Nory Ryan's Song by Patricia Reilly Giff (Historical Fiction)

The Melting Pot - it is what the United States has been called for generations. Have you ever wondered why people from other countries wanted to leave all that was familair and come here to live. For many it was a difficult choice. In Nory Ryan's Song, Nory's family lives in Ireland during the time after the U.S. got independence from England and Ireland was still under control of England. Things were not too good in Ireland. Many of the Irish folk lived in cottages on land that is now owned by the English and they did not treat the Irish very well. Nory is the 3rd child of four, with her Da being out on a fishing boat to earn the money to pay the rent to the English. She lives in the family cottage with her sisters Maggie, Ceclia, and her brother, Patrick, called Patch, and her Granda. They are working hard to keep the family together without any coin to buy food. Potatoes are the main crop, but the crop has been destroyed by the black spots. Hunger is a prominent feeling in this story, there is never enough food to feed them. Then Maggie and her fiance decide that things have to be better in America and leave them. What will happen to Nory and her family when the English want the rent? How will Nory get food for her family? Pick up Nory Ryan's Song and find out what it was like in Ireland when the Potatoe Famine is starting.