Nelson, Theresa. The Year We Sailed the Sun. New York, Atheneum Books for Young Readers,     2015, 417.

The feeling of being the sent to an orphanage alone can change a child’s life forever. But, going to an orphanage run by nuns is even worse, having to follow all those rules, but that’s what Julia Delaney, 11, had to go through when her grandma passed away, and her aunt was not willing to take care of her or her siblings. But being the stubborn little girl she is, she puts up a fight before and after she gets to the orphanage. Julia is determined to get back to her brother Bill, and live with him and her older sister, Mary. But, Julia finds it hard to escape with gang fights, diseases, and some unexpected prison time for some; that just makes the task five times harder than it already is, also making the orphanage feel more and more like home.

The Year We Sailed the Sun was an exhilarating book. Being put in Julia’s shoes made me really feel what she was dealing with. Just by reading the conversations with Julia and other characters, I was able to connect the relationships, and even though some of the characters weren’t very important, I was still able to feel like I knew that character by the way Nelson described the situation. I have always been a stubborn person, so getting to read about another stubborn person, I was really able to connect. Also, if you’re a person who gets bored with the big main situation, this book would be for you. There was always a small situation within the big; trying to escape the orphanage and find her brother. But, this story had lots of tiny problems to go along with the big. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves adventure. Just because the main character was a girl, did not mean it was a girly book. So, trust me when I say this, this is a perfect long, peaceful, car ride book.