Lost in the Empire City by Avi

Lost in the Empire City takes readers to 19^th century New York, where a young immigrant from Italy attempts to find his way.

Lost in the Empire City by Avi. Quill Tree Books (HarperCollins), 2024, 288 pages.

Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 10-12

Recommended for: ages 10-14

When Santo’s father left for America, he made Santo promise to take care of the family until Papa earned enough to pay for their passage. They are not oppressed in their tiny Italian village, just desperately poor, and Papa hopes to make a better life for them. When the four steamship tickets finally arrive, it seems their prayers have been answered. Though the passage to America is miserable, when the Statue of Liberty comes into view all passengers rejoice.

But during processing at Ellis Island, Santo is separated from his mama, his sister Francesca, and little brother Tullio. Mama is held back because she is sick, and somehow Santo is passed on to a ferryboat headed for Manhattan. Knowing only a few words of English, his pleas to return to Ellis Island fall on deaf ears. After a few days he must face the truth: his family may have been sent back to Italy, his papa has failed to meet them, and he’s entirely on his own in a city both incomprehensible and vast. Perhaps it’s inevitable that he should fall among thieves, taken into a criminal gang headed by a merciless teenager named Willie.

The twists and turns and coincidences of the story sometimes stretch credibility, but readers will keep turning pages to find out if Santo will ever be reunited with his parents and siblings: “Simply family. The best thing in the world.” Along the way he must struggle with some ethical dilemmas, chiefly stealing. Does he have to steal to eat, or is there another way? What if he’s good at it and even (at some level) enjoys it? Parents can rest assured that he comes to the right conclusion eventually, but his struggles throw the ethical dilemma in sharp relief.

Bottom Line: An engrossing historical novel of the immigrant experience and big-city corruption in the late 1800s.

Also at Redeemed Reader:

• Review: Avi specializes in historical fiction, for example The Unexpected Life of Oliver Cromwell Pitts.
• Reviews: Last of the Name is the rollicking story of Irish immigrants in New York, facing similar ethical dilemmas. Her Right Foot tells the story of the Statue of Liberty for picture-book readers. And for a history of the city through maps, see Manhattan: Mapping the Story of an Island.

We are participants in the Amazon LLC affiliate program; purchases you make through affiliate links like the one below may earn us a commission. Read more here.

Order Lost in the Empire City from Amazon.