Lily's Crossing
by Patricia Reilly Giff
List Price:
Our Price: $2.70
You Save: $4.29 (61%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $0.01 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Patricia Reilly GiffBrand: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1999-01-12
ISBN: 0440414539
Number of pages: 208
Publisher: Bantam Doubleday Dell
Product features:
- ISBN13: 9780440414537
- Condition: New
- Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
Book Reviews of Lily's Crossing
Book Review: Flawless Voicing
Summary: 5 Stars
In the author's note Giff wrote, "I wanted to tell my readers that even though the times are different now, people have always worried about the same things . . . loss and separation, the future, and sometimes war. I want readers to know that love and friendship make a difference." She does just that.
Lily spends every summer in Rockaway, New York with her father, her grandmother, and her childhood friend, Margaret, but in 1944 the war changes everything. Her father, Poppy, joins the army, Margaret's family moves to Boston where her father is helping to build B-24's, and Lily is left with her Grandmother. So upset that she lets her father leave without saying goodbye, Lily worries she will be alone all summer, but Albert, a Hungarian refugee, moves into town and as Lily and Albert become friends they help each other work through their fears.
Giff creates a memorable setting with an ocean that lives as it rolls in and out, waves cresting and falling, leaving shells, smells, and a vivid sense of place. Rockaway becomes more than just a small seaside town, it is Lily's place of belonging where people know her and love her. (Even the matron at the theater, " . . . you can't keep coming in here when you don't pay. It was one thing when you were six years old, but . . .")
But Giff's real achievement is drawing the world from Lily's perspective without interjecting adult sensibilities. I love the struggle Lily has practicing the piano, "The damn piano, she called it deep inside her head. If Gram ever thought she even knew that word, she'd be in trouble for a month." (5) Later when her grandmother calls her to practice, "She played the C scale as loudly as she could, up and down, faster, faster. It made a terrific noise. She could hear Gram bang a cabinet door shut. Lily was probably driving her crazy. Terrific." (117)
Lily has a list of childhood problems in the midst of an adult war: Lies, Daydreaming, and Friends, need. Her summer in Rockaway cures her of lying and teaches her about friendship, and she learns that daydreaming might not be a problem after all.
Tender moments permeate the story, such as Lily scraping a star off her ceiling to take something from her mother (who died) with her to Rockaway every summer, yet emotions never feel forced, but surface naturally.
Summary of Lily's Crossing
When Lily meets Albert, a refugee from Hungary, during the summer of 1944, they begin a special friendship. However, Lily and Albert have both told lies, and Lily has told a lie that may cost Albert his life.Lily's blissful summer of 1944 comes to a rude halt when her father is drafted into the military. Left alone with her grandmother in the family's summer home in Rockaway, New York, Lily befriends Albert, a shy Hungarian refugee her own age. Narrator Mia Dillon convincingly conveys the emotional complexity of both children, capturing the urgency and doubt that arise from Lily's internal dialogue and providing a sensitive portrayal of Albert, complete with Hungarian accent. Albert's tentativeness and sorrow are apparent to the listener long before Lily can fully understand his painful experiences in war-torn Europe. Dillon establishes the tension of the story early on, and consistently maintains the character and emotion of the respective players in this winner of the 1999 Audie Award for best children's production. (Running time: 3.5 hours, 3 cassettes) --Bryony Angell
Friendship Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Friendship Books
Drita, My Homegirlby Jenny Lombard
Puffin; Published: 2008-05-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $0.01
Price in other shops:
Gentle Ben (Puffin Modern Classics)by Walt Morey
Puffin; Published: 2006-02-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.97
Price in other shops:
Winnie-the-Pooh (Pooh Original Edition)by A. A. Milne
Penguin Group USA; Puffin; Published: 1992-08-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.89
Price in other shops:
A Taste of Blackberriesby Doris Buchanan Smith
HarperCollins; Published: 1992-04-24; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.03
Price in other shops:
Betsy-Tacy CDby Maud Hart Lovelace
HarperFestival; Published: 2007-08-14; Audio CD; Book
Best price: $517.95
Walk Two Moons CDby Sharon Creech
HarperFestival; Published: 2006-03-14; Audio CD; Book
Best price: $79.99
13: A Novelby Jason Robert Brown, Dan Elish
HarperCollins; Published: 2008-07-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $5.13
Price in other shops:
The Wishby Gail Carson Levine
HarperCollins; Published: 2000-05-03; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $2.97
Price in other shops:
Charlotte's Webby E. B. White, Kate DiCamillo
Harper & Brothers; Published: 1952-10-15; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $3.75
Price in other shops:
Frog and Toad Are Friends (I Can Read Book 2)by Arnold Lobel
HarperCollins; Published: 1970-08-26; Library Binding; Book
Best price: $6.49
Price in other shops:
Similar Books and other products
Out Of The Dustby Karen Hesse
Scholastic; Scholastic Paperbacks; Published: 1999-01-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.24
Price in other shops:
Absolutely Lucy #1: Absolutely Lucy (A Stepping Stone Book(TM))by Ilene Cooper
Random House Books for Young Readers; Published: 1999-12-17; Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.53
Price in other shops:
A Year Down Yonderby Richard Peck
Puffin Books; Puffin; Published: 2002-12-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.09
Price in other shops:
Maggie's Doorby Patricia Reilly Giff
Yearling; Published: 2005-09-13; Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.97
Price in other shops:
Nory Ryan's Songby Patricia Reilly Giff
Yearling; Published: 2002-09-10; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.74
Price in other shops:
Esperanza Risingby Pam Munoz Ryan
Scholastic; Scholastic; Published: 2002-06-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.25
Price in other shops:
Abel's Island (Newbery Award & Honor Books)by William Steig
Books; Square Fish; Published: 2007-10-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.28
Price in other shops:
Willow Runby Patricia Reilly Giff
Yearling; Published: 2007-02-13; Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.69
Price in other shops:
Pictures of Hollis Woodsby Patricia Reilly Giff
Yearling; Yearling; Published: 2004-05-11; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.94
Price in other shops:
Number the Starsby Lois Lowry
Laurel Leaf; Sandpiper; Published: 2011-05-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.45
Price in other shops: