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jericca89's review against another edition
4.0
Giving this a reread since I bought it for my kiddos. Still one of best Dear America books!
sophia_she1's review against another edition
5.0
if a mom gets sick or a baby's born in this series, they're gonna die
claireinhart's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
informative
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
trisa_slyne's review
5.0
I enjoyed this so much I'm keeping it rather than putting it in my library at school! At the end I realized it was written by Kathryn Lasky, the author of the Owls of Ga'Hoole series, which I adored. So it makes sense I liked something else she wrote.
soulwinds's review
5.0
Actual rating is 4.5, but I bumped it on the stars because it is an excellent book.
Thought and Plot
After years apart from her father, Zippy, her two elder sisters and their mother finally have enough money to buy passage to America and escape Russia, where violence against the Jews has been rapidly on the rise.
Zippy briefly describes their stay on Ellis island, talking about how long they have been waiting and the medical exams. But her story truly starts up when they arrive at her father's cramp apartment where there are only two room ans a shared bathroom at the end of the hall. As the family struggles to build a life, they all seem to take different paths. Zippy's sister Tavoh works in a sweat shop and gets highly involved with the formation of a union to lobby for better working conditions and fair pay. Miriam, her other sister, works in a sweat shop as well and falls in love with a non-jew which results in a falling out with her mother who demands that everyone in the family mourn her like she is dead once she leaves and marries. Zippy's mother falls into a brief depression which she gets out of through the help of Zippy and her father who set her up the a sewing machine and find her some work while teaching her a bit of English. Her mother seems to struggle the most with balancing their old life and their new life in America, finding it hard to let go of some of the old ways, like hiring a matchmaker to try and arrange her daughter's marriage, and disowning people for marrying outside of the faith. Zippy's father seems to mostly embrace the new ways, only doing a few things in order to keep his wife happy (it seems). Zippy's mission in life is to rapidly catch up in her schooling as she is put in a far lower grade due to her limited English and to find her passion in life.
In Conclusion
An interesting book that looks more at the social changes and struggles of new immigrants in the 1900-s rather then the physical/money driven troubles people normally write about. This book focuses a lot on the social changes and how it influences the family's diatomics
Age range: middle school and up
Content: Does have a friend dying in a work place fire, a man leaving his family to struggle while he goes off to start a new life alone, infant death.
Thought and Plot
After years apart from her father, Zippy, her two elder sisters and their mother finally have enough money to buy passage to America and escape Russia, where violence against the Jews has been rapidly on the rise.
Zippy briefly describes their stay on Ellis island, talking about how long they have been waiting and the medical exams. But her story truly starts up when they arrive at her father's cramp apartment where there are only two room ans a shared bathroom at the end of the hall. As the family struggles to build a life, they all seem to take different paths. Zippy's sister Tavoh works in a sweat shop and gets highly involved with the formation of a union to lobby for better working conditions and fair pay. Miriam, her other sister, works in a sweat shop as well and falls in love with a non-jew which results in a falling out with her mother who demands that everyone in the family mourn her like she is dead once she leaves and marries. Zippy's mother falls into a brief depression which she gets out of through the help of Zippy and her father who set her up the a sewing machine and find her some work while teaching her a bit of English. Her mother seems to struggle the most with balancing their old life and their new life in America, finding it hard to let go of some of the old ways, like hiring a matchmaker to try and arrange her daughter's marriage, and disowning people for marrying outside of the faith. Zippy's father seems to mostly embrace the new ways, only doing a few things in order to keep his wife happy (it seems). Zippy's mission in life is to rapidly catch up in her schooling as she is put in a far lower grade due to her limited English and to find her passion in life.
In Conclusion
An interesting book that looks more at the social changes and struggles of new immigrants in the 1900-s rather then the physical/money driven troubles people normally write about. This book focuses a lot on the social changes and how it influences the family's diatomics
Age range: middle school and up
Content: Does have a friend dying in a work place fire, a man leaving his family to struggle while he goes off to start a new life alone, infant death.