Lilly's Crossing

A. Bibliography
Giff, Patricia R. Lily's Crossing. New York, NY: Yearling, 2005. ISBN:  0329086014

B.  Plot Summary 
   
     Lily's Crossing is set in 1944 right after D-Day has occurred. The story follows Lily's adventures while she seeks to understand the constant change in her life with one friend leaving and another arriving.  Lily is also forced to spend her summer in Rockaway with her grandmother because her father is forced to go over seas as well.  Even though Rockaway is her favorite place, she finds it hard to be there without her best friend and her dad.  It is Lily's friendship with her new friend Albert, a Hungarian boy who escaped the Nazi's, that helps Lily realize how fortunate she is to have a grandmother that cares so deeply for her and a friend like Albert that truly enjoys her company.  It is one lie that threatens Albert's life that Lily may not ever forgive herself for if she doesn't help her new friend escape the roar of the ocean.

C. Critical Analysis

     Patricia Reilly Giff beautifully constructed a novel that children will be able to relate to.  World War II and the loss that came with it effected the lives of Lily, Margaret and Albert.  Well, in all actuality, it effected everyone in this story.  The setting of the story is at Rockaway Beach.  At Rockaway, Lily can see the boats heading to Europe and she can also watch the boats patrolling the waters in defense of the coastline.

     Lily was so excited about spending the summer at Rockaway, but soon after she arrives, she is broadsided with the news that her best friend Margaret is moving to Detroit so her father can find work.  It seems to get worse when she is told that her father is joining the cause and heading to Europe.  The only light that her summer is bringing is a boy who is a Hungarian refugee.  He escaped the Nazi’s and is now in Rockaway.  Lily doesn’t form an instant friendship with the boy, but overtime they understand that they both have something in common.  Neither one of them ever got to say goodbye to the people they love very much.

     Throughout the story, Lily also learns that it is important to tell the truth and she feels comfortable telling the truth to Albert.  In fact she confesses all the lies she has told except for one which could be the worst lie of all.  It could get Albert killed.  When Lily finally has enough courage to tell Albert she lied to him, he still swims out to try and reach the boats so he can go to Europe and find his sister.

     Albert of course does not make it to the boats and Lily does a daring rescue to save his life.  Albert leaves Rockaway and Lily goes back to school for the Fall.  Although Lily’s father returns home safely, the reader is left with wonder and sadness for Lily because we are unsure if she will ever see her best friends again.  Giff pulls through at the end of the book and crafts a realistic ending for this story.  Lily returns to Rockaway with her grandmother and father.  Margaret is still gone to Detroit and Margret's brother is still “Missing in Action”, but she notices Paprika, Albert’s cat.  Could it be that he is back in Rockaway?  She couldn’t wait to find out.   Lily is not only reunited with Albert, but she meets Albert's sister, Ruth, as well. 

     In Giff’s letter to the readers at the end of this story, she tells the reader about how the Second World War was a part of her childhood and how this story had been in heart for sometime.  She felt connected to Lily's world because she could identify with Lily's experiences growing up watching the ships sail to Europe. Not only was the story about World War II, it was about friendship and this is how she closes her letter to the readers,  “I wanted to tell readers that even though the times are different now, people have always worried about the same things…. loss and separation, the future, and sometimes war.  I want readers to know that love and friendship make a difference.”  

D. Review Excerpt
    Kirkus Review says the following about Lily's Crossing, "In 1944, Lily's eagerly awaited summer vacation becomes a time of anxiety when her widower father, Poppy, announces that he's off to Europe with the US Army Corps of Engineers. Lily's lonely in Rockaway with both her father and her summer friend, Margaret, gone, until she meets an orphan from Budapest living temporarily with her grandmother's neighbor. At first she responds coldly to Albert, but is soon drawn to him by his awkward dignity and his tragic tale of dead parents and ill sister, Ruth, left behind in France. As they care for an abandoned kitten together and wistfully watch ships passing on the horizon, a solid friendship develops, and by the time they part, Lily and Albert have helped each other through difficult times. Much of the plot, characters, and premise is conventional, but Giff (Shark in School, 1994, etc.) really pulls readers' heartstrings with Albert's memories of his family, the loss of Margaret's well-liked brother in the war, and Lily's joyful reunion with Poppy. Pull out the hankies for the final scene, in which Lily returns to Rockaway the following summer to find Albert--and Ruth--waiting for her. It's a strong ending to a deftly told story. (Fiction. 10-12)"
https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/patricia-reilly-giff/lilys-crossing/#review
 
E. Awards

Newbery Honor 1998

F. Connections 

Author's Website:  CLICK HERE
Lesson Plan for Lily's Crossing:  CLICK HERE 
Interview with the author:  CLICK HERE

G. Other Books by Patricia Reilly Giff

ISBN:  978-0440415787

ISBN:  978-0440425571