Lorene F. (lorenef) reviewed The Girl Who Came Home: A Novel of the Titanic on + 82 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Fabulous book for any devotee of Titanic lore. A little different in that it follows the apparent true history of a group of 13 or 14 people, all from one town, who traveled together on the doomed ship. Great story!
Jennifer M. (Kaydence) reviewed The Girl Who Came Home: A Novel of the Titanic on + 380 more book reviews
Summary:
Maggie Murphy is a teenager from a small Irish village when she boards the Titanic. Her heart is broken for leaving the man she loves behind in search of a new life in America. When tragedy strikes, she is one of the few that survives. Skip ahead a few years, to Maggie's great-granddaughter, Grace. Grace is tarting a career in journalism, but seems to be struggling with what to actually do with herself. While conversing with her nana, Grace finds out what really happened in Maggie's past. This sets her journalism mind working and the two set out to explore what happened many years ago.
My thoughts:
As with any historical fiction, you need to allow for some historical inaccuracies to allow the story to come alive. Overall, this is a story about family and character. Both female leads are well developed. There is clearly a bond between great-granddaughter and nana. The tale unwinds as a sharing between the two of them. There are letters, journal entries, and telegrams to help move the plotline along and add further interest between the characters. It is nice to also hear how a woman that was in steerage was able to survive, especially when so many were locked down there to help the wealthier passengers get to safety. While we often hear the story of the unsinkable Molly Brown, it is nice to also hear that another woman with not as many means was unsinkable.
Maggie Murphy is a teenager from a small Irish village when she boards the Titanic. Her heart is broken for leaving the man she loves behind in search of a new life in America. When tragedy strikes, she is one of the few that survives. Skip ahead a few years, to Maggie's great-granddaughter, Grace. Grace is tarting a career in journalism, but seems to be struggling with what to actually do with herself. While conversing with her nana, Grace finds out what really happened in Maggie's past. This sets her journalism mind working and the two set out to explore what happened many years ago.
My thoughts:
As with any historical fiction, you need to allow for some historical inaccuracies to allow the story to come alive. Overall, this is a story about family and character. Both female leads are well developed. There is clearly a bond between great-granddaughter and nana. The tale unwinds as a sharing between the two of them. There are letters, journal entries, and telegrams to help move the plotline along and add further interest between the characters. It is nice to also hear how a woman that was in steerage was able to survive, especially when so many were locked down there to help the wealthier passengers get to safety. While we often hear the story of the unsinkable Molly Brown, it is nice to also hear that another woman with not as many means was unsinkable.
Regina (virgosun) reviewed The Girl Who Came Home: A Novel of the Titanic on + 888 more book reviews
Endlessly fascinated with all things Titanic, I simply could not put this book down. Gaynor highlights some lesser known experiences of Titanic's survivors, including the fates of the Addergoole Fourteen, and the family and friends of those left behind with captivating detail and gifted storytelling. The telegrams are authentic touches, and the fictional letters and journal entries make it a fast read. Sure this is one of the many tales that recounts the maritime disaster, and I've seen the movie more times than I can remember. Still, The Girl Who Came Home touched my heart and underscored the wisdom of treasuring the life that I have.
Kristin D. (kdurham2813) reviewed The Girl Who Came Home: A Novel of the Titanic on + 753 more book reviews
Check out the full review at Kritters Ramblings
A historical fiction book with a current storyline running through it at the same time and it centers around the Titanic. Maggie survived the tragedy of the Titanic, but lost some very important letters and has never been able to track them down. Her great granddaughter is a journalism student who has returned home to help out in the family home after a personal tragedy and she has to decide what is next for her.
A historical fiction book with a current storyline running through it at the same time and it centers around the Titanic. Maggie survived the tragedy of the Titanic, but lost some very important letters and has never been able to track them down. Her great granddaughter is a journalism student who has returned home to help out in the family home after a personal tragedy and she has to decide what is next for her.
The Girl Who Came Home by Hazel Gaynor is a story of the Titanic based on the true story of the Addergoole Fourteen, fourteen Irish immigrants who boarded the Titanic to sail to a new life in America. Eleven perished when the Titanic sank, and three survived. It tells the story of one survivor-Maggie through descriptions of the journey, Maggie's journals, and the research her great-granddaughter Grace does years later.
Read my complete review at: http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2014/04/the-girl-who-came-home-novel-of-titanic.html
*** Reviewed for LibraryThing Early Reviewers program ***
Read my complete review at: http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2014/04/the-girl-who-came-home-novel-of-titanic.html
*** Reviewed for LibraryThing Early Reviewers program ***
June E. (junie) -
There is nothing new here. If you have read other books about the Titanic and have seen the movie, you know it all.
This book is about one survivor of 14 from the same town in Ireland and only 4 survive. It really is Maggie's story as she tells her great granddaughter Grace of the horror she never wanted to talk about, but decided the story should be told.
It was just an okay read for me, nothing special.
This book is about one survivor of 14 from the same town in Ireland and only 4 survive. It really is Maggie's story as she tells her great granddaughter Grace of the horror she never wanted to talk about, but decided the story should be told.
It was just an okay read for me, nothing special.
