Patricia Reilly Giff is one of my favorite middle grade authors. She is able to bring the past alive with engaging characters and fascinating stories. I find her very engaging and I thoroughly enjoy all her books. ( )

Not quite as grim as Nory Ryan's Song, but still quite sobering, with plenty to reflect on. ( )

My son and I read [b: Nory Ryan's Song|130085|Nory Ryan's Song (Nory Ryan, #1)|Patricia Reilly Giff|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1320545311s/130085.jpg|1027852] and then followed it up with this sequel. This one took us a full month to read, not because it's long but because we just never felt that motivated to pick it up. Journey books are a challenge for us (we weren't able to finish Karen Cushman's [b: Rodzina|54365|Rodzina|Karen Cushman|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388378260s/54365.jpg|519682]), and this one provided just barely enough forward motion to get us through. The story itself is interesting enough, but the telling drags. ( )

My son and I read Nory Ryan's Song and then followed it up with this sequel. This one took us a full month to read, not because it's long but because we just never felt that motivated to pick it up. Journey books are a challenge for us (we weren't able to finish Karen Cushman's Rodzina), and this one provided just barely enough forward motion to get us through. The story itself is interesting enough, but the telling drags. ( )

This is a wonderful book for young people to read. It entails the journey of a young girl who leaves Ireland during the potato famine and travels to America (Brooklyn, NY) to be with the rest of her family. She tells about her sojourn to get to the vessel that will be taking her and her little brother and granda. She talks about the difficult living conditions on the ship, and the death of her granda (grandfather). She tells about how they finally made it to Brooklyn and she makes it to Maggie's Door (Maggie is her sister) and she and her little brother Patch are finally reunited with the rest of her family. ( )