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jmkummer's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
saramschacht's review
emotional
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
natdotzip's review
2.0
did not finish - slow plot, one dimensional characters. maybe i should have given it more of a chance but my library borrow time expired before i could finish.
lw_304's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
cat_book_lady's review
4.0
It comes as no surprise that those with power will oppress those without. It also comes as no surprise that immigrants into the United States are wholly without power when they are escaping their countries with their lives - usually penniless and without families - in hopes of a better life and are thus at the mercy of those who have the power to grant them entry.
So starts this wonderful novel of two Italian sisters who enter Ellis Island as they escape brutal abuse and poverty at the hands of their father. But little did they know - and little did I know - that they must either have a job or a male relative in the States who will take them in, and these poor women have neither. About to be turned away and sent back on the first ship home to Italy, the older sister Francesca decides what is more important, her virtue or her freedom, and makes a decision with lasting consequences with a male inspector who presses his advantage and wholly abuses his power over her.
She is thankfully treated by Alma, a female worker at the island, who treats her with dignity and respect, but this book is rife with the prejudices and discriminations against us "dirty" Italians or those "drunk" Irish. Me being both ethnicities, I was shocked at the treatment, though I shouldn't have been since anyone in the early 1900s who was not Anglo-Saxon was of low breeding and stature.
Yet this book is more than just hearing such stories, but Webb helps Francesca rise above her situation through grit and determination. She melds into America but still longs for her culture. She loves the Germans, the Irish, and all different people who make up our country. She refuses to look down on others but looks to them for help and comfort.
Meanwhile, Alma wants to be an interpreter at Ellis, but women did not do such a thing. She wanted to go to NYU, but few women did such a thing. Yet just like Francesca, she learns to be strong, to forgo an arranged marriage to another German, and carves out a life through perseverance and standing up for what's right. She admires the languages of different people as she sees it as a song and dance of different cultures.
There is an unlikely romance, but inevitably leaves you all warm and fuzzy. There are the old-guard parents who want things to stay the same and are horrified at their progressive children. There are family picnics in the park and parties.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I learned so much about the people who worked at and were ushered through Ellis Island into our country. I learned that, too, there are some good people in this world who treat the oppressed as human beings and not as animals unworthy of human dignity. There are also rotten people who just are terrible human beings.
I am hoping that she continues Francesca's story into Chicago in another installment, one which I will definitely read.
So starts this wonderful novel of two Italian sisters who enter Ellis Island as they escape brutal abuse and poverty at the hands of their father. But little did they know - and little did I know - that they must either have a job or a male relative in the States who will take them in, and these poor women have neither. About to be turned away and sent back on the first ship home to Italy, the older sister Francesca decides what is more important, her virtue or her freedom, and makes a decision with lasting consequences with a male inspector who presses his advantage and wholly abuses his power over her.
She is thankfully treated by Alma, a female worker at the island, who treats her with dignity and respect, but this book is rife with the prejudices and discriminations against us "dirty" Italians or those "drunk" Irish. Me being both ethnicities, I was shocked at the treatment, though I shouldn't have been since anyone in the early 1900s who was not Anglo-Saxon was of low breeding and stature.
Yet this book is more than just hearing such stories, but Webb helps Francesca rise above her situation through grit and determination. She melds into America but still longs for her culture. She loves the Germans, the Irish, and all different people who make up our country. She refuses to look down on others but looks to them for help and comfort.
Meanwhile, Alma wants to be an interpreter at Ellis, but women did not do such a thing. She wanted to go to NYU, but few women did such a thing. Yet just like Francesca, she learns to be strong, to forgo an arranged marriage to another German, and carves out a life through perseverance and standing up for what's right. She admires the languages of different people as she sees it as a song and dance of different cultures.
There is an unlikely romance, but inevitably leaves you all warm and fuzzy. There are the old-guard parents who want things to stay the same and are horrified at their progressive children. There are family picnics in the park and parties.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I learned so much about the people who worked at and were ushered through Ellis Island into our country. I learned that, too, there are some good people in this world who treat the oppressed as human beings and not as animals unworthy of human dignity. There are also rotten people who just are terrible human beings.
I am hoping that she continues Francesca's story into Chicago in another installment, one which I will definitely read.
bambiann's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
montigneyrules's review
3.0
#readingchallenge2023 (my extra books!)
The author did an excellent job with the 'historical' aspect of the novel; relaying the experiences (&challenges) of not only passengers arriving at Ellis Island, but also other immigrants, with varying backgrounds, living within the 'land of opportunity'- each character provided glimpses of emotion- ranging from confusion, fear, hope, joy, etc- all creating a story around the setting/time period-
Many elements were predictable, while I did 'learn' about unexpected challenges faces (vicimizations and blurs of humanity)- I wasn't connected to the characters within the experience.
Plot-wise, the story was dissatisfying- the first part felt lenghty, deep, compelling- with a dragged on middle, and a rushed ending with much left to be explained. I felt it was a disservice the author built up so much, to just quickly wrap-up so cheesily 'happily ever after'.
I liked the immigrant struggle story, but the story was a bit too big for too small of a payout
The author did an excellent job with the 'historical' aspect of the novel; relaying the experiences (&challenges) of not only passengers arriving at Ellis Island, but also other immigrants, with varying backgrounds, living within the 'land of opportunity'- each character provided glimpses of emotion- ranging from confusion, fear, hope, joy, etc- all creating a story around the setting/time period-
Many elements were predictable, while I did 'learn' about unexpected challenges faces (vicimizations and blurs of humanity)- I wasn't connected to the characters within the experience.
Plot-wise, the story was dissatisfying- the first part felt lenghty, deep, compelling- with a dragged on middle, and a rushed ending with much left to be explained. I felt it was a disservice the author built up so much, to just quickly wrap-up so cheesily 'happily ever after'.
I liked the immigrant struggle story, but the story was a bit too big for too small of a payout