Want to learn the ideas in Letters From Rifka better than ever? Read the world’s #1 book summary of Letters From Rifka by Karen Hesse here.

Read a brief 1-Page Summary or watch video summaries curated by our expert team. Note: this book guide is not affiliated with or endorsed by the publisher or author, and we always encourage you to purchase and read the full book.

Video Summaries of Letters From Rifka

We’ve scoured the Internet for the very best videos on Letters From Rifka, from high-quality videos summaries to interviews or commentary by Karen Hesse.

1-Page Summary of Letters From Rifka

Overall Summary

Karen Hesse’s young adult historical novel, Letters from Rifka (1992), is about a girl named Rifka who leaves Russia in 1919. The book received much critical acclaim and won the Sydney Taylor Award for Older Children and the National Jewish Book Award for Children’s Literature. Karen Hesse is an award-winning author of historical novels.

A young girl named Rifka lives in Russia with her parents and siblings. At the time, the Russians persecute Jews. The Tsar expects all Jewish men to join his army and fight in his wars, but Rifka’s brothers refuse to go back into the army after they deserted it once before. Soldiers come looking for them, but they are nowhere to be found.

Nathan and Saul must be kept safe in order to prevent them from being captured by Russian soldiers. Rifka’s older brothers live in the United States, so they decide that it would be safer for everyone if they all moved there. However, this is going to be difficult because there are Russian soldiers everywhere. If Nathan or Saul are identified, they will either be imprisoned or killed on sight.

The family is sneaking out of their home to go to America. Rifka, one of the cousins, wants to keep in touch with Tovah who stays behind in Russia. Rifka takes a poetry book and writes letters on it for Tovah as they cross over into Russia.

Soon, the family encounters their first problem. They make it onto a train out of Russia and are heading towards Poland to escape the Nazis. However, guards might recognize them on board and they must be careful not to get caught. Rifka distracts the guards so her family can get off the train without getting caught by any other guards who patrol that car. Once they’re off the train, they try to cross into Poland but there are border officials questioning Jews at this point in time so they have to be discreet about crossing over.

Eventually, they enter Poland and travel to Warsaw. Typhus is spreading through the city when they arrive. Everyone in Rifka’s family gets sick except Saul, so they must be hospitalized. Once everyone recovers enough to leave the hospital, tickets are purchased for them on a steamship bound for America.

Rifka is upset because she thinks it’s her fault that they’re stuck in Poland. She has a skin condition, and the family can’t travel with her. They care for Rifka until the Immigrant Aid Society finds another place to stay for her.

A society will look after her until she’s well enough to travel. They send her to Belgium for ringworm treatment and find somewhere for her to stay in the meantime. Rifka meets a young couple who agree to take care of her until she can travel again. The nurse who treats her speaks the same language as Rifka, so it makes things easier for Rifka. She doesn’t expect that she’ll like Belgium, but finds herself settling in well there and liking it more than expected. She starts ringworm treatment and spends most of the time reading new books while waiting for them to heal her completely before continuing on with their journey toward America

When Rifka’s treatment starts working, her hair falls out. It’s not clear if it will grow back. She is embarrassed by the hair loss but knows that she needs to get well and find her family in the U.S. Once she recovers from this illness, she will be able to travel again and go home with all of us who have been taking care of her for so long.

Rifka was able to get on a steamship and crossed the ocean. However, she faced many obstacles during her voyage because of high winds and stormy conditions. But she made it across the Atlantic Ocean to Ellis Island in New York City. She had one more obstacle: doctors at Ellis Island wouldn’t let her into the U.S. until they were sure that she was cured of ringworm (a disease). They also wanted to make sure that Rifka’s hair grew back so that she could find a husband; otherwise, they’d send her back home where unmarried women become burdens on their families or are forced into prostitution if there aren’t any men around who will marry them.