Lesia's Dream

Deborah Cryderman is a cataloguer at the College of the Rockies Library
in Cranbrook, B.C.

Lesia’s Dream follows the Magus family as they make the difficult
decision to emigrate from the Ukraine to Canada in an effort to escape
hunger and poverty. After an arduous trip across the ocean and across
the Canadian Shield in the spring of 1914, the family pays $10 for 160
acres of land in Manitoba. They are able to purchase this land on the
condition that they clear 30 acres in the next three years.

Lesia is a resilient, courageous girl who faces hardship and physical
danger throughout the story. Feeling responsible for her family’s move
to Canada and determined to make their Canadian dream come true, she
takes it upon herself to save the family’s land. She clears the 10
acres of land required for the year, helps her mother give birth, and
sells eggs, butter, and traditional belts to support the family.

As Ukrainian immigrants to Canada, the Magus family faces many
challenges, including poverty and racism. At the onset of World War I,
Lesia’s father and union-activist brother find themselves arrested and
interned as “enemy aliens.”

Featuring a strong and determined heroine, Lesia’s Dream will appeal
to teen readers. (The book’s cover—depicting a rosy-cheeked girl who
could not possibly be Lesia—is decidedly less appealing.) Highly
recommended.