her made this trip with some succeeding in America and others being exploited tugged at my heartstrings. It's such a poignant part of Irish history, and it's still something that's effecting the Irish economy today with the young generation uprooting to the US, Australia and Canada on the regular.
I do love stories with the upstairs/downstairs relations in a house such as we saw with Peggy's job as a housemaid. I think this one was done really well and didn't hide some of the hardships Peggy had to go through but the simple joys as well.
I listened to this on audiobook and can highly recommend the version narrated by Caroline Lennon. She does a fantastic job telling Peggy's story.
This book is set in the 1840/50s and shows some of the earlier emigration completed by Irish people to America and this book shows the horror and stress of the journey but again in a way that children can read it and understand. It's what I love about these books is that the story is told in a way that's accessible to children but at the same time the importance of the story and its place in Irish history can be understood by young readers.
I got oddly emotional with this book when Peggy was on the ship to America, surrounded by other people. She was 13 years old and knowing so many young girls and boys like her made this trip with some succeeding in America and others being exploited tugged at my heartstrings. It's such a poignant part of Irish history, and it's still something that's effecting the Irish economy today with the young generation uprooting to the US, Australia and Canada on the regular.
I do love stories with the upstairs/downstairs relations in a house such as we saw with Peggy's job as a housemaid. I think this one was done really well and didn't hide some of the hardships Peggy had to go through but the simple joys as well.
September 19, 2025
Nog meer Ierse geschiedenis, maar dit keer zonder dat het zich allemaal in Ierland afspeelt. Want na de famine was niet alles ineens koek en ei, de massale emigratie bleef zich verder zetten. Volgens wat we leerden in het Dublinse EPIC museum was de beschrijving van de omstandigheden tijdens de vaart van Ierland naar Amerika nog altijd wat verbloemd. Alwaar de arme en vooral laaggeschoolde Ieren natuurlijk met open armen ontvangen werden en door iedereen goed behandeld werden, met een eerlijk loon en respect voor het harde werk (druipt de ironie er voldoende van af?). Waardoor je niet al te ver moet zoeken om te zien dat het boek ook nu Europees en Amirikaans rechts ongestoord giftige meningen spuit over immigranten extra relevant is.
Gelukkig is dit een kinderboek en daardoor beter verteerbaar en wat liever dan het echte wereld nieuws.
Gelukkig is dit een kinderboek en daardoor beter verteerbaar en wat liever dan het echte wereld nieuws.
July 9, 2023
Exactly the amount of realism and hope I expected but Peggy is a bit holier than thou with her employers being a bit 2D...could she not at least write to Sarah and show some remorse for them herbs. All being said, it's well written and not too rose tinted for children
August 24, 2022
Pleasant easy read!
April 14, 2024
Not quite as good as I remember from when I read it as a kid but still a good depiction of the history
October 27, 2014
I adored this series, and this book was another beautiful one. A lot can be said about these. But I will leave it short and sweet. These books stayed with me through my childhood and beyond.
Highly recommend this!
Highly recommend this!
September 25, 2014
The second in The Children of the Famine series, this book was just as gripping as the first, Under the Hawthorne Tree
If I were twelve years old, I think this would be one of my favorite series.
If I were twelve years old, I think this would be one of my favorite series.
February 28, 2012
A good quick read, but never really felt attached to the main character. I don't know if the book just moved too fast or the character wasn't really developed, but I never felt like I knew her.
May 25, 2020
Unfortunately, Goodreads doesn't allow it, but I give this book four and a half stars.
The sequel to Under the Hawthorne Tree, Wildflower Girl, is told from Peggy's point of view. She's the youngest of the three children.
Seven years have passed, Peggy is now 13 years old, and many Irish have left their country to make a new life elsewhere. Eily is to be married, and Michael has found his dream job as a stable boy. There are few jobs to be had, and Peggy fears she will always be nothing more than a helper for her older sister, Eily. So when the opportunity arrives to go to America, Peggy is keen, but her siblings are not. She wins the argument and goes on her own.
The book tells the story of hope, dreams, hardship and mistreatment. The story moves fast and gives a good account of the travel by ship from Ireland to Boston.
Once in America, Peggy is on her own and must find a way to support herself. Again, I cannot imagine anyone her age starting an adventure of this kind. I would be terrified the entire time. But, the thing is, young people of that time did emigrate to another country.
Recommended.
The sequel to Under the Hawthorne Tree, Wildflower Girl, is told from Peggy's point of view. She's the youngest of the three children.
Seven years have passed, Peggy is now 13 years old, and many Irish have left their country to make a new life elsewhere. Eily is to be married, and Michael has found his dream job as a stable boy. There are few jobs to be had, and Peggy fears she will always be nothing more than a helper for her older sister, Eily. So when the opportunity arrives to go to America, Peggy is keen, but her siblings are not. She wins the argument and goes on her own.
The book tells the story of hope, dreams, hardship and mistreatment. The story moves fast and gives a good account of the travel by ship from Ireland to Boston.
Once in America, Peggy is on her own and must find a way to support herself. Again, I cannot imagine anyone her age starting an adventure of this kind. I would be terrified the entire time. But, the thing is, young people of that time did emigrate to another country.
Recommended.
November 26, 2017
A beautiful sequel about trust and finding yourself, I fell in love with the characters and the story. I think this is my favorite book in the series!!!
For those of you who didn't know, this trilogy takes place between the years of 1845 and 1852. The potato crops in Ireland fail. The country ends up suffering and searching for food. Ireland was owned by England, so the Irish were very poor. People started loosing their lands, loosing jobs.
It was important to me to learn about this part of history. I read this when I was 10, where I took everything for granted, so it was important for me to read this and be grateful for what I have.
For those of you who didn't know, this trilogy takes place between the years of 1845 and 1852. The potato crops in Ireland fail. The country ends up suffering and searching for food. Ireland was owned by England, so the Irish were very poor. People started loosing their lands, loosing jobs.
It was important to me to learn about this part of history. I read this when I was 10, where I took everything for granted, so it was important for me to read this and be grateful for what I have.
August 31, 2020
What an excellent sequel!
I loved how 13 year old Peggy seemed, not a silly, clueless child anymore, but still a child. I think the author perfectly ages her characters, and this is the book it's the most apparent in.
I love how she runs into good people, and meets good people, and works with good people, and while there are bad things that happen to her and bad people she comes across, the majority of her experiences are hard but not torturous, which is something the author could have slipped into easily- but no, not everyone is out there just to swindle, trick, take advantage of, and hurt Peggy, which is what often happens in books like this one.
I loved how 13 year old Peggy seemed, not a silly, clueless child anymore, but still a child. I think the author perfectly ages her characters, and this is the book it's the most apparent in.
I love how she runs into good people, and meets good people, and works with good people, and while there are bad things that happen to her and bad people she comes across, the majority of her experiences are hard but not torturous, which is something the author could have slipped into easily- but no, not everyone is out there just to swindle, trick, take advantage of, and hurt Peggy, which is what often happens in books like this one.
March 9, 2021
We first met Peggy in Under the Hawthorn Tree when she made her way across Ireland with her sister and her brother during The Great Famine. Ireland is still suffering from the after effects of the Great Famine. People are still starving and out of work. People are being evicted from their homes and many are left with no choice but to leave and journey to the promised land, America. The passage to America is a difficult one with many dying on the way. Others making it to America where they must now find work, make a new life for themselves and perhaps never to see their loved ones again. Peggy O'Driscoll faces all those challenges as well as many personal challenges in, Wildflower Girl
June 8, 2025
The ending was flat. I read an edition printed 20 years after the first printed and there was still a lot of sloppy editing in the text. That's really bad, O'Brien press.
That said, Peggy was a good dude. I was more gripped by this book than the first one but also it was way more chaotic. Sarah Connolly character goes nowhere. Roxanne Rowan needed to get her arse handed to her in a more meaningful way.
Side note: I started reading this one in primary school but then the lads in my class saw me reading it and were like "oooo WiLdFlOwEr GiRl!!!!" like I was a gender traitor.
Um so I finally finished it.
That said, Peggy was a good dude. I was more gripped by this book than the first one but also it was way more chaotic. Sarah Connolly character goes nowhere. Roxanne Rowan needed to get her arse handed to her in a more meaningful way.
Side note: I started reading this one in primary school but then the lads in my class saw me reading it and were like "oooo WiLdFlOwEr GiRl!!!!" like I was a gender traitor.
Um so I finally finished it.
August 26, 2024
The second book in this series follows Peggy, the youngest sibling, and her venture to America for a ‘better life’. Really great book, showing all the struggles the Irish had to go through when emigrating and being treated so poorly. Really enjoying these books and think every school in Ireland should stock these books!!
March 11, 2025
I read the first book several years ago. Sadly I can’t find my copy right now and our library doesn’t have it. I wanted to reread it. I enjoyed this story very much. Even though it’s a children’s book it was enjoyable. A reminder that those that traveled on ships from Ireland suffered greatly. The lives they lived when they first arrived in America were extremely difficult.
July 25, 2020
This book is part of it’s three book series, this is second of the series, I never read the first one, but this second one is really good and kept me throught its end, would love to read its last book if get a chance.
Read
April 25, 2021I preferred this to the first one. Perhaps because it has more to it, and it feels slightly less hopeless. It did end a bit abruptly, but also I suppose there wouldn't be a natural end to such a story.
May 20, 2021
I think this was my favourite of all three of the children of the famine trilogy I absolutely love Peggy and she was always my favourite character. I love to imagine the boat that piggy went on to travel to America. It was one of the only books that made me cry.
May 31, 2024
This was such an interesting read about 13 year old Irish Peggy making her way to the big ol' US of A. Albeit a children's story, this depicts the hardships that all immigrants, not just Irish ones, encounter when leaving their homeland in hopes of a better life. I thoroughly enjoyed this.
June 30, 2024
Summary:
Peggy is now 13-years-old & yearns for more. She decides to leave her family & Ireland behind as she sets sail for America, hoping to make a better life for herself.
My Thoughts:
* See review for Fields of Home *
My Rating: * * * *
Peggy is now 13-years-old & yearns for more. She decides to leave her family & Ireland behind as she sets sail for America, hoping to make a better life for herself.
My Thoughts:
* See review for Fields of Home *
My Rating: * * * *
May 11, 2025
Fantastic, read as an adult. This is brilliant. Peggy has come a long way since the first book and while she is still only 13/14 in this, the author has developed her character so well.
Peggy still has moments where she is a child/teen but she is resourceful, clever and resilient because she has to be. Great character development.
Peggy still has moments where she is a child/teen but she is resourceful, clever and resilient because she has to be. Great character development.
August 17, 2025
A great story following a young Irish girl moving to America just after the famine. It is definitely an emotional story but I really enjoyed it. There is some gorgeous imagery of nature which is juxtaposed by the city imagery of Boston
August 30, 2025
somedays you need to read a beautifully written book about family with a little drama and a happy ending. this is the second book of a trilogy, don't need to have read the first to know whats going on this book.
August 2, 2018
Another great read. I enjoyed all of the detail and characters. Peggy is wonderful. I'm ready for the next book!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 100 reviews