A Faraway Island
Grade 5–8—In this gripping story, Stephie and Nellie, two Austrian Jewish sisters, are evacuated in 1938 from Vienna to a Swedish island and placed in separate foster homes. Twelve-year-old Stephie has promised her parents that she will try to ease her younger sister's way, a burdensome promise to keep. Auntie Alma, Nellie's Swedish mother, is warmer and more welcoming than Auntie Märta, Stephie's more austere foster parent. At first it seems that Nellie will have a more difficult time adjusting, but the opposite happens. Loneliness and a sense of isolation engulf Stephie. The shunning and taunting of cliquish, bigoted girls intensify her longing for home and the familiar, but Stephie bravely perseveres, bolstered by the hope that she will only be separated from her parents for a short time. Unfortunately this does not happen, and the girls must remain on this faraway island. Children will readily empathize with Stephie's courage. Both sisters are well-drawn, likable characters. This is the first of four books Thor has written about the two girls. It is an excellent companion to Lois Lowry'sNumber the Stars(Houghton, 1989), Kit Pearson'sThe Sky Is Falling(Viking, 1990; o.p.), and Olga Levy Drucker'sKindertransport(Holt, 1995).—Renee Steinberg, formerly at Fieldstone Middle School, Montvale, NJCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.