I'm not a fan of epistolary fiction, but this cross between diary and correspondence isn't bad. Hesse does a good job of capturing Rifka's age (12-13) and the contradictions of childishness and impending adulthood. She also does well showing the challenge of adjusting to a culture different from that one has grown up in and giving a little of the history of immigration to the US from Russia and eastern Europe during the early 20th century.