Street Corner Dreams by Florence Reiss Kraut

 

My thoughts

Two sisters set off to America. A new life in the United States. The youngest, Esther,  is married to a young man who has sent for her. They are expecting a baby. Her older sister, Golda, has traveled with her. After losing Esther in childbirth Golda had to meet and tell Ben of his loss and his new baby boy.

Golda had no idea what this strange new country had in store for her. She was in for a life very much different than the one she had left behind. 

Filled with so much sadness Ben doesn't do much in the beginning but his cousin finally gets him going in the right direction. He has a son to raise. A baby boy he named Morton. Ben asked Golda to marry him as it seemed was custom during this day after the loss of her sister. She agrees and raises Morty as her own. 

This story takes you through the life of a Jewish family in America. The gangs. The ups and downs of living in New York during these turbulent times. As Morty grows and Golda and Ben's family, they have a pretty good life. They had lost one son during the flu pandemic and Golda had a time getting through that. Eventually they do have a daughter and all seems right in their world. 

During this time there are many gangs. They terrorize people. Take things from them. Make them pay protection money. Give loans that seem impossible to pay back. Somehow Morty gets involved with these gangs and has to drop out of college. His dream to be an engineer are at a standstill. But he really felt he had no choice. 

As their world comes crashing down around them a war is breaking out. World War Two. They find out they have a granddaughter from an Italian girl that Morty loved with all his heart. No one seems to know what life has in store. 

This story will take you through all these people endure. All the ups and downs. The tears. The happiness and the love. This book is about immigrants who came to this country to make a life. To make things better for themselves and the country. It was hard but they sacrificed a lot and made it. After all that is what this country is made from Immigrates.

This author did a great job of taking you into this family's hearts. Helping you see what they went through. The things they had to do and the life they lived. From the beginning when Golda stepped off the ship until the day she watched as someone she loved dearly got on a bus to join a War... A heartfelt story. Heartbreaking and hopeful.

Thank you #NetGalley, #FlorenceReissKraut, #SheWritesPress, for this ARC. This is my own true thoughts about this book.

Five huge stars. I highly recommend this book.

About

A suspenseful family saga, love story, and gangster tale, wrapped into one great book club read . . .

Just before WWI, Golda comes to America yearning for independence, but she tosses aside her dreams of freedom and marries her widowed brother-in-law after her sister dies giving birth to their son, Morty.

In the crowded streets of Brooklyn where Jewish and Italian gangs demand protection money from local storekeepers and entice youngsters with the promise of wealth, Golda, Ben, and Morty thrive as a family. But in the Depression, Ben, faced with financial ruin, makes a dangerous, life-altering choice. Morty tries to save his father by getting help from a gangster friend but the situation only worsens. Forced to desert his family and the woman he loves in order to survive, Morty is desperate to go home. Will he ever find a safe way back? Or has his involvement with the gang sealed his fate?

Another stunning work of historical fiction by Florence Reiss Kraut, Street Corner Dreams is an exploration of a timeless question: how much do we owe the families that have sacrificed for and shaped us—and does that debt outweigh what we owe ourselves and our own hopes and dreams for a better life?