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To Hope and Back

The Journey of the St. Louis

#11 in series

ebook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available
The true story of the ship St. Louis, which left Germany in May 1939 full of Jewish passengers seeking refuge in Cuba. Denied port in Cuba, the US, and finally Canada, the St. Louis was forced to return Europe, where many passengers later died in the Holocaust. Through the eyes of two children, Sol and Lisa, both of whom survived the war and shared their experiences, we see as their journey begins with excitement and hope, only to end in frustration and fear.
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    • School Library Journal

      January 1, 2012

      Gr 4-6- This book sheds light on a dramatic story that is likely to be unfamiliar to most students. In 1939, the St. Louis transported Jewish refugees to Cuba. Their final destination was America, but they never made it there. Denied entrance to both countries, the ship was forced to return to Germany. From there, some passengers managed to find refuge elsewhere in Europe and successfully reach America, while others perished in concentration camps. Kacer's text is well written and well researched, and the black-and-white photography from the United States Holocaust Museum offers windows into everyday lives on the ship. Two child survivors share their experiences, telling their stories of sailing and longing for safe harbor. Playful Sol is the more likable, although it isn't completely Lisa's fault that she's less appealing: she has terrible seasickness throughout the voyage. At times, her thoughts and insights do not seem childlike. Although she is supposedly mourning her father, who committed suicide, she rarely thinks about his death. These first-person narratives are interspersed with a third-person account of the captain's futile struggle to gain freedom for his passengers. It may be jarring for readers to switch between the children's accounts and the journalistic style, especially at first, and some may be tempted to skip the captain's sections altogether. It is difficult to enter Sol's and Lisa's internal worlds because the journalistic sections interrupt the flow. In spite of this, the historical significance of the St. Louis and the compelling photos make this a worthwhile supplementary purchase.-Jess deCourcy Hinds, Bard H.S. Early College, Queens, NY

      Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Formats

  • Kindle Book
  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

Languages

  • English

Levels

  • ATOS Level:6
  • Lexile® Measure:940
  • Interest Level:4-8(MG)
  • Text Difficulty:4-6

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