SarahJanet's Books

Rodzina

Rodzina, by Karen Cushman.

This is the story of a twelve-year-old orphan who gets put on a train to go West at the beginning of the twentieth century. (Or, uh, thereabouts.) She is Polish, and she is one of the oldest children on the train. This is the story of the people who try to adopt her, and how Rodzina manages to survive the brutal conditions of the train trip.

It's based on the actual orphan trains that went out west, and it's kind of a depressing story in a lot of ways. Rodzina's life is hard and sad, and she's often totally in despair. But she is a very likeable character who perserveres despite the challenges, and she's the type of main character I really like in a book. Spunky, tough, but thoughtful and considerate. (Even when it is kind of deep down.)

This book was an easy read in a lot of ways, but I know a lot of people were very troubled by some of the content. I think kids will brush right over it, but I spoke to one person who was actually quite disturbed by one section of the book, and I can definitely understand that. It has almost a Series of Unfortunate Events feel to it, with the repeated doom and gloom, but it's a much more compelling story (helps that it's based on reality) and a somewhat more optimistic story.

Karen Cushman is a frequent visitor to the YRCA list, and this is a well deserved nomination. I enjoyed this book and it was also one I would have enjoyed when I was in the intended demographic. (Which is often not the case - my tastes have changed quite a lot in the last 12 years or so.)

posted by SarahJanet @ 3:24 PM