Customer Reviews

Halinka

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I read this book with my 13 year old daughter (adopted at age 11 from Russia.) Halinka's story so closely paralleled my daughter's that there were times she thought I was reading from a book of her own life. It sparked meaningful discussions and was an avenue for my daughter to share her feelings and experiences from her past. I would highly reccomend this book to children adopted at older ages from Eastern Europe. I also suggest that parents read this along with their children. Once I picked it up I couldn't put it down.

Halinka is a unique book about a girl who lives in a foster home in post WWII Germany. The twelve year old protagonist has a sensitive spirit, despite the many protective walls that have helped her survive a difficult childhood. We see how this cleaver girl manages to take care of her own needs, find hope where looks for it, and takes some huge risks to get what she wants. Most importantly, we see in detail the peeling away of Halinka's defenses, and the opening up of her heart. This is a fasinating book. The character development is subtle and very real. The inner-life of Halinka is vivid with emotion and the details of a pre-adolecent faced with many personal challenges. I recommend this book to all thoughtful and sensitive readers over age 12.

The book Halinka by Mirjam Pressler is a good book. The main character is sixth-grader Halinka, who lives in a home for girls in Germany. She hates it there, and she has no friends because she thinks she doesn't need any. She wants to go live with her Aunt Lou, but she can't because Aunt Lou isn't married. Then she starts collecting money for the Mothers' Convalescent League. The person who collects the most money wins a prize. Halinka wants the prize to be a book, because she loves reading, especially Huckleberry Finn, which she reads over and over. Then, something amazing happens - Halinka becomes friends with a small girl named Renata, nicknamed Rena. She realizes that is good for a person to have a friend. What will happen to Halinka? To find out, read this book.