A review by janp
Ellis Island: A People's History by Małgorzata Szejnert, Sean Gasper Bye

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring sad slow-paced

4.0

As a second generation Polish American, I appreciated this book immensely. It explained so much more than I learned from my grandparents.  I think it is a tribute to immigrants everywhere for their fortitude and courage. It is lso the story of the people who worked at Ellis Island and, for the most part, their humanity. I did find minor faults or annoyances with the book but they did not take away from the story.  The cons were that I thought the language very stilted and  the the story did not flow.  It read more like a textbook and maybe that was the intention.  It was also written in the present tense which didn't suit me. Had it not been for the cons, I would have given it 5 stars.