| Letters From Rifka | |
|---|---|
| Author(s) | Karen Hesse |
Letters From Rifka (original version 1992) is a historical young-adult novel by Karen Hesse. It was a recipient of a National Jewish Book Award and several other honours. In the "Author's Note" to the novel, Hesse claims that it was based on the personal account of her great-aunt Ali Jacob's immigration to America. [1]
In 1919, Rifka and her family must flee Russia to avoid persecution; Rifka tells her story in a series of letters to a cousin she must leave behind, written in the blank spaces of an edition of Pushkin's poetry. Rifka, her parents, and her brothers, Nathan and Saul, escape Russia, hoping to join the three older sons who have been living in America for years. Along the way, they face cruel officials, typhus, hunger, theft, ringworm, and a separation that threatens to keep Rifka from ever rejoining her family. She is constantly reminded she must be clever and brave, but her true salvation can only come when she learns compassion. While she is stranded at Ellis Island, she finds she has a talent for nursing and for literature; she also helps fight injustice. She realizes that the journey itself has turned her into an American and she confidently faces the immigration trial.