First published 2007
Reuven Bloom clutches his violin and watches his best friend dragged away to serve in the Tsar's army. The fifteen-year-old musician has built his life around dreams of performing, but 1897 Russia offers Jews little hope and less mercy. When soldiers murder his parents and older sister, Reuven's world collapses. His musical ambitions crumble under the weight of survival. Now he faces an impossible choice: stay and risk death, or abandon everything familiar for an uncertain future. With his infant sister secured to his back, Reuven begins a dangerous trek across the Russian wilderness. The journey will test every ounce of his courage as he navigates toward America and freedom. Each step takes him further from the only home he has known, but closer to the possibility of rebuilding their shattered lives. This is the origin story of the young man who would later help other families escape persecution.
Genres: 20th-century, 19th-century, jewish
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, suspenseful
Tropes: coming-of-age, found-family, survival
Setting: Russia, America
Period: 1897
154 pages · Paperback · Puffin Books
Content warnings: death, violence