A Faraway Island

By: Annika Thor, Linda Schenck - translator

Narrated by: Amy Rubinate

Two Jewish sisters leave Austria during WWII/Holocaust and find refuge in Sweden.

It's the summer of 1939. Two Jewish sisters from Vienna—12-year-old Stephie Steiner and 8-year-old Nellie—are sent to Sweden to escape the Nazis. They expect to stay there six months, until their parents can flee to Amsterdam; then all four will go to America. But as the world war intensifies, the girls remain, each with her own host family, on a rugged island off the western coast of Sweden.

Nellie quickly settles in to her new surroundings. She’s happy with her foster family and soon favors the Swedish language over her native German. Not so for Stephie, who finds it hard to adapt; she feels stranded at the end of the world, with a foster mother who’s as cold and unforgiving as the island itself. Her main worry, though, is her parents—and whether she will ever see them again.

Compelling writing, engagingly read.

What made the experience of listening to A Faraway Island the most enjoyable?

The reader was easy to listen to, allowing the voice of the character to dominate.

What did you like best about this story?

The quality of the writing, substance of the story and the flow of the reading.

What about Amy Rubinate’s performance did you like?

Her voice was easy to listen to. She enhanced the character, rather getting in the way of the character. She did justice to a quality story.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, but it was too long, so I need to listen over several days.

Any additional comments?

I was frustrated to have to wait for the next book in the series, but glad to know that more was to come.

loved it!

I enjoyed listening to this book. It was very moving.
I would like to listen to the sequels to this book.