Letters from Rifka

karen hesse

"America," the girl repeated. "What will you do there?"

I was silent for a little time.

"I will do everything there," I answered.

Rifka knows nothing about America when she flees from Russia with her family in 1919. But she dreams that in the new country she will at last be safe from the Russian soldiers and their harsh treatment of the Jews. Throughout her journey, Rifka carries with her a cherished volume of poetry by Alexander Pushkin. In it, she records her observations and experiences in the form of letters to Tovah, the beloved cousin she has left behind.

Strong-hearted and determined, Rifka must endure a great deal: humiliating examinations by doctors and soldiers, deadly typhus, separation from all she has ever known and loved, murderous storms at sea, detainment on Ellis Islandand is if this is not enough, the loss of her glorious golden hair.

Based on a true story from the author's family, Letters from Rifka presents a real-life heroine with an uncommon courage and unsinkable spirit.

Genres historical fictionyoung adultfictionmiddle gradehistoricalchildrensjewishholocaustschoolrussia

148 pages, Paperback

First published January 1,1992

Literary awards

national jewish book award, sydney taylor book award, vermont golden dome book award, ira children’s and young adult’s book award, phoenix award (childrens literature association),

This edition

Format: 148 pages, Paperback
Published: June 1, 1993 by Puffin Books
ISBN: 9780141311968
ASIN: 0141311967
Language: English

About the author

karen hesse

Karen Hesse is an American author known for her children's and young adult literature, often set in historical contexts. She received the Newbery Medal for Out of the Dust (1997), a verse novel about a young girl enduring the Dust Bowl during the Great Depression. Hesse's works frequently tackle complex themes, as seen in Witness (2001), which explores the rise of the Ku Klux Klan in a 1920s Vermont town, and The Music of Dolphins (1996), which tells the story of a girl raised by dolphins. Her novel Stowaway (2000) is based on the real-life account of a boy aboard Captain Cook's Endeavour. Over her career, Hesse has received numerous accolades, including a MacArthur Fellowship in 2002 and the Phoenix Award for Letters from Rifka (1992).