- Paperback: 136 pages
- Publisher: Dundurn; 3 edition (April 4 2008)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1550027190
- ISBN-13: 978-1550027198
- Product Dimensions: 21 x 13.7 x 0.9 cm
- Shipping Weight: 181 g
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #349,011 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Product Details |
Product Description
Books in Canada
Tyranny turns up in Ann Alma's Skateway to Freedom . The menace is the East German secret police, who threaten the futures of 11-year-old Josie Grun and her parents in East Berlin. Fearing arrest for his liberal opinions, Josie's father plans the family's escape through Czechoslovakia into Hungary and Austria and thence to Canada, where his brother is established in Calgary. This gives Alma the opportunity to describe things Canadians have learned to take for granted, wasting plastic and paper, for example, or accepting the view that, in economic terms, some are more equal than others—through the eyes of a newcomer. After a thrilling and dangerous adventure, Josie's most pressing problems soon become learning English and fitting in to a Canadian school. But Josie Grun is no ordinary girl. She has courage, and she loves to skate. Alma, who came to Canada as an immigrant herself and went on to teach school for 18 years in Armstrong, B.C., can empathize with the plight of young new Canadians. Josie and her parents are nicely rounded and sensitively imagined characters. It's a pleasure to make their acquaintance.
Pat Barclay (Books in Canada)
Pat Barclay (Books in Canada)
Product Description
Eleven-year-old Josie Grun escapes from Communist East Germany with her mother and father one dark night in 1989 just months before the Berlin Wall comes tumbling down. Braving border guards, barbed wire, and rifle shots, Josie reluctantly turns her back on her best friend, Greta, and all that was once familiar. She crosses the ocean to join her uncle in Calgary, attempts to learn a foreign language, and overcomes the prejudices of her schoolmates in order to forge a new life. Clinging to the passion that has always been a comfort, her figure skating, she enters a local competition to prove that she is free on the ice and off.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
Customer Reviews
|
There are no customer reviews yet on Amazon Canada
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.0 out of 5 stars (1 customer review)
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A very nice book..., Aug 28 2004
By Ktstar - Published on Amazon.com
This was the first kind of "historical" book that took place ten or twenty years ago. Josie Grün is down in the dumps, since her parents have decided to move to Canada while their town in East Germany is in danger. Josie gradually makes friends, and is overjoyed when she can skate again. I liked this book, for the most part. The bad thing about it was that some parts were rather slow and uninteresting, and the plot and characters weren't very well-developed. The climax was when they were escaping from East Germany. However, it did portray a good image of what it would be like growing up in a society you knew nothing about.
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
