Maggie's Door Review
A tribute to determination, fortitude, the staying spirit, "Maggie's Door" is a historical novel of the crossing of a microcosm of Irish from Maidin Bay to Galway to New York to Brooklyn to Maggie's Door.
The potato blight, which began in Ireland in 1845, continued for several years and was the catalyst for two to three million Irish immigrants to America. Leaving with only what they had on or could carry in a cloth bag, these Irish sought a new life, free of the downright mean English, fetid fields, and absolutely no food for people who worked the hostile land for potatoes as their only sustenance.
The trip by ship in cramped, filthy conditions was hardly better, but at least they had bug-filled meal to heat in a little water to eat. At least, a chance at a new life awaited them, making the journey worth its horrible conditions. (There is a museum in southern Ireland which depicts the Crossing and all its horrors.)
The microcosmic story of Nory Ryan features this twelve-year-old girl, who faces unknown perils to walk to Galway to find any family to make the Crossing. Her family is divided: Maggie and her husband went ahead a year ago. Da, Granda, and a sister have gone, and now Nory. Her life-long friend and neighbor Sean Red, also went ahead with his Mam and Patch, Nory's three-year-old brother.
Patricia Reilly Giff tells the story in alternating voices, first Nory's, then Sean's and how the stories meet on the Crossing. The writing is so vivid that I felt right there as part of the story, not as a reader looking in. I felt the panicky confinement, the malodorous smells of vomit, urine, feces, tasted the puckering of the meal. At the end of the journey some tried to wash their clothes by tying them to strings and dipping them in the ocean. After all, a doctor would examine them. If they did not meet health standards, they would be sent back.
Will this little band of Irish make it to Maggie's Door? Will more problems arise to torment them in the new country? What more is there to endure?
There is a third book in the series--"Water Street." The reader interested in this tragic piece of Irish history and the transition to the American history of many of our ancestors can find a great fictional account in this trilogy.
Nory Ryan's Song, Book 1
Maggie's Door Book 2
Water Street, Book 3
Maggie's Door Feature
- ISBN13: 9780440415817
- Condition: New
- Notes: BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed
Maggie's Door Overview
We will dance on the cliffs of Brooklyn.
Maggie’s Door is the story of the journey from Ireland to America told by both Nory and her neighbor and friend Sean Red Mallon, two different stories with the same destination—the home of Nory’s sister Maggie, at 416 Smith Street, Brooklyn, America.
Patricia Reilly Giff calls upon her long research into Irish history and her great powers as a storyteller in this deeply involving, riveting stand-alone companion novel to Nory Ryan’s Song.
From the Hardcover edition.
Maggie's Door Specifications
416 Smith Street, Brooklyn, America: this is the ultimate goal for Nory Ryan as she flees her famine-ridden home in mid-1800s Ireland. One by one, her family has departed for a new life in America; Nory is the last to go. Keeping her sister Maggie’s address close to her heart, Nory embarks on the perilous, heart-breaking journey to Galway and onward. Meanwhile, her friend Sean Red Mallon is just a few days ahead, traveling with his mother and Nory’s little brother, Patch, with the same destination in mind. Picking up where Nory Ryan’s Song leaves off, award-winning author Patricia Reilly Giff’s historical novel tells, in alternating voices, Nory and Sean’s stories. Readers will be engrossed in the series of dramatic events, as well as the grueling day-by-day struggle, as the protagonists suffer injuries, thievery, separations, and horrific sea passages. The very real tragedy of the Irish potato famine and the subsequent exodus from that country is brought to life in a fictional account that will make a profound, lasting mark on the memories of young readers. (Ages 9 to 12) --Emilie Coulter
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Customer Reviews
The Continuation of "Nory Ryan's Song" - Love Starbucks - NH
Ireland's poorest depended heavily on potatoes for their daily survival, eating the vegetable for all three meals. In "Nory Ryan's Song", a fungus wipes out the entire crop of many of the residents. Nory's friend Sean and his mother are on their way to America, taking with them Nory's very young brother, Patch. "Maggie's Door" is the continuation of that story as Nory leaves her new friend Anna and embarks alone on a long walk from their village to the sea so as to catch the boat going to Brooklyn where she is to meet the rest of her family. Sean's trip is also documented, with the chapters moving between his journey and hers, including the travails that such a trip would entail.
Nory hurts herself. Food is stolen from her.
Sean and his mother and Patch become separated when an Englishman demands that Sean take a side trip to the man's house for another horse, promising him food for his trouble. Because of the promise of food, his mother encourages him to go. When Sean returns, he is unable to find his mother or Patch. Not knowing what to do, he boards the boat alone, enduring his own hardships.
The author does a good job in these two books, keeping these young characters from being "over the top" in what they can manage on their own. They are not superheroes and Patricia Reilly Giff doesn't make them out to be, keeping the story believable in all its accounts.
A Truly Delightful Book - Someone's Mom - Chesapeake, VA
The author's genius is in taking a complicated historical subject and rendering it powerfully and beautifully, all while keeping the language and the reading skills on an elementary enough level for her readers. My nine year old loved this book, my twelve year old loved this book and I loved this book.
The action and pacing are great, moving the story along -- from its start on the coast of Ireland during the days of the potato blight, through the action in Galway where Norey boards the ship to the final chapter where they meet up once again with her family in Brooklyn. The only problem is that the story ends too soon! I'm really hoping there will be a sequel to this book, because we're all waiting for it.
One final thought: The author's decision to include both a male and female character with alternating chapters was excellent, and boys in this age range should not be put off by the title or the cover art because this is not just a girl's book. This is a story that will captivate young readers, both male and female.
The Best Book you Would have ever read!!! - -
The Best Book you would ever Read!!!
Nory walked down the long dirt road, which led to the ship that would take her, her dad and her younger brother to New York. Her mom died about eight years ago right after her little brother was born, her town's potato crop went down and everyone has to move to Brooklyn, New York.
This book Maggie's Door really puts you in the action of the story. It makes you feel like your there, you're the one who has to move to a different place, you have no food to eat. It makes you feel bad for Nory and her family to have to see what they have to go through, just to have something to eat, and a place to live.
This book has thought me that even I the worst of times never give up. You may think that nothing could get any worse, but then it does. While Nory and her brother are on the ship there grandpa dies, from then until they arrive in Brooklyn they have to survive on there own.
Now you know some information about his awesome book Maggie's Door, maybe you will read it to find out some more things that Nory and her brother go through. I would recommend this book for people who like to read books about adventures, if so then this would be a good book for you. This would also be a good book for kids between the ages of 12-15, because they would be more likely to understand it than a younger kid. But if you're the kind of person that likes books about fighting and wars than this is not the book for you.
*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Aug 31, 2010 19:36:04
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