My Rating
★★★★★ - You have bewitched me, body and soul. (More Info)
A voyage across the ocean becomes the odyssey of a lifetime for a young Irish woman . . .
Ireland, 1912 . . .
Fourteen members of a small village set sail on RMS Titanic, hoping to find a better life in America. For seventeen-year-old Maggie Murphy, the journey is bittersweet. Though her future lies in an unknown new place, her heart remains in Ireland with Séamus, the sweetheart she left behind. When disaster strikes, Maggie is one of the few passengers in steerage who survives. Waking up alone in a New York hospital, she vows never to speak of the terror and panic of that terrible night ever again.
Chicago, 1982 . . .
Adrift after the death of her father, Grace Butler struggles to decide what comes next. When her Great Nana Maggie shares the painful secret she harbored for almost a lifetime about the Titanic, the revelation gives Grace new direction—and leads her and Maggie to unexpected reunions with those they thought lost long ago.
Inspired by true events, The Girl Who Came Home poignantly blends fact and fiction to explore the Titanic tragedy’s impact and its lasting repercussions on survivors and their descendants. (from the author's website)
My Thoughts
Oh my goodness!!! Y'all...ALL.THE.FEELS!!! I listened to this story on a road trip and I couldn't believe how FAST the trip went. My heart was pounding in my chest as the dreaded day of the sinking of the Titanic drew nearer. I love the dual timeline aspect of this novel and how it all connected in the end. Don't worry...no spoilers...but let's just say I was pleasantly surprised.
The narrators were beautifully cast and the story was so fantastic. The imagery and the voices were moving and believable. Such a sad and tragic story, filled with love and hope.
I am so excited to read more of Hazel Gaynor's books! I have already read four in the last couple of weeks and pre-ordered her newest one. Eeeep! If you have not read any of her books...I STRONGLY urge you to check them out. PLEASE NOTE: This is General Market Historical Fiction. There is some language. But otherwise clean.
I listened to The Girl Who Came Home through my public library. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine alone.
About the Author
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| Photo by Deasy Photographic |
Hazel Gaynor is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of A Memory of Violets and The Girl Who Came Home, for which she received the 2015 RNA Historical Novel of the Year award. Her third novel, The Girl from the Savoy, was an Irish Times and Globe & Mail Canada bestseller, and was shortlisted for the BGE Irish Book Awards Popular Fiction Book of the Year. In 2017, she has published The Cottingley Secret and Last Christmas in Paris. Hazel was selected by US Library Journal as one of 'Ten Big Breakout Authors' for 2015 and her work has been translated into several languages. Hazel lives in Ireland with her husband and two children.
