Sonia Levitin

The Return

Fawcett Books (Jul 12, 1988)

9780449702802

| Mass Market Paperback

192 pages | 107 x 180 mm

$ 5.99 | Value: $ 5.99

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Dewey * YA Fic 568 Le

LC Classification Young Adult

Genre

Young Adult / Literature / Fiction / Historical

Subject

868.21 Israel / Demography & Population / Immigration / Planned Evacuations / Operation Moses & Ethi

Plot

From Publishers Weekly
Levitin's book is a glorious, heartrending account of Operation Moses, the airlift of Ethiopian Jews from the Sudan into Israel, as seen through the eyes of Desta, 12. Desta's family belongs to a small community of Jews in dire poverty, isolated in the mountains and terrorized by Ethiopia's communist regime. A dream foretells the arrival of other Jews promising freedom in Israel; subsequently Desta's older brother, along with her betrothed, Dan, and his family, are chosen to travel to the Sudan, where they will be flown to Israel. The journey becomes a nightmare for them all. This book will remind readers that there are thousands of children in the world who spend each day in jeopardy. The story ends with Desta and Almaz healing in Jerusalem, but there is a last note that the airlift was stopped, and that many Jews remain trapped in Ethiopia. Ages 10-up.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From School Library Journal
Grade 7 Up Between November, 1984, and January, 1985, a secret airlift dubbed ``Operation Moses'' flew hundreds of refugee Ethiopian Jews to Israel. Levitin's novel tells of how increased religious persecution, forced conscription, and an unwanted arranged marriage drove two young people and their nine-year-old sister to undertake the hazardous journey from their Ethiopian village to an overcrowded refugee camp in Sudan for a chance at a new life in Israel. It is an old-fashioned survival story narrated by a contemporary heroine who is torn between her love for her country and family and the knowledge that home means fear, deprivation, and maybe an early death for her older brother. Tragedy and triumph are interwoven in this rather formally told and sometimes brutally realistic tale that focuses on a people and a culture that is rapidly disappearing. Unfamiliar Amharic and Hebrew terms are made clear in context. A one-page bibliography of adult material is provided for motivated readers. The adventure of the exodus is totally absorbing, and the emotional impact is strong. Amy Kellman, Carnegie

Personal

Owner	Young Adult Fiction
Location	Non-numeric Call numbers
Index	3727
Added Date	Jan 05, 2016 18:06:31
Modified Date	Jul 18, 2022 19:21:56

Value

Retail Price	$ 5.99
Value	$ 5.99

Notes

The Return by Sonia Levitin was a very good book. It was a little bit hard to get into, but if you continued to read then you would find that it got more interesting. It is about a girl named Desta who lives in a small village on top of a mountain in Ethiopia. She is a Jew, and in her country that is not a good thing because they are often blamed for things, beaten, or killed. She lives with her Aunt and Uncle (because her parents are dead) her older brother Joas, and her younger sister Almaz.

Desta and her family live a quiet life, until one day when word of a dream that Weizero Channa (an old wise woman from another village) travels to their village. In her dream a "ram" leads his "sheep" to Jerusalem. They believe it, but would not go because of all the dangers they would face traveling because they are Jews. Joas, however, does want to leave and starts saving his money so that he can make the trip. When he talks to Desta of the trip she says there is no real reason why they should go and does not want to have anything to do with it.

Her sign that they should indeed leave soon comes. There is word from another village that men are coming to take the boys and force them to join the army. It is decided that they have to go now to save themselves from bad things or even death. With a group from another village (Kess, Weizero Channa, Dan, who is supposed to marry Desta, and a few others) they start on their hard journey to their freedom, in Jerusalem.

To make it through this journey, they need all the strength and faith they have to make it through all of the hardships. The story is very inspirational. I liked it so much I could not put it down. I recommend this book to anyone who likes to read or has much faith in his or her religion because this story can teach you how your faith can help you through the worst of times.