Faraway Island Series by Annika Thor

Two Jewish sisters leave Austria during WWII/Holocaust and find refuge in Sweden." It's the summer of 1939. Two Jewish sisters from Vienna 12-year-old Stephie Steiner and 8-year-old Nellie are sent to Sweden to escape the Nazis. They expect to stay there six months, until their parents can flee to Amsterdam; then all four will go to America. But as the world war intensifies, the girls remain, each with her own host family, on a rugged island off the western coast of Sweden... moreTwo Jewish sisters leave Austria during WWII/Holocaust and find refuge in Sweden." It's the summer of 1939. Two Jewish sisters from Vienna 12-year-old Stephie Steiner and 8-year-old Nellie are sent to Sweden to escape the Nazis. They expect to stay there six months, until their parents can flee to Amsterdam; then all four will go to America. But as the world war intensifies, the girls remain, each with her own host family, on a rugged island off the western coast of Sweden. Nellie quickly settles in to her new surroundings. She s happy with her foster family and soon favors the Swedish language over her native German. Not so for Stephie, who finds it hard to adapt; she feels stranded at the end of the world, with a foster mother who s as cold and unforgiving as the island itself. Her main worry, though, is her parents and whether she will ever see them again. less

A Mildred L. Batchelder Honor Book and an ALA-ALSC Notable Children’s Book, The Lily Pond continues the story of two Jewish sisters who left Austria during WWII/Holocaust and found refuge in Sweden.A year after Stephie Steiner and her younger sister, Nellie, left Nazi-occupied Vienna, Stephie has finally adapted to life on the rugged Swedish island where she now lives. But more change awaits Stephie: her foster parents have allowed her to enroll in school on the mainland, in Goteberg... moreA Mildred L. Batchelder Honor Book and an ALA-ALSC Notable Children’s Book, The Lily Pond continues the story of two Jewish sisters who left Austria during WWII/Holocaust and found refuge in Sweden.A year after Stephie Steiner and her younger sister, Nellie, left Nazi-occupied Vienna, Stephie has finally adapted to life on the rugged Swedish island where she now lives. But more change awaits Stephie: her foster parents have allowed her to enroll in school on the mainland, in Goteberg. Stephie is eager to go. Not only will she be pursuing her studies, she'll be living in a cultured city again—under the same roof as Sven, the son of the lodgers who rented her foster parents' cottage for the summer.Five years her senior, Sven dazzles Stephie with his charm, his talk of equality, and his anti-Hitler sentiments. Stephie can't help herself—she's falling in love. As she navigates a sea of new emotions, she also grapples with what it means to be beholden to others, with her constant worry about what her parents are enduring back in Vienna, and with the menacing spread of Nazi ideology, even in Sweden. In these troubled times, her true friends, Stephie discovers, are the ones she least expected. less

Readers of Anne of Green Gables and Hattie Ever After will love following Stephie's story, which takes place during World War II and began with A Faraway Island and continued with The Lily Pond.Three years ago, Stephie and her younger sister, Nellie, escaped the Nazis in Vienna and fled to an island in Sweden, where they were taken in by different families. Now sixteen-year-old Stephie is going to school on the mainland. Stephie enjoys her studies, and rooming with her school friend, May... moreReaders of Anne of Green Gables and Hattie Ever After will love following Stephie's story, which takes place during World War II and began with A Faraway Island and continued with The Lily Pond.Three years ago, Stephie and her younger sister, Nellie, escaped the Nazis in Vienna and fled to an island in Sweden, where they were taken in by different families. Now sixteen-year-old Stephie is going to school on the mainland. Stephie enjoys her studies, and rooming with her school friend, May. But life is only getting more complicated as she gets older.Stephie might lose the grant money that is funding her education. Her old friend Verra is growing up too fast. And back on the island, Nellie wants to be adopted by her foster family. Stephie, on the other hand, can't stop thinking about her parents, who are in a Nazi camp in Austria. If only the war would end….Like the deep sea, Stephie's life is filled with danger and darkness, but also with beauty and hope as she learns to stand up for her beliefs and be true to herself. less

Volume four of the series including A Faraway Island, The Lily Pond, and Deep SeaWorld War II has finally ended and Steffi has graduated from upper secondary school... moreVolume four of the series including A Faraway Island, The Lily Pond, and Deep SeaWorld War II has finally ended and Steffi has graduated from upper secondary school. Now she has to make up her mind; will she stay in Sweden where her foster family is, return to Vienna where her father may be, or accept the offer of her relatives in New Jersey to live with them? Her little sister Nellie hardly remembers their father, and wants nothing more than to stay in Sweden with Auntie Alma, But she also wants to be where Steffi is. This final volume answers all these question. It can also be read independently. less