The Girl Who Came Home by Hazel Gaynor

The Girl Who Came Home by Hazel Gaynor is a historical fiction novel about the Titanic. It is based on a real story of a group of people form an Irish village, and the author creatively weaves fact and fiction to tell a truly memorable tale about a part of history that many of us have been captivated by.

Book Description

“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 to survive. Waking up alone in a New York hospital, she vows never to speak of the terror and panic of that fateful night again.

Chicago, 1982…

Adrift after the death of her father, Grace Butler struggles to decide what comes next. When her great-grandmother Maggie shares the painful secret about Titanic that she's harbored for almost a lifetime, the revelation gives Grace new direction—and leads both 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.” – The Girl Who Came Home

My Thoughts

The Girl Who Came Home is an excellent historical fiction that is well researched and engages the reader in a memorable journey with the Titanic and characters who could have been on it.

Hazel Gaynor does a beautiful job creating and sharing her characters in this story. The setting is rich in detail without being overly done, and the characters that live in it, make for the type of book that can be visually seen in your thoughts as you read it. The story takes the reader back and forth between  1912 and 1982, while still being able to cohesively tell the tale of Maggie and Grace.

For many people, the very real story of the Titanic is something we want to learn more about and when it comes to historical fiction, this is one of the best I’ve read that is based on this historic journey. If you love reading about the Titanic, this is definitely a book that you’ll want to read. I highly recommend it.

* Thank you to the publisher of The Girl Who Came Home, William Morrow, for providing me with a copy of this book for review. All opinions expressed are my own.