Hope in My Heart: Sofia's Immigrant Diary, Book One (My America) [Hardcover]

Kathryn Lasky (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 7 and up | Series: My America

In Book One of Sofia's Ellis Island Diary, renowned author Kathryn Lasky tells the story of Sofia Monari's arrival in America from Italy.

When Sofia and her family arrive in Ellis Island after a long and difficult journey from Italy, a cruel twist of fate separates Sofia from her parents and sends her into "quarantine." There, in a state-run hopsital, she and her new friend, Maureen, must learn to overcome the twin hardships of immigration and alienation, while they maintain the hope that they will be reunited with their families.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Reviewed with Kathryn Lasky's Home at Last.

Gr. 3-6. An Italian immigrant child writes her diary in these two small books that are part of the My America series. Hope in My Heart is the most dramatic. After the family finally arrives at Ellis Island, nine-year-old Sofia is separated from her parents and quarantined. Terrified, angry, and knowing almost no English, she is at the mercy of officials and doctors, some of whom are prejudiced and corrupt. Only her friendship with an Irish girl and the support of a kind official and a priest make her life bearable, until her heartfelt reunion with her family. Home at Last is a conventional account of Italian Americans who struggle and eventually make it in the North End community of Boston. A teacher makes a huge difference, as does a doctor, whose character is based on a real person, Lasky's husband's grandfather. As is often the case with books in this series, the diary format is an awkward contrivance, but it certainly makes the tale more immediate. A historical note and archival photos add to the story. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 7 and up
  
• Hardcover: 106 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic Inc.; 1 edition (November 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 043918875X
• ISBN-13: 978-0439188753
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,098,001 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Hi Readers! Thanks for coming by my author page. I've written all sorts of books - from fantasy about animals to books about science. One of my favorite animal fantasy series, Guardians of Ga'Hoole, is a major motion picture. I liked writing about Ga'Hoole so much that I decided to revisit that world in a new series, Wolves of the Beyond. Visit my website, www.kathrynlasky.com to see a slide show about the real wolves I researched for the series and for the latest update on the Guardians of Ga'Hoole movie. All my best, Kathryn

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A good new My America., October 18, 2003

By 

Rebecca Herman (USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hope in My Heart: Sofia's Immigrant Diary, Book One (My America) (Hardcover)

Nine-year-old Sofia Monari and her family have left Italy and traveled to America in hopes of finding a better life. But on Ellis Island, their trouble begins. Sofia is suspected of having a contagious disease and is separated from her family and sent to live in quarantine. There, she finds nightmarish conditions and longs to be reunited with her parents, sister, and brothers. As the weeks go by, she wonders if she will be trapped in quarantine forever, even though she was never sick to begin with. When another girl her age, an Irish immigrant named Maureen, comes to live in quarantine, Sofia makes a friend. Maureen's friendship gives Sofia the strength she needs to make it through this separation from her family, but will she ever see them again? I recommend this new book to fans of the My America series.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A big hit with my daughter, February 13, 2006

By 

K. Gerlach "Kate Cooks the Books" (My Kind of Town, Chicago) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: My America: Hope In My Heart, Sofia's Ellis Island Diary, Book One (Mass Market Paperback)

My 8-year-old daughter was assigned this book at school. She read it in about an hour and said "It's the best book I ever read in my life." She's prone to exaggeration but she's also read a lot of great books.

5.0 out of 5 stars A promising start., August 7, 2005

By 

MAB (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hope in My Heart: Sofia's Immigrant Diary, Book One (My America) (Hardcover)

"Hope in My Heart: Sofia's Immigrant Diary, Book One" is an interesting start to an immigration diary series in My America. I've read a few Ellis Island immigration related stories before (not too many), but never have I read one about the bribery incidences and detained immigrants on Ellis Island. It's so sad to think that foreigners who were coming to America for a better life were only to be greeted by evil, conniving, and thief-like people disguised as doctors, nurses, and other authoritative individuals. This book shows the frustration non-English speaking people experienced, and how they were treated as infants and senile people, in hopes of taking their belongs and sending them back to their homeland over supposed medical diseases. Kathryn Lasky wrote this wisely, leaving much to be desired about Sofia and her family, and I look forward to the sequel books. I recommend.