Reviews - Dreams In The Golden Country: the Diary of Zipporah Feldman, a Jewish Immigrant Girl, New York City, 1903

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Dreams In The Golden Country: the Diary of Zipporah Feldman, a Jewish Immigrant Girl, New York City, 1903

I would have loved to meet Zipporah, she's such an engaging character! I love her about-face from being (understandably) disgusted by America, to loving it for the dreams it engenders and embraces. Truly there are some heartbreaking moments, some of which seemed unnecessary to the narrative. It's really short, and certain details are left out, which is why I reduced a star - what happened to Blu's family and the Sheehans?

I recommend to fans of the series, as well as to readers looking for a light read of New York Immigrants in the early 20th century. It offers an engaging glimpse into the time, if it is a bit superficial.

mokey4's review against another edition

4.0

My 10 year old daughter checked this book out of the school library and brought it home for me to read. She read it with her class last year, and it had such a profound affect on her that she wanted to share it with me. So naturally, I read it. And it was a lovely read, really sweet story of a girl's immigrant experience. Her family came from Russia as observant Jews, and found challenges, joys, love, heartbreaks, etc in New York City. The book is well-written and appeals to both children and adults.

kairosdreaming's review against another edition

3.0

I've read two Dear America books now, this being the 2nd. I had heard great things about them, but so far, I found them merely average. These are children books, but that doesn't mean adults can't like them, and I usually like children's novels.

Zipporah and her family are new immigrants to America. Here they are starting over with a new life, but they have to make sure they are adjusting to life appropriately as it is very different from what they are used to. While her sisters each have something to occupy their time (boys, unions, etc.) Zipporah dreams of performing in the theatre or learning science. She does her best at school and works hard, but problems in her family make her lose some ground.

None of the characters were that great. Zipporah is kind of blah and while her sisters are interesting, they aren't given that much time in the book. Her father had the same problem. Meanwhile, her mother has some time spent to her in the book, but she was kind of an unlikable person, at least from Zipporah's eyes.

As far as plot goes there really isn't too much of a plot in this one. It just kind of bounces around Zipporah's first few years in America. There are a lot of different details thrown in, but they aren't explained. Since Zipporah and her family are Jewish there are a lot of terms and holidays thrown in the book, but they aren't described very well and I wish the author had taken more time to elaborate instead of just using them as filler. I don't know much about history of this time, but considering the story was interesting it has that going for it.

I might try some of the other Dear Americas, but I hope they turn out to be better than this one. A story can be interesting, but it also needs to be complete and go somewhere.

Dreams in the Golden Country
Copyright 1998
183 pages including pictures and history

Review by M. Reynard 2011

huncamuncamouse's review against another edition

5.0

I really enjoyed this book, which very much feels like a coming-of-age story. There is a lot of growth in just the short year in Zippy's life--and it's not just her own growth but her entire family, who have just arrived in New York. This is one of the first books where the parents feel like fully realized characters, and a lot of the other tertiary characters are interesting--although Tovah does feel a bit one-note, and I don't really get all the anti-union snark considering that a horrible factory accident happens near the end of the book. There should have been more reflection from Zippy; a moment of reckoning that the unsafe conditions people were working under had been just one thing Tovah was JUSTIFIABLY concerned about from the beginning.

The community that forms around Zipporah's family is quite compelling. It was refreshing to see them support each other.

Despite two tragedies in the final third of the book (more on that below) and some family conflict, this book has a cozy feel about it, and it ends happily. Of all the narrators so far, Zippy is maybe my favorite.

Dead Parent Count: Zero. But a friend dies graphically in a fire that was clearly inspired by the Triangle Shirtwaist disaster. And shortly thereafter, a prematurely born sibling dies, but I personally didn't think that plot point added much of anything to the story, and while I know this was common, it felt kind of cheap.

nessynoname's review against another edition

5.0

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

danalheywood's review against another edition

4.0

Dreams in The Golden Country is supposed to be modeled after the Diary of Zipporah Feldman, a 12 year old Jewish Immigrant that lives the New York City. The novel begins with her arrival in Ellis Island and describes the process it takes in order to be accepted into the United States in the 1900's. As she is an immigrant her journal is her story of triumph and success as she learns how to live in the new country. It also includes the story of her family and the hardship's the arise as they adapt to the new traditions of America while holding on to their Jewish beliefs. It is an excellent story that is sure to leave the reader with a deeper understanding of immigration.

I personally love this type of writing style. It just makes the story seem so real and raw. Zippy is character that is easy to love. I found myself cheering her on as she tried to make it from 1st grade to middle school all within a year. I also found the Jewish culture to be interesting. After reading the book you can tell it was not easy to hold on to all your Jewish traditions in America and that being an immigrant forced the Jewish people to change a little bit. Its a great historical fiction and one that I would suggest to my students.

Warning: Book contains, lying, abandoning a family, poverty, death, and so on.

tzipporahkeshet's review against another edition

4.0

This was my favorite Dear America book growing up. I saw in her story the story of some of my family coming to this country, not to mention that we even had the same name! I still have my copy after years, and upon rereading it, I realized it wasn't as good as I remembered, but it still meant a lot to me as a kid, and that's who the Dear America books are written for!