Written by Avi
Avi’s latest historical fiction tale features Santo, an Italian immigrant trying to survive alone in early 1920s New York City. The cover is eye-catching and accurately depicts scenes from the book. Many chapters are short and end in cliff hangers, which keeps the story moving along. It is a pretty discouraging tale, which accurately represents the bleak circumstances many immigrants experienced.
Santo Alfonsi lives in extreme poverty in Italy. His dad traveled to the US to make money, and he sends tickets for Santo and his mom and siblings to join him. The family walks to Florence to catch their ship, and they worry the whole journey about being sick and turned back to Italy. When they arrive at Ellis Island, Santo is able to hide his limp, so he is successfully admitted in to the country. He is separated from his Mom, sister, and brother, and Dad isn’t there to meet them as he promised. Santo roams NYC and, out of desperation, joins a gang that commits petty thefts. It’s a hard life, but Santo can’t see an alternative. He worries about reuniting his family. Santo ends up in the care of Mr. Ashbury, who is wealthy yet also a thief. Santo aides Mr. Ashbury in breaking into vacant townhouses to steal art. During one such break-in, he runs into his sister Francesca. Santo finds out his mother is also working as a maid somewhere, but their youngest sibling is unaccounted for. Luckily Santo happens to see him shining shoes. They reunite with their mother, but never find their father.
Reviewed by Kim Winterton, Librarian, Upland Terrace Elementary School
Review shared in December 2024
Rating: ★★★★✩ (4 stars)
Interest Level: Grades 3-7
Lost in the Empire City
Written by Avi
Quill Tree Books, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers
289 pages
Release Date: October 29, 2024
ISBN: 9780063086951
A review copy was provided by the publisher.
