Dear Emma

Dossi #2

by Johanna Hurwitz

After spending a Fresh Air Fund vacation discovering a new world on a Vermont farm, Dossi thought that returning home to the bustling New York of 1910 would be simple. Little did she know that, even in. a familiar place, there are new things to experience: Her sister, Ruthi, is to be married, and they are to move out of their one room into Ruthi's husband's apartment -- where Dossi will have her own space!But as independent Dossi learns, adjusting to life with her new brother-in-law -- and his rules -- is not always easy. As she writes to Emma, a friend she made in Vermont, she reveals her frustrations, her fears about her new life, and her dreams for the future. Soon she finds that, no matter where she is, she has much to discover inside herself.

Readers who are already acquainted with Dossi from "Faraway Summer" and those meeting her for the first time will root for her as she moves through an eventful thirteenth year in this affecting story.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Historical, Middle Grade, New York, Young Adult, Childrens

160 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Johanna Hurwitz is an American author of more than sixty children's books. She has sold millions of books in many different languages.

Reviews

[Hadassah Buie]

I would have rated this three stars if it wasn't for the main character's name! Her name is Hadassah, which makes her the only fictional character I've read about to share a name with me. Dear Emma is written well, in that it reads like a collection of letters, which it is supposed to be.

[Kristen]

I think I'm reading so much children/young adult stuff because it's impossible for me to wander off to a different section when I have the kids at the library. But I'm really enjoying all these young adult stories. They seem just a little kinder and gentler perhaps than grown up books.

We checked out "Dear Emma" because of it's title, of course. The book is a series of letters written by Hadassah "Dossi" Rabinowitz to her friend Emma. Dossi live in NYC and spent two weeks with Emma on her Connecticut farm in the summer of 1910, thanks to the Fresh Air Fund. Dossi's life is changing because her older sister has married. Their parents are dead, so Dossi is to live with the newlyweds. While her sister's marriage has meant an improvement in their financial and material circumstances, it sets the stage for difficulties in adapting to her new life. Illness ravages the city, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory burns, Dossi's sister is expecting a baby - all these cause big changes in Dossi's life, and force her to grow up and think outside of her own needs. It's an interesting slice of life into a time when the world was modernizing, but sanitation and medical knowledge were still lagging behind. Dossi is inspired to become a doctor.

[Miss Amanda]

gr 5-7 144pgs

1910/1911 NYC. 12 year old Dossi Rabinowitz writes to her friend Emma, whom she stayed with in "Faraway Summer" as part of the Fresh Air Program. Dossi writes to Emma about her daily life and its differences from Emma's life on her Vermont farm. The year includes big changes such as Dossi's older sister's marriage to a pharmacist; happy events such as Dossi's graduation from 8th grade; as well as tragedies like Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire.


Dossi and her family are indirectly affected by the fire, knowing may of the women working there but Dossi and her sister aren't there when the fire happens.

[Elizabeth]

Second book - First is Faraway Summer. Time period: 1910. Dossi and Ruth are Jewish sisters who parents have died. Ruth is recently married and Dossi struggles to adjust to this new life. Story told through letters written back to friends made in Faraway Summer.
Story is fine.

[Pj]

An interesting look at life in New York in 1910 through the eyes of a preteen girl. Living with her sister after her parents deaths, Dossi gets to experience Vermont farm life through a fresh air funded vacation. She sees life through different eyes on her return and through a series of letters to her host family we get to see her life also.

[Stephanie Pieck]

Once again, the writing is a bit stilted and not at all what would be expected in letters between two young girls. However, the glimpse into history as it's experienced by regular people is welcome. We read about the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire and the opening of the New York Public Library. The book would be good for someone wanting to spark interest in a particular period of history.

[Laura]

This is the second book about Dossi. In the first book Dossi was visiting a farm in Vermont and wrote in her diary about her experiences. In this book, Emma is back home in NYC and writing to her friend back on the farm about what is happening to her in NYC. I enjoyed the book very much, but I wish there was a third book (if there is I couldn't find out about in all my searching). I would like to know what happens to Dossi on her second trip to Vermont!

[Melanie Boss]

Historical Fiction. This is a fabulous book of letters from a girl nicknamed Dossi who lives in New York, to her friend Emma in rural Vermont. This is set around 1910 and discusses the hardships of the times as well as the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory disaster.

[Micaela - Rose]

Dossi writes letters to her friend Emma who she spends time with over the summer along with her family. Dossi got to have a nice vacation with her friend and then she went back home to New York City and her sister. This book is good.

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer]

This story, told in the form of letters, describes the tragic fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in 1911 New York City.

[Daria]

Remember rereading this loads of times... one of my favorites.

[Michelle]

This is a weird book, it only tells the letters of one girl. there is no reply to the letters being sent. but still a good book!