The Frozen Waterfall - Hardcover

Hicyilmaz, Gaye

3.66

94 ratings by Goodreads

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0374324824 ISBN 13: 9780374324827

Publisher: Farrar Straus & Giroux, 1994

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Moving from Turkey to Switzerland is a dream come true for Selda, but she soon realizes she is a "foreigner" who cannot speak the language, leaving her alone and friendless until she meets a troubled young Turk, Ferhat.

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About the Author:

Gaye Hicyilmaz lived in Turkey for many years, much of that time in the city of Ankara, which provided the setting for her first children's book, Against the Storm. Inspired by a true story in the Turkish press, it was first published in England, where it was shortlisted for the Whitbread Award in the children's fiction category and was runner-up for the Guardian Children's Fiction Award the same year. After leaving Turkey the author moved to Switzerland with her four children and for seven years lived in the small town of Horgen, which gave her the background for The Frozen Waterfall. She now lives in Kent in England.

From Kirkus Reviews:

Selda, a young Turkish immigrant in Switzerland, was a star pupil in her small hometown of Izmir. She was outspoken and friendly. Now she feels like a non-person, or a deaf- mute: When people speak to her she does not understand and cannot respond. Although she is much smarter than her older sisters Fatma and Pembe, they seem to have no trouble in school, while Selda struggles with her studies. She also must suffer the occasional cruelty of other students and of her Swiss neighbors, who have no tolerance for her foreignness. Selda is ambitious, but to succeed in Switzerland requires surmounting the obstacles of her father's reactionary attitude, the school board's paternalism, and her neighbors' prejudice--obstacles that 12-year-old Selda understandably finds daunting. Luckily she has inherited the strength of her grandmother in Izmir, an illiterate old woman who began taking classes so that she could read Selda's letters to her. Selda passes her class (her sisters are left back), gains the respect of her classmates, and stands up to her father. Selda also befriends a young illegal alien and a rich Swiss girl and sees that her own troubles are small compared to those of others. An uplifting story and a poignant look at the plight of immigrant children in Europe from the author of Against the Storm (1992). Superb. (Fiction. 12+) -- Copyright �1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

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