A Faraway Island by Annika Thor

Thor, Annika A Faraway Island, 247 p. Delacorte (Random), 2010.  $16.99.  Content: G.  Stephie, 12, and her sister Nellie, &, have been sent from Austria by their Jewish parents to live in Sweden until the family can get visas for America and leave Hitler and the Nazis far behind.  Instead of being together, Nellie is in a loving, boisterous village family, while Stephie is mostly alone with her “Aunt” on their distant farm.  As if learning Swedish weren’t enough, Stephie also has a harder time making any friends at the village school.  And her constant worries for the safety of her parents – while Nellie seems to be forgetting them all together – only add to her problems.  While not as brilliant a piece of Holocaust fiction a say Number the Stars, this would still fit in well with a larger collection – especially as it adds one more dimension to that body of literature.  It looks to be the first in a planned four novels about the sister, making this a future possibility with even more depth.  EL, MS – OPTIONAL.  Cindy, Library-Teacher