Young Adult Fiction — Review

Yossi’s Goal

by Ellen Schwartz
Orca Book Publishers, 2006
ISBN 13: 978-1-55143-492-6
$7.95, 138 pp, ages 8 – 11
www.orcabook.com

Yossi and his family are Jewish immigrants from Russia whose hope that Canada would be a place to prosper has been dashed by the harsh realities of Montreal in 1981. Living on starvation wages from their jobs in the garment industry, everyone in the family works to eke out a meager living, while their rich employers prosper. Yossi is allowed to save a few cents from his wages and is working towards getting a pair of skates so he can join the French boys that play “le hockey” on the homemade rink down the street. However, his father gets ill, the family is in dire straits, and his sister and fiancé are thick into political action to improve life at the garment factory. The skates will have to wait! We follow Yossi as he confronts bullies, religious intolerance, and the finds friendships that overcome cultural differences. Rich text, filled with numerous details accompanied by Hebrew and French words and expressions, succeeds in portraying both the difficult conditions of being poor and powerless immigrants, and the spirit of hope and justice that empowers workers to improve their working conditions. It is the story of a proud family dealing with adversity, and also the story of a young boy, although cold, hungry and overworked, still carries the dreams of Canadian boys everywhere, to have skates and play hockey! The story is believable, engrossing, and provides numerous opportunities for exploring the difficulties of immigrants and labour conditions in Canadian factories during the late 1800s.

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