Lily’s Crossing Review by Allison Trippe

Bibliography

Reilly Giff, Patricia. 1997. Lily’s Crossing. New York, NY: Delacourte Press.  ISBN 978-0440414537

Plot Summary

Lily’s Crossing follows a ten-year old girl through her youth during World War II. Every summer Lily, her grandmother and father spend their summers at a vacation home in Rockaway Beach on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. Each year, Lily can’t wait to be reunited with her best friend, Margaret, who lives in Rockaway. But soon after Lily arrives to her beach house, both Margaret and Lily’s father are forced to indefinitely leave Rockaway due to the the war.

Not long after her best friend and father leave Rockaway, Lily meets Albert, a young refugee from Hungary. At first, the two seem to have nothing in common. Not until they rescue a cat do the two unlikely friends begin to bond. As they devise a plan to care for the cat, Lily and Albert begin to realize they have more in common than they first thought. Lily is awaiting the return of her father who has been sent to Europe to fight in the war. Likewise, Albert longs to be reunited with his sister, who had to stay behind in Hungary until she was well enough to travel to the United States. Together, they formulate a secret plan to help Albert save his sister from the Nazis, but will he survive?

All in one summer, Lily learns valuable life lessons about the importance of telling the truth; how to deal with guilt; what it truly means to be a friend; and the sacrifices people are willing to make to save a loved one.

Critical Analysis

In her historical novel, Lily’s Crossing, author Patricia Reilly Giff crafts believable characters, an authentic plot, memorable themes, and a unique style. Lily, the main character, has strengths and flaws of a typical ten-year old girl making it easy for readers to identify with. She is strong-willed, curious and longs for companionship. Like other children her age, she experiments with embellishing the truth to impress her audience. Albert, a supporting character, is relatable to children because he wants find his sister. He is a devoted, loving yet naive younger brother who will stop at nothing until his sister arrives safely in Rockaway.

The plot of Lily’s Crossing is comprehensible and engaging to young readers because Reilly Giff provides a balance between historical facts and the fiction of her story. She does not overwhelm readers with unnecessary details of the era. Instead, she creates realistic conflicts likely to have occurred during World War II. For example, many families were separated during this time in our country’s history. Sacrifices had to be made by everyone: both young and old, as well as men and women, alike. Losing a loved one was a common tragedy that affected almost anyone living through this time period. The conflicts present throughout the novel provide readers with an authentic perspective of life in the United States in the 1940’s. Reilly Giff cites her understanding, and her own firsthand experience, as a child living through the war in a letter to readers at the end of the book.

Universal themes of friendship, devotion to family, and the importance of honesty offer timeless parallels of the past and present. Readers will learn that friendships can be cultivated through patience, empathy and loyalty. They will come to realize the measures of which people will go in order to save a life. Furthermore, through Lily’s lies, readers will learn the near deadly consequence of being dishonest.

Adding to the authenticity of the novel, is the unique style with which Patricia Reilly Giff writes. She uses inner dialogue to provide insight into the emotions, worries, and wonders of Lily. Albert is portrayed with an accent, and sometimes misunderstands English words and phrases, giving way to differences in cultural norms. Reilly Giff gives these characters real problems of ordinary people. She provides just enough historical details so as not to bombard the reader. However, these details give readers a realistic sense of what it was like to be a child growing up in a time of war.

Awards & Review Excerpts

• 1997 Reading Magic Award
• 1997 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Excellence in Children's Literature, Fiction and Poetry
• 1998 Newbery Honor Book
• 1998 Jefferson Cup Award
• 1998 Best Children’s Book of the Year
• 2000 M. Jerry Weiss Book Award

From Booklist: “With wry comedy and intense feeling, and without intrusive historical detail, Giff gets across a strong sense of what it was like on the home front during World War II.”

From Publishers Weekly: “Exceptional characterizations and a robust story line...this has all the ingredients that best reward readers.”

From The Horn Book Magazine: “Details...are woven with great effect into a realistic story.”

Connections

• Guide students in conducting research about what life was like in the United States during World War II. Specifically help students to understand sacrifices people made stateside, and how life was different for women and children during this time.
• Preteach vocabulary words like: piling, drone, convoy, rickety, pact, veered, insignia.
• Use Google Earth to support students in understanding the setting and locations mentioned in the novel.
• Create a timeline with students, illustrating major events of World War II.
• Challenge students to choose a theme from the book, then write a poem inspired by the theme they choose.
• Conduct a classroom discussion on what it means to be a refugee, discussing different types of refugees and reasons people leave their home countries.

*Created as an assignment for a Texas Woman's University course.