Letters from Rifka by Karen Hesse

Set between 1919 and 1920, LETTERS FROM RIFKA tells the story of a 12-year-old Jewish girl who, along with her parents and her brother, attempts to escape persecution in her homeland of Russia. The family manages to flee to Poland, and from there, they plan to immigrate to the United States, already home to Rifka's three older brothers. Although the rest of her family is cleared to travel to America, Rifka, who has developed ringworm, is left behind in the care of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, a group that eventually relocates her to Belgium, where she grows from a frightened child to a responsible young woman. Rifka still dreams of being reunited with her family, but before she can do so, she must face a dangerous sea journey and an extended stay at Ellis Island. Based on the author's own family history, LETTERS FROM RIFKA presents a historically accurate depiction of an immigrant's experience in the early 1900s, and is told via Rifka's letters to her cousin in Russia.