It’s the summer of 1994, and all Maeve Murray wants are good final exam results so she can earn her ticket out of the wee Northern Irish town she has grown up in during the Troubles—away from her crowded home, the silence and sadness surrounding her sister’s death, and most of all, away from the simmering violence of  her  divided  community.  And  as  a  first  step,  Maeve’s  taken  a  summer  job  in  a  local  shirt  factory  working  alongside  Protestants  with  her  best  friends,  kind,  innocent Caroline Jackson and privileged and clever Aoife O’Neill. But getting the right exam results is only part of Maeve’s problem—she’s got to survive a tit-for-tat paramilitary campaign, iron 100 shirts an hour all day every day, and deal with the attentions of Andy Strawbridge, her slick and untrustworthy English boss. What seem to  be  a  great  opportunity  to  earn  money  before  starting  university  turns  out to be a crucible in which Maeve is tested in ways she may not be equipped to handle. Seeking justice for herself and her fellow workers may just be Maeve’s one-way ticket out of town.

Bitingly  hilarious,  perceptive,  and  steeped  in  the  vernacular  of  its  time  and  place, Factory Girls is perfect for fans of voice-driven stories with bite, humor, and realism, such as the Netflix series Derry Girls and novels by Douglas Stuart, Roddy Doyle, and Anna Burns.

Praise for Factory Girls

“This blistering comedy centers on women in a shirt factory in Troubles-era Northern Ireland. Holding fast to her dreams and her sense of irony, Maeve dodges sectarian violence and a predator boss to survive a summer of ironing, drinking, and mourning.”

December 5th issue of People, which features Factory Girls as one of The Best New Books

“A Fierce Feminist Take on the Troubles… Michelle Gallen breathes new life into Troubles literature, presenting a fresh, modern view of 1994 revolutionary Ireland. Gallen, who grew up in near the border of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, grapples with local violence but also sexism, abortion, desire, body image, mental health, and generational trauma, following three young women who take summer jobs in a shirt factory before they head off to university. In doing so, she weaves a story of small-town Northern Ireland that stretches far beyond its borders.”

Ploughshares Literary Journal

“Gallen, (who grew up in Northern Ireland during the Troubles), reconstructs this era vividly. Her characters speak in dialect, but, more importantly, their understanding of the world is shaped by their experience of the Troubles. ..  Gallen’s mastery of her protagonist’s psychology renders this muddle comprehensible, sympathetic, and, above all, funny. Truly humorous novels are hard to come by, but Gallen’s writing is full of genuine bite. A sensationally entertaining novel that’s deeper than it first appears”

Kirkus starred review

“Factory Girls is full of the stuff that we're starting to expect of Michelle Gallen; wild, hilariously angry characters, and language that is vital, bang-on, and seriously funny."

Roddy Doyle, Booker Prize-winning author of Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha and Love

“Michelle Gallen's Factory Girls pulses with dark, irreverent humor. Set in a place where dreams are laughable at best, dangerous at worst, it's a big F you to the only world these characters know. And yet, there's vulnerability here. Hope, too. I loved it."

Mary Beth Keane, New York Times bestselling author of Ask Again, Yes

“This novel is a wonder; the heroine is cheeky, the humor dark, the dialect thick, the sorrow palpable.”

Library Journal, starred review

“Gallen fluidly juxtaposes the pedestrian worries of small-town life against the Troubles of the mid-1990s… For fans of Derry Girls and the plucky heroines of Marian Keyes.”

Booklist, starred review

“This novel is as hilarious as it is heartbreaking: not to be missed.”

Shelf Awareness

“A sharp chronicle of the coming-of-age of three Catholic teenage girls during the waning days of the Troubles…. This is lovely.”

Publishers Weekly

“A wee novel with an enormous, furious heart, Factory Girls transported me into Maeve's world. You can almost taste the tension and claustrophobia as Gallen effortlessly captures the stories of young women teetering between stasis and escape. Honest, hilarious and such a recognisable portrait of 90s Northern Ireland, Factory Girls is an essential read."

Jan Carson, author of The Raptures

 “Gallen manages to take a dark and violent period in history and turn it into one of the most moving and hilarious novels I have ever read. The rich cast of characters will break your heart and make you laugh out loud, sometimes within the same paragraph. I found it difficult to put this book down; while reading it the rest of the world fell away and I was transported to Northern Ireland via an unforgettable voice and a steadily boiling story of friendship, grief, and determination. Factory Girls is one of the best books ever written about The Troubles, and one of the best books I've read in a very long time."
Silas House, author of Southernmost and Lark Ascending

“Brilliantly observed and full of heart,’Factory Girls’ will definitely be up there on my list of best books for this year.’

Sheila O’Flanagan, bestselling author of, What Eden Did Next

“Factory Girls tells its story in capital letters, Gallen’s comic, insightful novel of young women growing up in a northwest border town [is] a relentless, entertaining and sometimes uncomfortable read . . . With a clear eye for the compromises and hypocrisies this condition of living creates, Gallen has written an original and compelling book that describes a pre-ceasefire society that is both distant and familiar."

Irish Times

“A cracking, confident follow-up: at times savagely funny, but with a loamy undertow of complex feeling . . . the highlights are . . . its deft characterization, observational humour and cracking dialogue . . . this entertaining, touching novel should also appeal to fans of contemporary authors such as Lisa McInerney, Louise Kennedy and Roddy Doyle."

The Sunday Times (UK)

“Street-smart, ballsy and bold . . . The world of Factory Girls is filtered through her darkly witty mind, but it’s also punctuated by shocking and sudden violence . . . Gallen’s pen draws blood with the sharpness of her observations, rendering a fresh and acutely more complex portrait of Northern Ireland through Maeve’s eyes. Gallen asks, what can one young woman do with hope? Maeve Murray answers . . . Brilliantly, wickedly funny and soul-crushingly sad, Gallen has written the Vienetta of books this summer."

Irish Independent