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Room for One More
For twelve-year-old Rosetta Wolfson, the war in Europe seems very far off from her home in Canada. Then Mr. Schwartzberg comes to tea and asks Rosetta's parents if they will take in a young war refugee. Isaac joins the family and becomes a ready-made brother to Rosetta and her two sisters.
Isaac's arrival brings change. Her best friend's handsome brother doesn't seem as attractive after he reveals himself as anti-Semitic, and Rosetta begins to suspect her friend may agree with him. As Rosetta and Isaac become friends and he shares his story with her, she helps him learn the fate of other family members and helps him shape a promising future in his new country.
-- "Website"
Isaac's arrival brings change. Her best friend's handsome brother doesn't seem as attractive after he reveals himself as anti-Semitic, and Rosetta begins to suspect her friend may agree with him. As Rosetta and Isaac become friends and he shares his story with her, she helps him learn the fate of other family members and helps him shape a promising future in his new country.
-- "Website"
232 pages, ebook
Published October 1, 2019
92 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
January 11, 2020
It's 1942 and there is nothing Rosetta Wolfson, 12, likes more than eavesdropping in on a good conversation. So when a man named Mr. Schwartzberg arrives at the Wolfson home in Westmount, a small suburb of Montreal, Canada, Rosetta is right there hiding behind the overhang of the dining room tablecloth. And what she overhears will suddenly change the whole Wolfson family's - Mom, Dad, older sister Annette, 16, and young sister Esther, 6 - dynamic.
The Wolfson sisters are about the get a new brother, 16-year-old Isaac Guttman, a German Jewish refugee who had been part of the Kindertransport, was later interned by the British, and is presently living in a Canadian internment camp. Coincidentally, while in England, Isaac had been supported for a while by the Wolfson's granny living in London.
It's decided that Isaac will be given Rosetta's room and she will move into Annette's room, an arrangement neither is happy about. Issac's presence, however, doesn't really upset the household very much and it doesn't take long for him and Rosetta to become good friends with each other. Of course, Mr. Wolfson is delighted with Isaac - here is the son he's always wished he had.
So far, the war in Europe has only been an inconvenience to Rosetta's life because of the rationing of things like sugar and butter. Little by little, though, Isaac begins to confide in her about his life in Germany and about his Tante Dora who raised him. But when Isaac gets a letter from Granny saying that his mother wants to reconnect with him, he becomes very upset. Eventually, Isaac tells Rosetta about his mother, who wasn't Jewish, and who, thanks to her perfect Aryan looks, became part of the Nazi regime teaching young girls how to be good wives and mothers, and to hate Jews. She even cruelly turned her back on him in front of her students, treating him as if she didn't know him. More curious than ever, Rosetta goes snooping in Isaac's personal things and discovers the yellow fabric stars that Jews are forced to wear in Germany.
Anti-Semitism isn't something Rosetta has really witnessed before, but then her best friend's older brother goes after Isaac with some vile remarks about being Jewish and letting him know he isn't welcome in Canada. Later, Rosetta learns that are quotas imposed on the number of Jews that can be admitted to McGill University's School of Medicine, the school Isaac is applying to. All of this opens Rosetta's eyes to just what is really happening to the Jews in Europe, and helps her accept Isaac as a brother not just a guest in the Wolfson home.
There are a number of things I liked about this book.
To begin with the title Room for One More could easily have been The Education of Rosetta Wolfson because that's really the main thrust of the story. Rosetta's life had been happy and sheltered, and she had yet to witness anti-Semitism. But it was there all along, it just needed a catalyst to bring it out - like Isaac, with his Jewish background and German accent. And though the story takes place over only 2 months, Rosetta learns life changing lessons about the importance of standing up for what is right. In reading Rosetta's story, I think young readers may also find many parallels between what was happening in 1942 and what is happening in today's world. It certainly resonated for me.
The anti-Semitic events in Germany are presented by Isaac in a very age appropriate way. They are factually correct and clearly painful to Isaac, but they are not graphically described, making this a good book to use for introducing the Holocaust to young readers.
I really liked the Wolfson's family dynamic. The sibling scrapes between Rosetta and Annette reminded me of sharing a room with my own older sister, right down to the line separating their space. And yet, they are able to put aside differences when they need to. I also thought that Rosetta's jealousy over the bond that formed between her father and Isaac was very realistic.
I didn't like that the author sporadically accented the way Isaac spoke. I found his saying things like vas der (was there), or vent der (went there) to be distracting. All that was needed was an occasional mention that Isaac spoke accented English.
I also didn't like so many coincidences. One or two in a novel can feel believable, more than that is troublesome.
All in all, though, Room for One More is a welcome addition to Holocaust literature. It presents a warm, close-knit, happy Jewish family living in Canada, including traditions and inside jokes, and how one person changed their lives forever. I would highly recommend this poignant, well told novel.
This book is recommended for readers age 9+
This book was purchased for my personal library
The Wolfson sisters are about the get a new brother, 16-year-old Isaac Guttman, a German Jewish refugee who had been part of the Kindertransport, was later interned by the British, and is presently living in a Canadian internment camp. Coincidentally, while in England, Isaac had been supported for a while by the Wolfson's granny living in London.
It's decided that Isaac will be given Rosetta's room and she will move into Annette's room, an arrangement neither is happy about. Issac's presence, however, doesn't really upset the household very much and it doesn't take long for him and Rosetta to become good friends with each other. Of course, Mr. Wolfson is delighted with Isaac - here is the son he's always wished he had.
So far, the war in Europe has only been an inconvenience to Rosetta's life because of the rationing of things like sugar and butter. Little by little, though, Isaac begins to confide in her about his life in Germany and about his Tante Dora who raised him. But when Isaac gets a letter from Granny saying that his mother wants to reconnect with him, he becomes very upset. Eventually, Isaac tells Rosetta about his mother, who wasn't Jewish, and who, thanks to her perfect Aryan looks, became part of the Nazi regime teaching young girls how to be good wives and mothers, and to hate Jews. She even cruelly turned her back on him in front of her students, treating him as if she didn't know him. More curious than ever, Rosetta goes snooping in Isaac's personal things and discovers the yellow fabric stars that Jews are forced to wear in Germany.
Anti-Semitism isn't something Rosetta has really witnessed before, but then her best friend's older brother goes after Isaac with some vile remarks about being Jewish and letting him know he isn't welcome in Canada. Later, Rosetta learns that are quotas imposed on the number of Jews that can be admitted to McGill University's School of Medicine, the school Isaac is applying to. All of this opens Rosetta's eyes to just what is really happening to the Jews in Europe, and helps her accept Isaac as a brother not just a guest in the Wolfson home.
There are a number of things I liked about this book.
To begin with the title Room for One More could easily have been The Education of Rosetta Wolfson because that's really the main thrust of the story. Rosetta's life had been happy and sheltered, and she had yet to witness anti-Semitism. But it was there all along, it just needed a catalyst to bring it out - like Isaac, with his Jewish background and German accent. And though the story takes place over only 2 months, Rosetta learns life changing lessons about the importance of standing up for what is right. In reading Rosetta's story, I think young readers may also find many parallels between what was happening in 1942 and what is happening in today's world. It certainly resonated for me.
The anti-Semitic events in Germany are presented by Isaac in a very age appropriate way. They are factually correct and clearly painful to Isaac, but they are not graphically described, making this a good book to use for introducing the Holocaust to young readers.
I really liked the Wolfson's family dynamic. The sibling scrapes between Rosetta and Annette reminded me of sharing a room with my own older sister, right down to the line separating their space. And yet, they are able to put aside differences when they need to. I also thought that Rosetta's jealousy over the bond that formed between her father and Isaac was very realistic.
I didn't like that the author sporadically accented the way Isaac spoke. I found his saying things like vas der (was there), or vent der (went there) to be distracting. All that was needed was an occasional mention that Isaac spoke accented English.
I also didn't like so many coincidences. One or two in a novel can feel believable, more than that is troublesome.
All in all, though, Room for One More is a welcome addition to Holocaust literature. It presents a warm, close-knit, happy Jewish family living in Canada, including traditions and inside jokes, and how one person changed their lives forever. I would highly recommend this poignant, well told novel.
This book is recommended for readers age 9+
This book was purchased for my personal library
November 15, 2021
The story follows life in a Jewish family in 1942 Montreal as seen through the eyes of 12 year old Rosetta Wolfson.Their lives are changed when the family hosts Isaac Gutman, a 16 year old Kindertransport refugee from Nazi Germany. As a friendship grows between Rosetta and Isaac, she learns of the atrocities against Jews in Europe. Could the antisemitism they experience in Montreal lead to such atrocities ?
The book is a good overview of war time life in Montreal. It is an excellent introduction to the reality of antisemitism and the horrors of the Holocaust for young teens.
The book is a good overview of war time life in Montreal. It is an excellent introduction to the reality of antisemitism and the horrors of the Holocaust for young teens.
July 17, 2020
Canadian Jewish family takes in a refugee boy to live with them during WWII. The boy is torn between warring sides of his family, Jewish and “pure” German. The story itself was bittersweet as you felt the family’s adjustment to having an addition to the household, partly tiptoeing around him and partly wanting him to fit in. The writing was clunky and did not have good flow. The plot and content were worth the read though.
January 25, 2020
Room for One More is a touching and important piece of historical fiction. Using Rosetta as the point of view brings an innocent perspective to the horrors of the holocaust, allowing young readers to unpack the very human suffering to ordinary people that was caused by the war. An enjoyable, sensitive read on one of history’s most difficult topics.
October 23, 2019
Really good story for middle readers about WWII & young Jewish children in a free country learning about one who had to flee Germany.
February 6, 2021
Slow start but another interesting view point of being Jewish in Canada during WWII.
September 21, 2021
Thought provoking.
The trials of a boy as he gets used to his me home and new family as he's transported from Nazi Germany to Canada.
The trials of a boy as he gets used to his me home and new family as he's transported from Nazi Germany to Canada.
January 10, 2023
Very good book
July 5, 2025
Read this for work, but kept my attention nonetheless. Not a big fan of middle grade, but I found the characters in this book to be endearing. The end is not as neatly wrapped up as I expected — I would like to know if Isaac makes amends with his mother, and if he gets into medical school.
But all things considered it makes a hard topic easier for young children to understand. I will be stocking this in our school library.
But all things considered it makes a hard topic easier for young children to understand. I will be stocking this in our school library.
November 2, 2021
This is the 2nd book I have read by Monique Polak and they are both completely different but totally absorbing. It is interesting to look at the problems experienced by European Jews through the eyes of a Canadian family living far from the realities of the war. The story is like a tapestry so that by the end of the book all the subplots have been neatly woven together to create the whole story. Great read especially for young adults for whom this story is written.
November 23, 2020
I like the over all idea of the story and the characters but it felt rushed to me. It is a book for young readers but even my nine year old said it was lacking so many details and answers.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews