Cover Image: Stitching a Life

Stitching a Life

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Member Reviews

Wonderful! I loved the book from start to finish! A beautiful portrayal of a family's immigration to America from a young woman's point of view! I loved the character development! Highly recommend!

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Wonderful research to portray the movement of a Jewish family under persecution to New York. I sometimes felt the descriptions took away from the story line and cut short some of the emotions. It's labeled YA but it seems a little simplistic for older teens yet the romance may not draw younger students. It seemed to lack real conflict and did not draw me in to hurry to the end. The characters were wonderfully developed. While I enjoyed the story and it did not draw me in as so many other books have.

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The characters in this novel will stick with me in the best of ways. I am so thankful to have read this family’s story. I was transported to a different time and place. The imagination of the author and the attention to detail made this historical fiction come to life! With each page I was further transported into a different time and place. I could not put this down and was rooting for Hinde from beginning to end!

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Mary Helen Fein's Stitching a Life tells us the immigration story of her grandmother in this nice, light fictionalized account.

Hinde, who chooses to go by "Helen" in America, travels to New York from Lithuania in 1900 when her Jewish family chooses to escape persecution.

Upon arriving in the US, Helen gets a job, makes friends, and finds some romance. The overall vibe of the book is positive, and there wasn't that much conflict in the story. That made for a quick and pleasant read.

I recommend this to people who are interested in Jewish immigrants at the turn of the century and are looking for something light. I feel like this would also be appropriate for tweens and middle grade readers. At times the storytelling style reminded me of books like Flora Thompson's Lark Rise to Candleford. Overall, an upbeat read!

3.5 stars, rounded to 4

Thanks to She Writes Press and NetGalley for this copy, in exchange for a fair and honest review.

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3.5 stars.

This is the story of Hinde / Helen, a young Jewish woman who emigrates from Lituania to the US to avoid racial persecutions by the Russians. The story was lovely, extremely well researched and is based on the author's own family. However, I was a bit bored because the story is too character-driven for me. The plot was just slow -positive and lacking in drama, which was nice but only represents one small portion of the immigrant experience. I was expecting to know more about the tenements, the factories, etc. This is the very particular positive story of the author's grandparents, and I was expecting more of an overview into the general world of the Jewish workers at that time. Overall a good story but... not quite captivating for me.

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Thanks NetGalley for this book. This is exactly the kind of novel I would have loved as a 10 year old - nothing too sad or scary, an interesting story, and a sweet love interest. We follow Hinde's journey at the turn of the last century as a teen in Lithuania as she travels alone to America and then as she acclimates to her new country. It's based on a true story.

Stars: I enjoyed all of the little details. As a Jewish woman descended from ancestors in the same European region I found it very interesting.

Wishes: Though I normally don't love too much drama in a novel, I wish this book had a little more of a climax. Beyond the first chapter, there was nothing that exciting or thrilling or suspenseful. But perhaps this would be perfect for younger readers for that reason.

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A beautiful story a journey a book based on the authors grandmothers life.Emotionally moving wonderfully written.A very special story.#netgalley #shewritespress

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Thank you to Netgalley and She Writes Press for the ARC!

Stitching a Life follows the life of Hilde as she must leave her home in Lithuania to join her father in America in 1900. The Russians are forcing 12 year old Jewish boys to join their army. Hilde has a brother who is 12 and she needs to work to help earn enough money to move the whole family to America to escape the anti-Semitic oppression in Lithuania.

From the epilogue you learn that Mary Fein’s grandmother was Hilde (who changed her name to Helen upon seeing the Statue of Liberty and being reminded of “another lady of another harbor long ago”). So, while this is a work of historical fiction, the storyline is true. You can sense the love Mary had for her grandmother throughout the book.

This was a great book, full of hope for a better life.

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Stitching a Life is a semi-biographical retelling the life of Fein’s grandmother Hinde/Helen. It’s always fascinating to read about the incredible stories of real life people, so this was a real treat!

The best thing about this novel is the amount of research that Fein has evidently put into it. Although as a semi-biographical novel the main bulk of the story is already mapped out, it is clear that Fein put a lot of effort into bringing the novel to life with realistic descriptions and ideas. Fein absolutely excels in characterisation – the moment in which Helen is united with her family sticks in my mind for the sheer emotion in Fein’s writing. Her descriptions are also incredibly vivid without losing sight of the plot. Whilst reading about Helen’s journey across the Atlantic, I felt a bit seasick given how absorbed I was in this particular part of the story.

‘Her new name would be Helen. No more Hinde from Lithuania. She would now be Helen of New York. She would be strong and free and Powerful. This was where she was meant to be.’

Another notable thing about this story is Fein’s writing style – of which I’m unsure if it was intentional or not. Given that Helen was not a native English speaker, Fein writes in a way that shows this without being to overt. Often times an author can be too exaggerated with this style of writing, so I appreciate Fein’s subtlety.

I only hesitate in giving the novel five stars because it ended rather abruptly. I simply wish I could have read a little more about Helen’s life in New York! But overall Stitching a Life is a fantastic look into the story of a 20th century immigrant. It provides a fulfilling story, whilst introducing the reader to a well-known topic from a different angle. I recommend this to anyone looking to further their knowledge of the era.

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Loved the way Mary Helen Fein embellished her grandmother’s experiences to create this amazing read. The main character, Helen, immigrates from Lithuania, joining her father in New York City. The passage telling Helen’s travel on the ship culminating with her arrival and sight of the Statue of Liberty brought tears to my eyes. Also loved the fascinating glimpses of life in the garment industry during this time frame, as well as the way of life and importance of family. A very heartwarming story of a delightful family. Many thanks to Mary Helen Fein, She Writes Press, and NetGalley for affording me the opportunity to read this engaging ARC of a soon to be published book. Looking forward to reading more from this author.

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A good immigration story, a little difficult for me to get into at first since it is not the usual books and themes I read but it was very good and the characters drew me in.

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Thank you net galley for the advance reader copy of this novel. This was an excellent glimpse of immigrant life in America in the 1900s. The author clearly did a lot of research and it was neat to read that she actually pulled from the life of her own grandmother. The main character, Helen, comes from Lithuania escaping antisemitism to work in the garment industry in NY. Helen's coming of age and figuring out relationships with family, friends, God and boys is well paced. This novel was again very detailed and more of something that I would recommend for classroom reading rather than just pleasure reading of historical fiction. Great read!

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This is the beautiful story of Hinde and her journey to America as the result of her love for her brother. It follows her journey from Lithuania, through Ellis Island, to the streets of New York, and into adulthood. It is a clean book, with some romance and difficult situations thrown into the mix, but very appropriate for teens. We will be using this book during our study of pograms and the Jewish immigration from Russia.

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This book grew on me as I read it. I enjoyed the fact that it was based on a real family. If I had a criticism it’s that at times the dialogue seemed a little stilted. Never the les I would highly recommend it.

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This is a poignant and important story. I was left wanting more. I loved that this book was based on actual events from the author’s grandmother.

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Stitching a Life by Mary Helen Fein is such a passionate story. As soon as I saw the title and the description, I knew I wanted to get lost in this book. That I did! This is the first I have read by this author and I am hooked.

I felt like I was right there with each character. There is so much detail in this YA story about immigration, Lithuania, arriving in New York, family and love.. I learned so much from this story.. I highly recommend this book to anyone that wants to get lost in a page-turner! .

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Helen recognises the danger of staying in Lithuania where there's growing anti-Semitism and the danger of her brothers being forcefully conscripted into the Russian army. Helen goes to New York to find work as a seamstress so that her family can join her as fast her money can allow. This is also her chance to discover who she really is and what values she wants to carry to the new country...

Stitching A Life provided insight into the lives of Jewish immigrants especially from Lithuania right before the outbreak of WWI. Fein recounts her family history while taking a few liberties to enable the story to flow. Nonetheless, she does not show Helen's inner conflicts and tension as she debates which Jewish beliefs she would like to embrace in America , which was a bit unbelievable.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and finished it within one sitting and provided a much needed escape.

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3.5 stars

After reading the summary of Stitching a Life by Mary Helen Fein I knew I wanted to read it. Based on true events from the author’s grandmother, this historical fiction tells the story of Helen’s journey to America from Lithuania.

I loved the author’s note and epilogue in this book. Both portrayed the author’s love and connection with her grandmother that the reader can feel in the pages of the story as well. The first three quarters of the book were filled with heartache, suspense, hope, and joy.

Fein describes the setting so well, that I felt I was walking alongside Helen as she stepped onto the SS Barbossa, saw the copper Lady Liberty, and touched the new land for the first time. I didn’t want to put the book down. My only critique was I selfishly wanted more in the last quarter of the book. Her courtship and marriage seemed rushed, and I wish we would have lingered there a little more.

I was left at the end of the book wanting to know more, which is a good thing. I wanted to know if she ever reached out to her shipmate, Rebecca. Did they become penpals, or visit each other?

Thank you NetGalley and She Writes Press for this ARC! I truly enjoyed this book and wanted to share my voluntary and unbiased review and opinions.

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Unfortunately it was a DNF for me. The writing I just couldnt get into the flow of reading. Hope others enjoy, just not for me.

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Hilde is 16 years old and lives in Lithiuania in the year 1900. To escape persectution as a Jewish family and to save her younger brothers from the mandatory draft when they turn 12, the family makes a plan to settle in New York, America. This book is excellently researched has a "step back in time" feel for middle-aged readers. But...nothing really happens. There's no suspense; the characters feel a bit two-dimensional. I found myself skimming through large portions.

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