From Publishers Weekly
This first book of a series spotlights Rebekah Levinsky, who, with her family, escapes the pogroms of Russia and boards a crowded steamship for New York City in 1902. The journey's rigors and the agony of leaving her homeland recede somewhat when she meets three emigrants of her own age, yet the girl's joy on arriving at Ellis Island is diminished when her grandfather's limp prevents his entering the country. More problems follow: cramped living quarters, sweatshop working conditions, a street gang that harasses Rebekah's older brother. Nixon ably dramatizes the hope that can emerge in response to oppression--political and otherwise; despite Rebekah's pleas to attend school and become a teacher, her parents insist she focus on an arranged marriage and childbearing. The book has its shortcomings, however--stilted dialogue, a repetitious, sometimes dull narrative and numerous Yiddish words likely to perplex youngsters. Still, this close-up view of turn-of-the-century America and Nixon's factual afterword on Ellis Island are admirable compensations. Ages 10-up.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From School Library Journal
Grade 5-7-- Rebekah, 15, and her family leave their shtetl in Russia for the U. S., seeking safety from the random violence against Jews. On the ship she meets two girls, one Irish and one Swedish, representing two other major groups of immigrants in the early 1900s. Rebekah and her friends talk about the opportunities for women in their new country, a theme that reappears throughout the story. Interwoven is the beginning of a romance that will surely develop in later books. The novel's strength is its sense of place; readers suffer the smells and trials of the long, harrowing ocean trip and feel the confusion the family faces in New York, even then a large and chaotic city. The characters, who seem to be typecast for their role in a book about the ``immigrant experience,'' and the episodic plot slow down the pace of the story, and it's difficult for readers to care much about these people. Other novels set in the same period include the powerful Call Me Ruth (Doubleday, 1982; o.p.) by Marilyn Sachs and One Way to Ansonia (Bradbury, 1985) by Judie Angell. --Amy Kellman, The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
