Despite Intriguing Topic, Titanic Novel Plods Along

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

In April 1912, a group of Irish travelers from County Mayo boarded the most magnificent ship the world had ever seen.  Despite their steerage class tickets, they marveled at the grandeur and luxury of R.M.S. Titanic.  Little could any of them imagine that so many—including most of their group—would not survive their voyage aboard the great, but ill-fated ocean liner.  

One of few steerage class survivors, 17-year-old Maggie Murphy is grappling with the enormity of her loss.  Alone in a new country, her neighbors and friends buried at sea, Maggie knows she has to put the tragedy behind her and move on.  Shoving her grief into the farthest recesses of her heart, she forges ahead, vowing never to speak of the terrible, fateful night she watched Titanic—and many of her loved ones—sink into the unforgiving deep.  

Seventy years later, Maggie watches helplessly as her 21-year-old great-granddaughter flounders after losing both of her parents within a short time.  In an effort to reach out, Maggie decides to unburden herself to grieving Grace.  As the women share their secrets, both will find closure and renewed hope despite past hurts.

I find books about Titanic endlessly fascinating, so when I heard about The Girl Who Came Home by Hazel Gaynor, I knew I needed to read it.  Unfortunately, the story moves along slowly, features flat characters, and meanders about without offering any twists or surprises to keep the tale exciting.  Without any real story goals to push them along, our heroines seem aimless, observing action more than creating it.  Although I do appreciate that The Girl Who Came Home is a clean, hopeful story, on the whole I found it predictable and dull.  I wanted more depth, more originality, more motivation to keep turning pages.  I did finish this book, but overall, it just didn't do a lot for me.

(Readalikes:  Other novels about Titanic, like Voyage on the Great Titanic by Ellen Emerson White; The Midnight Watch by David Dyer; The Watch That Ends the Night by Allan Wolf; Distant Waves by Suzanne Weyn; etc.)

Grade:

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for brief, mild language (no F-bombs) and scenes of peril

To the FTC, with love:  I bought a copy of The Girl Who Came Home from Amazon with a portion of the millions I make from my lucrative career as a book blogger.  Ha ha.