In this novel, two Jewish sisters (ages seven and twelve) must leave their home in Nazicontrolled Austria in 1939; they grapple with austerity, loneliness, and prejudice when they are taken in by two Swedish Christian families on a remote island.

3.5 stars ( )

I read this because A) it won a Batchelder, and I love that award B) it is Swedish. I found it to be a bit tedious. OK, she's miserable and her sister isn't. I get it. So much time was spent building up just how horrible her life is, and how miserable it is, and then it was all fixed in a few chapters at the end. There were some interesting secondary characters who weren't very well developed at all. The Christian-conversion themes were jarring to my liberal American sensibilities, although they're historically accurate, I wish there had been more discussion about them.

I should say, that I probably would have liked this more as a child.

I was really surprised to read in the author's note that these are so widely read and translated and made into TV specials. Perhaps I should read the others in the series. But I probably won't. ( )

Sisters Stephie (12) and Nellie (8) are among 500 Jewish children transported from Austria to Sweden in 1939. The sisters miss their parents very much, but they console themselves with the thought that their parents will be sending for them soon and the whole family will emigrate to America. The sisters end up on a remote island staying with different families. Nellie settles in fairly quickly with her host family, but Stephie has a hard time adjusting to the stern woman who has taken her in. She has trouble fitting in at school, where she is bullied by the other students.

This book has won multiple awards in both the original Swedish edition and the English translation. It has an Anne of Green Gables meets the Holocaust feel, but it's more melancholy. There's no “bosom friend” like Diana Barry, and readers will be aware that Stephie's misfortunes are bound to grow as Nazi persecution of the Jews increases. This book should also appeal to fans of Lois Lowry's Number the Stars. ( )

Two Jewish sisters are evacuated from Austria to Sweden by the Swedish Aid Society. The story mostly follows the older sister Stephie who lives with "Aunt Marta" and "Uncle Evert" on a small island. Evert is a fisherman by trade, and the couple doesn't have much money. Nellie lives in the same village with another couple, although the plan had been for the two girls to live together. Nellie ends up adapting to the new situation and making friends more easily than Stephie who is bullied by classmates. Stephie dreams of going to "grammar school" upon completion of the sixth grade (which she'd already completed in Austria) and of eventually becoming a doctor like her father. The girls also work to try to get their parents out of Austria into Sweden after their parents' attempts to get into America fail. A friend and I listened to the first thirty-seven chapters on the audio book on a trip. I had to complete the short remainder with the e-book version available to me. I really enjoyed the narrator of the English translation. I also enjoyed the author's comments at the conclusion of the book and hope to be able to read or listen to the remainder of the books in the series. ( )