Journey to America

It's 1938, and Lisa's parents can see that life in Berlin is getting more and more unsafe for Jewish people. Lisa's father makes the journey to America, promising to send for his wife and three daughters as soon as he can. In the meantime, Lisa's mother takes the girls to the relative safety of Switzerland. Because they are able to take only a very limited amount of money out of Germany, they struggle to get by in Switzerland, though eventually they find help from a variety of sources. But will Papa ever send for them? Will they truly make it to America, where the family can all be together again?

This novel, based on the author's own experience of fleeing Germany before World War II, is a compelling read. The writing is strong, the show more characters are the sort that you can easily root for, and the tension and danger of the period comes through in a way that is both vivid and appropriate for young readers. Recommended. show less

I read this book as a young girl about a family escaping Germany as things started to get bad. It is a fine, extremely well written book suitable for most ages.

The subject matter has always been difficult for me honestly. I love Historical Fiction but do not tend to read many books on WW2. However, this one is a gem. Another reviewer described it as "quiet" and I would agree. It is perfect for anyone who wants a book on this subject but does not want alot of violence included.

This book, because it is a children's and YA book, is fast ,easy reading as well as being extremely well written. The characters are developed and the story..this is a family escaping to America during that horrible time..will have you on the edge of your seat. It show more is a marvelous read.

If you want to lean more about this horrible period of time and have not read much about it, this is a good book to start with. This is also a great book for people who love Historical novels about this subject.

Although it is YA, as with many YA books, this can be read and enjoyed by anyone at any age. I am sure that if you do read it, you will not be able to put it down, as I wasn't and you will fall in love with the family, particularly the children and you will root for them. 4.5 stars for an amazing book. show less

Wow, this book is amazing. One reason I loved this book was because of the plot/ending. This story told about a very real situation, but it was toned town significantly for younger readers to understand. World War 2 was a devastating time for a lot of people, and that was shown very well within this book. Times where this was shown was whenever it was mentioned that masses of people were trying to get to America, or when Rosemarie was sent to England with her sister. I thought the way the author handled this topic, with giving it a happy ending, was excellent. I also thought that the author showing that the father was having difficulties in America was great too because it showed the true problems that immigrants faced when they moved show more to America: finding work, saving up money for family, finding a place to live, worrying about loved ones.
Another reason I loved this book was because of the difficulties faced by Lisa. Lisa handled leaving her friends and extended family very well, and she grew up very quickly in the short time that her family relocated to Switzerland. When her mother fainted, Lisa was the one to take action, not her older sister Ruth. Lisa had to contemplate what being a good person was, and she faltered in her belief of her Judaism at one point. I think the problems she faced and conquered show a lot about Lisa, and I really enjoyed reading about it.
The main idea of this story is that good experiences can come out of the bad ones. show less

This is a story about an Jewish family that escapes from Germany and makes their way to America. The father goes on to America to work and save enough money to bring his family to America. The family has to wait in Switzerland for the money and papers to be in order for the trip to America. At the end of the story the family is united together in America.

I really like reading this book and I think children will enjoy reading this story once they start it. It's a great to describe how life was during the Holocaust.

In the classroom I would use this book while studying the Holocaust and World Was II. I would have the students write a story about the different pressures of growing up in Nazi Germany during this time in history.

This book is about a Jewish family that escapes from Germany to Switzerland and finally America before World War II. The family had struggles in their move because they were almost out of money and the parents sacrificed themselves to make sure that the children were feed. The daughters had to be placed with different families. The father finally gets the necessary forms to get his family to America and the family is reunited.

This is a good book because sometimes we don't realize the struggles that others had to go through to keep their freedom.

A teacher can use this book to show difficult it was for some families. It can also be shown that difficulties can make us stronger.

I read this book in 8th grade. It was given to me by my best friend Cassie Krupanski/Jo. She was adopted from Korea to USA so I learned a lot about what that must have been like. I to am adopted so we related well. This is a great book.

A historical novel about leaving Germany as World War II begins