Product Description

We will dance on the cliffs of Brooklyn.

Maggie’s Door is the story of the journey from Ireland to America told by both Nory and her neighbor and friend Sean Red Mallon, two different stories with the same destination—the home of Nory’s sister Maggie, at 416 Smith Street, Brooklyn, America.

Patricia Reilly Giff calls upon her long research into Irish history and her great powers as a storyteller in this deeply involving, riveting stand-alone companion novel to Nory Ryan’s Song.


From the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #447931 in Books
• Published on: 2005-09-13
• Released on: 2005-09-13
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: 7.62" h x .42" w x 5.33" l, .28 pounds
• Binding: Paperback
• 176 pages

From Amazon.com
416 Smith Street, Brooklyn, America: this is the ultimate goal for Nory Ryan as she flees her famine-ridden home in mid-1800s Ireland. One by one, her family has departed for a new life in America; Nory is the last to go. Keeping her sister Maggie’s address close to her heart, Nory embarks on the perilous, heart-breaking journey to Galway and onward. Meanwhile, her friend Sean Red Mallon is just a few days ahead, traveling with his mother and Nory’s little brother, Patch, with the same destination in mind. Picking up where Nory Ryan’s Song leaves off, award-winning author Patricia Reilly Giff’s historical novel tells, in alternating voices, Nory and Sean’s stories. Readers will be engrossed in the series of dramatic events, as well as the grueling day-by-day struggle, as the protagonists suffer injuries, thievery, separations, and horrific sea passages. The very real tragedy of the Irish potato famine and the subsequent exodus from that country is brought to life in a fictional account that will make a profound, lasting mark on the memories of young readers. (Ages 9 to 12) --Emilie Coulter

From School Library Journal
Grade 4-8-Fans of Nory Ryan's Song (Delacorte, 2000) will not want to miss this sequel. It begins as Nory leaves her home in Ireland a few days behind her friend Sean Red Mallon, his mother, and Nory's four-year-old brother, Patch, to embark on their journey to America. In alternating stories, Nory and Sean relate their distressing experiences as they make their way toward Nory's sister's house in Brooklyn. Both characters face trickery, cruelty, starvation, filthy conditions, and storms at sea, but they are determined to reach their destination. The theme is one of courage and hope for the future. The characters are developed fully, revealing their determination and courage, as well as their fears. Both Nory and Sean grow as individuals as they face each obstacle to their final goal. The mood of anticipation and apprehension is sustained as readers travel with them toward Maggie's door. Giff's descriptive language and detailed descriptions enable children to visualize the countryside and events along the way. Factual information on the potato blight and the resulting emigration is explained in an afterword. A welcome addition to any historical-fiction collection.
Margaret R. Tassia, Millersville University, PA
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From AudioFile
Fionnula Flanagan offers a brilliant reading of Giff's deeply felt novel of an immigrant girl and her best friend, first introduced in Nory Ryan's Song. The alternating journeys of Nory Ryan and Sean Red Mallon--from the spoiled potato fields of the Irish famine to the port and its ship of promise to Maggie's sister's door in Brooklyn--are fraught with disappointment, danger, and the imminence of death. Flanagan's Irish lilt brings Maggie's longings and hope, and Sean's trials and terror, to life in the most melodious fashion. Each character is fully portrayed with her considerable talent, from Nory's brusque neighbor, Anna; to Sean's sweet-voiced, innocent brother, Patch; the ornery Mrs. Mallon; and the rough and threatening Cook. A winning reading of a horrific but triumphant story! T.B. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, 2004 YALSA Selection © AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine