Lost in the Empire City
In 1911, thirteen-year-old Santo Alfonsi and his family leave their poverty-stricken village in Italy to join Santo’s father, who emigrated to America five years earlier. The Alfonsis depart eagerly, but on Ellis Island, Santo is separated from his mother, sister, and younger brother—and Papa isn’t waiting in New York to meet them like he’d promised.
Alone and frightened, Santo strikes out into New York City, hoping to find Papa. Falling in with a band of boy thieves, he ekes out a meager survival until a theft goes wrong. A wealthy gentleman intercedes, and Santo thinks he’s gotten lucky, but then finds himself forced to participate in more theft. Racked by guilt over stealing, Santo is determined to find his family and keep them together for good… but only if he can escape the crime ring.
Avi’s latest middle-grade novel exposes the harsh realities of the extreme poverty of Italian immigrants in the early 20th century. From the near starvation the family endures in Italy to the cramped conditions in steerage on the ship to life on the streets of New York City, the author truly shows how the other half lived. Santo’s fears and yearning to reunite with his family ring true, and the gang of street urchins adds a nice Dickensian touch. However, some continuity issues with Santo’s grasp of English—at times he seems to know almost none, and at others is fluent—and characters repeating questions or actions make ripples in the otherwise smooth flow of the plot, which wraps up a bit too conveniently. But for readers who can overlook these missteps, the book suffices as an introduction to the plight of America’s poorest immigrants.
