School Library Journal Review
Gr 3-4-In Hope in My Heart, nine-year-old Sofia and her family arrive in America from Italy in 1903. The child is immediately put in quarantine on Ellis Island, where she remains throughout the book. In Home, Sofia finally settles with her family in Boston, eventually adjusting to her new life. Language and writing style in the protagonist's brief, readable diary entries flow smoothly from one to another. Each story ends with notes about the setting. Good choices for historical fiction fans, including reluctant readers.-Krista Tokarz, Cuyahoga County Public Library, OH (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Horn Book Review
In [cf2]Hope[cf1], when Sofia and her family arrive at Ellis Island from Italy in 1903, the doctors think she has trachoma, an eye disease. She is quarantined for two months without her family. In [cf2]Home[cf1], Sofia, reunited with her family, settles in Boston's North End and adjusts to her new country. Sofia describes these events in her diary in a strong voice. A historical note is appended. [Review covers these My America titles: [cf2]Home at Last[cf1] and [cf2]Hope in my Heart[cf1].] From HORN BOOK Spring 2004, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Nine million immigrants came to the US between 1880 and 1900, and this entry in the My America series is the fictional diary of one such immigrant: nine-year-old Sofia Monari, from Italy. When Sofia's grandparents die and the family farm goes to her father's oldest brother, as was custom, the family decides to come to America. Lasky creates a character and tells the story, personal and anecdotal, of one girl's journey. Lasky's polished writing captures the thoughts and feelings of a young girl, sticking mostly to such telling details as throw-up buckets, a mysterious stowaway, a dead mouse in a coffee cup, tortellini dreams, mean nurses, and kind friends. Like one in five immigrants, Sofia is quarantined on Ellis Island and separated from her family. After much loneliness, she finds a new friend in Maureen O'Malley and is helped by Father Finnegan to reunite with her family. Book Two, Home in My Heart (ISBN: 0-439-44963-4), continues Sofia's story and the move to Boston, where the Monaris create a life for themselves in America. Hopkinson's Shutting Out the Sky (p. 1175) makes a good nonfiction companion. (historical note) (Fiction. 7-10) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Reviewed with Kathryn Lasky's Home at Last. Gr. 3-6. An Italian immigrant child writes her diary in these two small books that are part of the My America series. Hope in My Heart is the most dramatic. After the family finally arrives at Ellis Island, nine-year-old Sofia is separated from her parents and quarantined. Terrified, angry, and knowing almost no English, she is at the mercy of officials and doctors, some of whom are prejudiced and corrupt. Only her friendship with an Irish girl and the support of a kind official and a priest make her life bearable, until her heartfelt reunion with her family. Home at Last is a conventional account of Italian Americans who struggle and eventually make it in the North End community of Boston. A teacher makes a huge difference, as does a doctor, whose character is based on a real person, Lasky's husband's grandfather. As is often the case with books in this series, the diary format is an awkward contrivance, but it certainly makes the tale more immediate. A historical note and archival photos add to the story. --Hazel Rochman Copyright 2003 Booklist