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Summary (Spoilers): This children's chapter book follows Rebekah, a Jewish Russian immigrating from Russia to America with her large family. They endure hardships and lack of kosher food while in steerage on a ship full to the brim with people from all over Europe. Rebekah makes friends with two other girls around her age-- Kristin from Sweden and Rose from Ireland. Together, they are able to have fun on the horribly overcrowded vessel, learn about their differing cultures and share their dreams of what they hope to achieve in America. The conditions on the ship get even worse as time goes on, and people start getting sick all over the place. Rebekah, along with her family and friends, opt to sleep on the outside deck to stay in the fresh air, away from the sickness in steerage. This is also where she meets her love interest, but the romance is tame and mostly background. Life in America does seem to be an improvement in Rebekah's opinion. Her family refused to educate her along with her brothers, however, in America, she is able to get herself into night school even though she works all day. Rebekah is happy to be able to break family tradition and get an education with her family's support.

This book does not go into huge detail of the differing cultures presented, but is great for talking about the hardships of uprooting for the promise of a better life. This story is probably better suited for older elementary/middle school students.

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.
-Amazon.com

Not as interesting as The Orphan Train series but still good reads! ( )

This definitely gives you a different perspective than Upton Sinclair's The Jungle. These three girls want to come to America to get the same rights as boys, and find camaraderie together. Soon they are separated and we follow Rebekah's story where she struggles to get her family beyond their life in the sweatshop and get her parents' to understand her dreams. Finally she takes action and makes it happen. ( )