Rachel's Promise

Book excerpt: It is late 1903, and Rachel and her family are leaving Russia to escape the murderous riots against Jews. They travel cross country on the Trans-Siberian Railway to the coast and board a ship for Shanghai. China offers refuge, but life for them there is difficult and strange. Rachel is determined to ensure her familyÕs survival, but does not want to give up her dreams for her future. The opportunity to write for a Jewish newspaper in Shanghai may be the solution sheÕs been hoping for. Still in Russia, RachelÕs friend Sergei leaves home for a factory job in St. Petersburg to help support his family. The reality of life in the city is a shock, and the factory work dangerous. Sergei soon joins the rebelling workers, but realizes he has traded one source of danger for another. Separated by so much, the two teenagers try to make their way in the turbulent political times of the early 20th centuryÑtheir only connection the letters they write, and their fierce hope for the future.