Institute for Curriculum Services

Matas, Carol
Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers: 1996. 115pp
$4.99. ISBN: 0689803508
Recommended for Grades 7-10

When fifteen-year-old Ruth returns to her home in Poland after surviving the Holocaust, she discovers that former maids have taken over her family's house. As they marvel that she, out of all of her family, is still alive, Ruth feels like a ghost in their presence. Resigning herself to the loss of her family, she is alone in a world in which she no longer belongs. While trying to find out information about her family, Ruth connects with a man who is part of an organized effort to bring Jews to the British mandate for Palestine. When a pogrom occurs that same night (against the few Holocaust survivors left in Poland) she decides to join the next group headed to Palestine.

As the refugees make their way through Europe, bribing guards, masquerading as Greek refugees, and planning their strategy against the British who would turn them away, memories of Nazi terror and loved ones lost remain firmly imprinted in their minds. Ruth's heart breaks for the younger children traveling in her group, whose earliest memories are unspeakable Nazi horrors. These include a little girl who lived with her parents in a sewer for a year and a half and a little boy whose mother threw him into a mass grave to save his life.

When the ship manages to touch shore, local Haganah and kibbutz members mingle with the passengers, so that newcomer and native cannot be distinguished and all will be permitted to stay. Ruth is amazed by the unconditional welcome that the kibbutzniks show the Jewish refugees, endangering themselves to ensure their safety.

This is a story of a girl who learns that her people, her spirit, and her homeland will survive the Nazis. In contrast to Ruth's shattered and defeated mental state at the book's opening, in the end Ruth believes that her survival will be a window to a new and purposeful life.

This book is highly recommended for anyone interested in knowing more about the fate of children orphaned by the Holocaust, or about Jewish migration to the Palestine Mandate before the State of Israel. It would make a great addition to any middle or high school library.