Serendipity's Footsteps

A single pair of shoes connects lives across different times and places in an unforgettable journey—a story of strength, love, bravery, memory, and the serendipity that binds us all together.

Dalya is the daughter of a cobbler in Berlin, and though she is only fifteen, she knows she will follow in her father’s footsteps. Then, one violent November night, she is forced into a concentration camp, and must leave behind everything she knew and loved . . . including the single, gorgeous pair of shoes she was finally allowed to craft for herself.

Meanwhile, Dalya’s beloved shoes take their own journey to America. When they wind up in a secondhand shop, they enter the lives of Ray and Pinny, two modern-day orphans who couldn’t be more different. Ray is jagged around the edges in every possible way, with music her only escape. Pinny believes in the More of life . . . and she doesn’t want the fact that she has Down syndrome to stop her from living her dreams.

One pair of shoes intertwines these lives in ways as moving as they are memorable.

“Addresses racism, morality, discrimination, and self-esteem, all with exceptional tact and sensitivity. This uplifting story depicts the best and worst in humanity and the true strength of the human spirit.” —School Library Journal