Review for "Lily's Crossing" by Patricia Reilly Giff

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Giff, Patricia Reilly. Lily's Crossing. New York: Delacorte Press, 1997.  ISBN 9780385321426

 

PLOT SUMMARY

Lily spends each summer at her family’s summer home on stilts in Rockaway, and this summer she plans to do that same. However, the year is 1944 and World War II is changing her life as well as the lives of everyone around her. With her father at war and her best friend moving to a new town, Lily feels alone. That is, until she meets Albert, a Hungarian refugee who has lost most of his family to the war and has been through a lot. Lily and Albert become friends and begin to lean on one another, sharing their fears, dreams, secrets and wishes with each other. As their friendship grows, Albert helps Lily to begin seeing life with a new perspective. Lily decides to kick one of her worst habits – lying; but then she tells a lie that puts Albert’s life in great danger. Throughout the course of this story, Lily and Albert learn a lot about friendship and how to handle the grief of losing loved ones.

 

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Patricia Reilly Giff used her personal experiences growing up as a child during World War II to create an authentic piece of historical fiction that is both informative and imaginative. She weaves bits and pieces from her life into the story of Lily and Albert’s friendship. The setting is described in detail, providing the reader with a vivid image of what life was like for children like Lily in 1944. Young readers are able to relate to Lily, a young girl who has an issue with lying and who is coping with all of the new changes that are appearing in her life. Giff does an excellent job providing accurate and information about the World War II time period that does not sugar-coat the details, but is also age-appropriate. For example, when Margaret writes a letter to Lily, she provides readers with information so they can understand the harshness of living in wartime factory town, but the details she provides are age appropriate for the story’s audience.

The major themes of this story are friendship and grief. When Lily’s father goes to war and her best friend moves to Michigan, she is left alone, grieving for her friend and her father to be back again. Albert is also dealing with the grief of losing his family to the war and the feeling of uncertainty that he might not see his sister again. As Lily and Albert’s friendship become stronger, they open up about their feelings of grief with one another. Lily chooses to manipulate Albert, by using his grief to get what she wants. However, when she realizes that she has put Albert in danger, the grief that she feels helps her understand what it means to be a good friend.

 

REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

Newbery Honor Award 1998

From Publisher's Weekly 1999: “[this story] has all the ingredients that best reward readers.”

From School Library Journal: "Giff's well-drawn, believable characters and vivid prose style make this an excellent choice."

From Booklist 1997: "Tough and tender, this is an excellent addition to World War II shelves."

 

CONNECTIONS

Gather other World War II historical fiction books to read such as:

Code Talker by Joseph Bruchac. ISBN 978-0142405963

Wolf Hollow by Lauren Wolk. ISBN 978-1101994825

 

Gather other historical fiction books by Patricia Reilly Giff to read such as:

Maggie's Door. ISBN 978-0440415817

Willow Run. ISBN 978-0440238010

 

Activities to go with the book:

Have students write a journal entry about how they would feel if they were in Lily’s shoes and their father was off fighting in WWII.

Have students write a letter to their fathers pretending they were Lily.