It’s been four years since Stephie Steiner and her younger sister Nellie arrived from Vienna as Jewish refugees in Sweden. Stephie is in her final year of grammar school and boards in town with her friend May’s family, while Nellie still lives on the island with her host family. Stephie has many worries. She is in her last year of grammar school. Will the relief committee pay for her to continue her schooling, or will she be forced to leave school and get a job like almost all of the other girls her age? Why is her friend Vera behaving so strangely? Why has Nellie become sullen, angry, and distant? By far her biggest worry is the health and welfare of her parents, who are imprisoned in the Theresienstadt concentration camp.

I loved A Faraway Island, the first book in this quartet. It reminded me quite a bit of Anne of Green Gables. I became invested in then twelve-year-old Stephie’s story, and I want to see how her story ends. The books increasingly address more adult themes as Stephie ages, and this book includes themes that would be more appropriate for older teens, about the age that Stephie is in the book (15-16). ( )

Stephie’s parents are in a concentration camp in Austria, but she and her sister escaped to make a better life for themselves in neutral Sweden. Stephie must balance typical teenage problems with her family’s separation

I slipped right back into the story. I really enjoy spending time with Stephie & with all the people and storylines.

This third book definitely moved to of a more young adult than children’s book, though the main character and her storyline could still be considered a children’s book too and she remains naïve in a way that fits a middle grade book, but for at least one of the characters it’s not children’s but young adult, and a rather heavy duty ya in some ways. There is more loss in this book, in a couple types of ways.

It’s a great sister tale but I would have liked more interaction between the sisters here. It does make perfect sense though why there is less of that in this book than the first two books.

I was completely engrossed and loved everything about this story. I now consider the 4 book series one story. I’m hoping that I’ll be able to read the fourth book.

The only English language edition of book 4 I see as of now is a Kindle edition. I might have to break my “buy no books” policy if I can find it for extremely cheap, and get it, but I hope I’ll find a paper copy to read. It’s so popular in Sweden and it seems as though a tv mini-series was made based on it, so I’m surprised that the fourth book seems to hard to get in English and most other languages.

It’s often really arbitrary which books I give 4 vs. 5 stars. I’m surprised I continue to like this story in book 3 just as much as I did in books 1 and 2. ( )

SPOILER ALERT.

I can't say I liked this book as much as the previous two featuring the Steiner sisters. There's a lot less about Nellie and about Stephie's parents, who are now living in Theresienstadt, than there was in the previous two books. And a word to the wise: while "A Faraway Island" and "The Lily Pond" are suitable for middle grades, this one definitely is not. This is mainly because Stephie's friend Vera becomes a bit of a train wreck as the story progresses: she has nude photographs taken for a magazine, and ultimately gets pregnant without knowing who the father is. See what I mean? Stephie's teacher and her "friend" who both come to live with Stephie for the summer so they can tutor her to pass the high school exam are obviously lesbians, and there is talk about them sunbathing in the nude and so on, but that potential plot line never went anywhere. It's not like Stephie ever realized what was going on or that the couple got in trouble because of their sexual orientation. Stephie also experiences difficulties with school -- she's not sure if she'll be able to continue with her education, due to lack of funds -- and with the Pentecostal church she attends, who refuse to assist her parents because they're not Christians. It seemed like every chapter of the book introduced a new problem in the story, and it got a bit crowded.

Unlike the other two books (there's a fourth as well, which hasn't been translated yet), this one doesn't seem capable of standing on its own. The ending kind of left me hanging. ( )