MAGGIE’S DOOR

Nory Ryan is the last of her family to leave 1840s famine-tortured Ireland to join her sister Maggie in Brooklyn. Giff tells the story of the parallel journeys of Nory, her friend Sean, and some of her family members as they encounter the cruelties of English landlords, fellow travelers who would steal any bit of food they could get, the occasional kindness of those same desperate strangers, as well as their own searing hunger. Sean and Nory discover each other again during the horrors of the ocean-crossing on one of the infamous “coffin” ships. They suffer illness and pain and loss until they reach America and Maggie’s door at 416 Smith Street. Based on her own family’s history, Giff employs vivid language, attention to detail, and fully realized characters, along with extensive research to bring the era and its people to life. Heart-wrenching and unforgettable. (Historical fiction. 10-14)