Faraway On An Island

I felt so bad for Stephie. She is trying so hard, but she misses her old life and her parents so much. Her parents sent her and her sister away to save them from the Germans and their hatred. But, even in Sweden, they can't avoid it completely. They both realize they aren't alone and don't have to deal with everything on their own. Middle school ages, especially girls. Even though it's historical fiction, the problems the girls deal with are easily relatable. The book doesn't deal with the horrors of the concentration camps, but the way the war affects Stephie, Nellie, and their family.

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Jul 28, Lori rated it really liked it. The story mostly follows the older sister Stephie who lives with "Aunt Marta" and "Uncle Evert" on a small island. Evert is a fisherman by trade, and the couple doesn't have much money. Nellie lives in the same village with another couple, although the plan had been for the two girls to live together.

Nellie ends up adapting to the new situation and making friends more easily than Stephie who is bullied by classm Two Jewish sisters are evacuated from Austria to Sweden by the Swedish Aid Society. Nellie ends up adapting to the new situation and making friends more easily than Stephie who is bullied by classmates.

Stephie dreams of going to "grammar school" upon completion of the sixth grade which she'd already completed in Austria and of eventually becoming a doctor like her father. The girls also work to try to get their parents out of Austria into Sweden after their parents' attempts to get into America fail.

A friend and I listened to the first thirty-seven chapters on the audio book on a trip. I had to complete the short remainder with the e-book version available to me. I really enjoyed the narrator of the English translation. I also enjoyed the author's comments at the conclusion of the book and hope to be able to read or listen to the remainder of the books in the series.

Dec 04, Dorian is currently reading it. Reading this one because it's one of my student's forever faves. Apr 04, Brianna rated it really liked it Shelves: This book is intended for grades 4th-6th with an interest in historical fiction. It has a lot of relativity that 4th-6th graders can understand, with or without siblings.

I would like to apply this book to my classroom by giving a whole lesson on the Holocaust and what things may have been like around that time. Have the students break off into groups of about and give each group a book relating to the topic we are discussing, example: At the end, have the students make some sort of project, whether it be powerpoint, poster, memory box, etc. Another thing I would like to do with this book specifically is to read it aloud to the class during a time we spend in Social Studies on the Holocaust and World War II.

Let the children wind down after recess and listen to the book. Jun 28, April Helms rated it really liked it Shelves: Two sisters, Stephie, 12, and Nellie, 7, are sent to Sweden as part of a children's refugee program to escape the Nazi occupation and repression in Austria. Nellie adapts to her family quickly, embracing the language and her adopted parents.

Stephie struggles with trying to fit in, while maintaining her Jewish and Austrian identity. Stephie also has an uneasy relationship with her strict adoptive mother, whom she calls Aunt Marta, as well as problems with the school bully. Above A touching book. Above all, she worries about her parents and wants to reunite with them.

Or, try to get them to Sweden. By the end of the book, of course, it's obvious the troubles in Europe are not only going to last longer than most people initially thought, but they are spreading. This is the first in a series of translated books. The characters are well-rounded, and most are sympathetic.

It strikes me as an honest look at what the children probably faced. The author used real-life stories from children in similar situations. It's and the Germans have taken over Austria where year old Stephie Steiner and her eight-year-old sister Nellie are from. To keep them safe, their parents sent them to Sweden to stay until they can all get visas to enter Amsterdam and go to America. Stephie entertains her sister with tall tales about faraway Sweden with it's endless sandy beaches and palm trees. The reality is vastly different!

The sisters are shipped to a faraway island- a rugged, wild island off the coast far from the It's and the Germans have taken over Austria where year old Stephie Steiner and her eight-year-old sister Nellie are from. The sisters are shipped to a faraway island- a rugged, wild island off the coast far from the mainland. While Nellie gets to stay with a loving family and have other children to play with, Stephie is alone.

Her foster mother, Auntie Marta, is as severe as her bun. Swedish is difficult for Stephie to learn and a mean bully makes school unbearable and friends unthinkable. How can she survive? As the situation in Europe escalates into war, Stephie fears for her parents and wonders when they will all be together again. It's always hard to read a Holocaust novel from the perspective of someone living today who knows the facts about what happened.

Parents say

It's hard not to cringe when characters say "Oh they really wouldn't put innocent people in prison would they? I don't want to get involved. I had a hard time putting the book down because I wondered what kind of conclusion it would have.

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I was surprised to discover similarities to Anne of Green Gables. I'm almost certain those similarities were intentional. I did not like the present tense voice but once I read the author's note, it made sense. I like how she drew a parallel between what happened to refugee children in the s and what is happening today. I hope readers will feel more compassionate towards refugees after reading this book. While Anne Shirley may have been able to come through her rough childhood as an optimist, Stephie has been through a lot worse and has a harder time adapting.

I really don't like her very much.



I understand she's having a rough time and taking all the burden on herself because Nellie is too young to share the burdens. I get that she doesn't understand the language and the culture and I totally empathize with her in those respects. What I don't like is how she doesn't make any attempts to learn anything about her foster parents and she doesn't seem to understand just how much her life of wealth and privilege up to now has spoiled her. It's clearly obvious her foster family is not wealthy. Nellie's family seems to have more money and Sylvia's family, as shopkeepers, seem to have the most money of anyone on the island and even still, none of them are as wealthy as the Steiners once were!

Stephie takes for granted the privileges she had like new clothes, an education, no chores and doesn't even think about WHY Auntie Marta needs her to do chores or WHY she's given an old-fashioned, hand-me-down bathing suit. I suppose some of that is her age but once she's been there almost a year, she still doesn't seem to understand the locals.

She's also very mean to her little sister. The conclusion of the book is too much of a change for Stephie that fast. I didn't care for her total personality change or the other changes. I did think that her relationship with Auntie Marta would mirror that of Anne and Marilla.

Auntie Marta is very much a Marilla. I can not, however, forgive Auntie Marta for forcing Stephie to convert to her bizarre evangelical Christian faith. She knows Stephie is Jewish but apparently that constitutes a "sin. Stephie worries what her parents will think but it doesn't sound like they were Orthodox or even really observant.

The conversion may end up saving their lives but at this point they don't know that. Uncle Evert is absolutely Matthew Cuthbert.



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He's a very dear man and as unlike his wife as Matthew is his sister. I had a lot of respect for Uncle Evert for getting involved in "politics" when no one else would. Nellie is cute in an annoying, innocent little girl way. She is too young to understand fully what is happening but she does have some lingering trauma from an event that happened before they left Vienna.

She adjusts quickly because she has to. She's young and innocent. I can understand Stephie's fears that Nellie is forgetting who they are- their language and culture. Nellie will probably not want to leave Sweden when and if the time comes. I do have sympathy for Vera. She must have been the butt of Sylvia's wrath before Stephie came along but she does something unforgivable in my opinion.

Sylvia is beyond queen bee mean girl. She's a cruel bully. Perhaps the author wanted to bring the Nazi ideology down to a child's level and made Sylvia cruel, manipulative and a downright despicable person. I believe she's somewhat jealous of Stephie for coming from a wealthy family but also probably motivated partly by anti-Semitism. The other children are all horrid queen bee wannabes and extraordinarily cruel.

This isn't the best Holocaust refugee novel I've read but I'm curious enough to see where the story is headed to read the sequels. Also in Faraway Island Series. Inspired by Your Browsing History. The Secrets of the Wild Wood. Up Close With Bugs. Up Close With Spiders. Whose Eye Am I? Andrew Schuerger and Loreen Leedy. Vollman and Stephen D. Marvel Fearless and Fantastic! Female Super Heroes Save the World.

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The Bear Ate Your Sandwich. A Bus Called Heaven. Seven Wonders of the Milky Way. Samantha Spinner and the Super-Secret Plans. Parents need to know that this story can help kids start learning about World War II, Nazis, and child refugees. While the war is kept at a distance, there are moments when Stephanie remembers her life before she left Germany, including the beating of a couple and the killing of a dog.

Add your rating See all 1 parent review. Add your rating See all 3 kid reviews. In , Viennese Jewish sisters Stephanie and Nellie are sent by their parents as refugees to Sweden. They're placed with different families on a small, windswept island, where they hope that their parents will join them later. Nellie learns Swedish quickly, makes friends, and lives with a kind family.

But older sister Stephanie picks up Swedish more slowly, lives with a cold old woman, and is bullied at school. She longs for the day that she's reunited with her parents, but that's looking more and more unlikely. This seamless translation from Swedish, based on an event little-known in that country, will help kids begin to learn about tough topics like World War II, Nazis, and child refugees.

See our discussion guide for ideas for delving into the themes here and our list of other recommended books for kids who are ready to delve more deeply into the stories of Jewish children in WWII. Families can talk about WWII and its impact on kids and families. What did kids know about the war before reading this book? How can they find out more? Do you feel differently about the book knowing that real kids went through what Stephie did?

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