Search This Blog
![](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cPsmI6fV-kc/YQMZqkNeYCI/AAAAAAAAC14/a2xgvRRYytsH3ehZMsNzwi4PVR45a96KQCLcBGAsYHQ/s0/Sidebar-Divider-Image.png)
![](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9ju65YCCs54/YQMZoGOG8iI/AAAAAAAAC1k/K_Y_yMvRqXgg6oz46uGeqMTnF1iSZK-_QCLcBGAsYHQ/s0/Labels.png)
![](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cPsmI6fV-kc/YQMZqkNeYCI/AAAAAAAAC14/a2xgvRRYytsH3ehZMsNzwi4PVR45a96KQCLcBGAsYHQ/s0/Sidebar-Divider-Image.png)
![](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0QOJU_tWYWI/YQMVHDQ7tNI/AAAAAAAAC0A/r4sbttgjGLo3_fksNbowGVtNvimxLJO3ACLcBGAsYHQ/s0/Rating-System-Graphic.png)
![](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cPsmI6fV-kc/YQMZqkNeYCI/AAAAAAAAC14/a2xgvRRYytsH3ehZMsNzwi4PVR45a96KQCLcBGAsYHQ/s0/Sidebar-Divider-Image.png)
![](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hwbTXKa37IU/YQjTSGVTUCI/AAAAAAAAC6I/zmCAXAXQQlg0ReUrcBZhbPDPLkZHinzogCLcBGAsYHQ/s0/Challenges.png)
August Reviews Link-Up
September Reviews Link-Up
October Reviews Link-Up
November Reviews Link-Up
December Reviews Link-Up
![](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cPsmI6fV-kc/YQMZqkNeYCI/AAAAAAAAC14/a2xgvRRYytsH3ehZMsNzwi4PVR45a96KQCLcBGAsYHQ/s0/Sidebar-Divider-Image.png)
2024 Literary Escapes Challenge
- Alabama (1)
- Alaska
- Arizona (1)
- Arkansas
- California (5)
- Colorado (1)
- Connecticut
- Delaware (1)
- Florida
- Georgia (1)
- Hawaii (1)
- Idaho (2)
- Illinois (2)
- Indiana (4)
- Iowa (1)
- Kansas (1)
- Kentucky (1)
- Louisiana (1)
- Maine (1)
- Maryland
- Massachusetts (2)
- Michigan (1)
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska (1)
- Nevada (1)
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey (1)
- New Mexico (1)
- New York (5)
- North Carolina (4)
- North Dakota
- Ohio (1)
- Oklahoma (1)
- Oregon (2)
- Pennsylvania (2)
- Rhode Island (1)
- South Carolina (1)
- South Dakota
- Tennessee (1)
- Texas (3)
- Utah (1)
- Vermont (2)
- Virginia (2)
- Washington (2)
- West Virginia (1)
- Wisconsin (1)
- Wyoming
- Washington, D.C.* (1)
International:
- Australia (2)
- Canada (2)
- England (12)
- France (1)
- Indonesia (1)
- Ireland (4)
- Italy (1)
- Scotland (2)
- The Netherlands (1)
![](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cPsmI6fV-kc/YQMZqkNeYCI/AAAAAAAAC14/a2xgvRRYytsH3ehZMsNzwi4PVR45a96KQCLcBGAsYHQ/s0/Sidebar-Divider-Image.png)
![](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cPsmI6fV-kc/YQMZqkNeYCI/AAAAAAAAC14/a2xgvRRYytsH3ehZMsNzwi4PVR45a96KQCLcBGAsYHQ/s0/Sidebar-Divider-Image.png)
![](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cPsmI6fV-kc/YQMZqkNeYCI/AAAAAAAAC14/a2xgvRRYytsH3ehZMsNzwi4PVR45a96KQCLcBGAsYHQ/s0/Sidebar-Divider-Image.png)
![](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cPsmI6fV-kc/YQMZqkNeYCI/AAAAAAAAC14/a2xgvRRYytsH3ehZMsNzwi4PVR45a96KQCLcBGAsYHQ/s0/Sidebar-Divider-Image.png)
![](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cPsmI6fV-kc/YQMZqkNeYCI/AAAAAAAAC14/a2xgvRRYytsH3ehZMsNzwi4PVR45a96KQCLcBGAsYHQ/s0/Sidebar-Divider-Image.png)
2024 Build Your Library Reading Challenge
![](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cPsmI6fV-kc/YQMZqkNeYCI/AAAAAAAAC14/a2xgvRRYytsH3ehZMsNzwi4PVR45a96KQCLcBGAsYHQ/s0/Sidebar-Divider-Image.png)
![](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cPsmI6fV-kc/YQMZqkNeYCI/AAAAAAAAC14/a2xgvRRYytsH3ehZMsNzwi4PVR45a96KQCLcBGAsYHQ/s0/Sidebar-Divider-Image.png)
![](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cPsmI6fV-kc/YQMZqkNeYCI/AAAAAAAAC14/a2xgvRRYytsH3ehZMsNzwi4PVR45a96KQCLcBGAsYHQ/s0/Sidebar-Divider-Image.png)
![](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cPsmI6fV-kc/YQMZqkNeYCI/AAAAAAAAC14/a2xgvRRYytsH3ehZMsNzwi4PVR45a96KQCLcBGAsYHQ/s0/Sidebar-Divider-Image.png)
![](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cPsmI6fV-kc/YQMZqkNeYCI/AAAAAAAAC14/a2xgvRRYytsH3ehZMsNzwi4PVR45a96KQCLcBGAsYHQ/s0/Sidebar-Divider-Image.png)
![](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cPsmI6fV-kc/YQMZqkNeYCI/AAAAAAAAC14/a2xgvRRYytsH3ehZMsNzwi4PVR45a96KQCLcBGAsYHQ/s0/Sidebar-Divider-Image.png)
![](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cPsmI6fV-kc/YQMZqkNeYCI/AAAAAAAAC14/a2xgvRRYytsH3ehZMsNzwi4PVR45a96KQCLcBGAsYHQ/s0/Sidebar-Divider-Image.png)
![](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cPsmI6fV-kc/YQMZqkNeYCI/AAAAAAAAC14/a2xgvRRYytsH3ehZMsNzwi4PVR45a96KQCLcBGAsYHQ/s0/Sidebar-Divider-Image.png)
![](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cPsmI6fV-kc/YQMZqkNeYCI/AAAAAAAAC14/a2xgvRRYytsH3ehZMsNzwi4PVR45a96KQCLcBGAsYHQ/s0/Sidebar-Divider-Image.png)
Friday, January 29, 2016
Middle Grade Historical Perfectly Captures the Immigrant Experience
4:55 PM
(Image from Barnes & Noble)
As violence against Jewish people grows increasingly worse in her European village, 12-year-old Sarah holds fast to her one beacon of hope—a postcard from America showing the grand Statue of Liberty. The edifice symbolizes everything for which her family yearns: freedom, peace, the chance for a new life. But it's only Sarah and her mother who cross the great ocean to see the face of the Lady. And Sarah, alone, who survives Ellis Island. Unable to stay in the country by herself, Sarah is on a boat back home when she makes the daring decision to jump off. Dragging herself to the shores of the Lady's island, the young girl takes refuge inside the magnificent statue.
Although the Lady offers her relative safety, Sarah still has to figure out a way to eat, to dodge the nighttime security guard, and to find a way into Manhattan. Even when she receives help from some surprising sources, she still has to struggle in order to survive. Life in America is difficult and strange—will it ever feel like home to a lost, lonely foreigner? Will the land that promised so much make good on its lofty vows? Or will Sarah find America just as unwelcoming as the country she left behind?
Like Sarah, I dream of someday seeing the Statue of Liberty in person. Maybe that's why stories about immigrants flocking to her feet intrigue me so much. The Girl in the Torch by Robert Sharenow is no exception. Not only does the book tell an exciting adventure tale, but it also captures perfectly the wonder and fear immigrants must have felt upon arriving in a new land. With plenty of vivid historical detail, Sharenow brings turn-of-the-century New York alive. As Sarah navigates her way through that forbidding landscape, readers get a glimpse of the kind of pluck and courage it took for an immigrant to survive the experience. Atmospheric and engrossing, The Girl in the Torch kept me completely engaged. I enjoyed it.
(Readalikes: Reminded me a little of The Fire Horse Girl by Kay Honeyman)
Grade:
If this were a movie, it would be rated:
for brief, mild language (no F-bombs), brief nudity, and vague references to alcoholism and prostitution
To the FTC, with love: Another library fine find
Subscribe to:
Posts
(Atom)
![](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cPsmI6fV-kc/YQMZqkNeYCI/AAAAAAAAC14/a2xgvRRYytsH3ehZMsNzwi4PVR45a96KQCLcBGAsYHQ/s0/Sidebar-Divider-Image.png)
![](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-m2maEbsnUgY/YQMVGk_UR7I/AAAAAAAACz8/6Tx47XZHT18GFtwsvZBNMOjeQvsoZk6qQCLcBGAsYHQ/s0/Profile-Image.png)
![](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LXBQqGKIH30/YQOYa2Zq9VI/AAAAAAAAC4E/B_31e6N16kwjS7Uhbpa2dEEw8EU0ZQVxgCLcBGAsYHQ/Sidebar-Divider-Image.png)
![](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yBdQ2JS_gQY/YQB2R73SsLI/AAAAAAAACwY/xTL5eHNKigIiAKoRhqsASUALTDSQImXzgCLcBGAsYHQ/Currently.png)
Reading
Homecoming by Kate Morton
![](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jKRGUyn8kjs/YQjOU0JIQII/AAAAAAAAC5U/6H9FjxgUH9wLONHpZWgQrK4C0YavH87PQCLcBGAsYHQ/s500/Sidebar-Divider-Image.png)
Listening
The Good Neighbor by Maxwell King
![](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ec22DVIM-UU/YQjOcWbk1uI/AAAAAAAAC5Y/5hjtvhTyr-QRpMJC9jDsy-2bRYfUB1CNwCLcBGAsYHQ/s500/Sidebar-Divider-Image.png)
![](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6j8N1OBcXfw/YQB2UtRazWI/AAAAAAAACwc/oUaRB_BwwwoCF4qqYl251gleJcKCQ5DfACLcBGAsYHQ/Followin.png)
![](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kt1d5YgZW8U/YQjOjZTTisI/AAAAAAAAC5c/vkqebMnPUIUp-wA7EZiXJaHG51TJqE44gCLcBGAsYHQ/s500/Sidebar-Divider-Image.png)
Followin' with Bloglovin'
![](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cM5XjayVoeE/YQjOqY_3NhI/AAAAAAAAC5g/m1Yehkr7cHcdSlAc0cBw9SfaiMARUzbrQCLcBGAsYHQ/s500/Sidebar-Divider-Image.png)
![](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DeEZ_W0hRcs/YQGFSAW1m-I/AAAAAAAACw0/OqEnYd4jT30aMmIEMxeIuy6Q2WA5c8vMACLcBGAsYHQ/Sidebar-Divider-Image.png)
![](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7Jac0BeZqPw/YQQtdapbKXI/AAAAAAAAC4Y/lefnXaWOZ40DjtltMTAkHB0solqEMSfDwCLcBGAsYHQ/Book-Bloggin-Buddies.png)
-
Bookish Quote of the Day!!!3 hours ago
-
-
-
Planning for the August 2024 Readathin10 hours ago
-
Conclave by Robert Harris11 hours ago
-
-
Love at First Sip16 hours ago
-
Verghese, Abraham "The Covenant of Water"16 hours ago
-
-
First Lines Fridays: July 26, 202420 hours ago
-
Daily Prompt, do you have a nickname?23 hours ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
Under the Shadows by Tony Mcfadden2 days ago
-
Review: Where the Crawdads Sing2 days ago
-
Lost Man's Lane by Scoot Carson3 days ago
-
Girl Plus Books: On Hiatus3 days ago
-
-
-
Sunday Post4 days ago
-
Operation: Happy5 days ago
-
Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth5 days ago
-
57. Beezus and Ramona6 days ago
-
-
I have been reading...1 week ago
-
-
-
What to read after ACOTAR2 weeks ago
-
-
-
July TBR??4 weeks ago
-
Reading Recap May 20241 month ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
What Happened to Summer?9 months ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
Are you looking for Pretty Books?1 year ago
-
-
-
-
-
![](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WlOsbigXPAo/YQjOwPZjmQI/AAAAAAAAC5o/X06IWM9W540rI8dcJ84eXjEKJxpU--6fQCLcBGAsYHQ/s500/Sidebar-Divider-Image.png)
Grab my Button!
![](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jkrtITgtnts/YQMVGT_JnzI/AAAAAAAACz0/tVsCbtU49pAw-eTZhbxIDVgmBCq1p50NgCLcBGAsYHQ/s0/Blog-Button.png)
![](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qblGIfaI_nU/YQBYilqciAI/AAAAAAAACu4/fLV-BLir1oEPvKKYMwiJjkGrUvuvqycAQCLcBGAsYHQ/Sidebar-Divider-Image.png)
![](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-43C9IRtcPII/YQjO-neQTRI/AAAAAAAAC5w/O7sznoKoOmYLdMqi1MNY9sf69XpkWrKDACLcBGAsYHQ/s500/Sidebar-Divider-Image.png)
Blog Archive
- ► 2021 (159)
- ► 2020 (205)
- ► 2019 (197)
- ► 2018 (223)
- ► 2017 (157)
- ▼ 2016 (157)
- ► 2015 (188)
- ► 2014 (133)
- ► 2013 (183)
- ► 2012 (193)
- ► 2011 (232)
- ► 2010 (257)
- ► 2009 (211)
- ► 2008 (192)
![](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bjq74pdrNFQ/YQjSMFgJlJI/AAAAAAAAC54/Wbq-prBj1aYCl-vihijXSZ6zHv6DNKN_ACLcBGAsYHQ/s500/Sidebar-Divider-Image.png)
![](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UShGi8xkRrQ/YQjSavqjfxI/AAAAAAAAC58/wLq0szR5ZHomOWSjM7ly9hUr7iaynw3zwCLcBGAsYHQ/s500/Misc.png)
2023 - Middle Grade Fiction
2022 - Middle Grade Fiction
2021 - Middle Grade Fiction
![2021 - Middle Grade Fiction](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-j53Rs_dfIi0/YUuWuzOzSvI/AAAAAAAArR4/J6vZReWKO2U_-1sxvyfw5FozVPSMOF3RwCLcBGAsYHQ/s600/Cybils%2BAwards%2BRound%2B1%2BJudge%2BButton%2B2021.png)
2020 - Middle Grade Fiction
![2020 - Middle Grade Fiction](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SeV8NCN0Ulo/YUuWkUfKiHI/AAAAAAAArR0/n90sz1FZ1vcqhb3cTDAUlONiPESx1WieACLcBGAsYHQ/s300/Cybils%2BAwards%2BRound%2B1%2BJudge%2BButton%2B2020.png)