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4.04 AVERAGE
4.04 AVERAGE
Savannah An amazing read that kept me up until the wee hours of the morning!
The centerpoint of this story is the steamship Pulaski, which left from Savannah, Georgia in 1838 and sank off of the coast of North Carolina due to a boiler explosion. About 128 people died. Part of this novel deals with a modern day woman - Everly - who is putting together a museum display about the crash. And the other part is of course a fictionalized account of some of the people that boarded the ship and what happened to them. The part that kept me up was wanting to know who was going to survive the shipwreck - and how they were going to move on from their lives afterwards. I was particularly drawn to the story of Lilly, a young mother in a troubled marriage who could find an unexpected blessing in the shipwreck - if she can survive it. She and Everly are both dealing with secrets and trauma that haunts them, and both find a way out of their darkness into the light. I did find it slow going at first as the book built up to the shipwreck, but then it got to that point where I couldn't bear to put it down. It also tied things up very neatly - some might say a little too neatly - but I was glad that things ended well for all the major characters.
I found this a very satisfying read, and I would recommend it to fans of historical fiction, tales that focus on women overcoming desperate circumstances, and those that enjoy Southern settings.
The centerpoint of this story is the steamship Pulaski, which left from Savannah, Georgia in 1838 and sank off of the coast of North Carolina due to a boiler explosion. About 128 people died. Part of this novel deals with a modern day woman - Everly - who is putting together a museum display about the crash. And the other part is of course a fictionalized account of some of the people that boarded the ship and what happened to them. The part that kept me up was wanting to know who was going to survive the shipwreck - and how they were going to move on from their lives afterwards. I was particularly drawn to the story of Lilly, a young mother in a troubled marriage who could find an unexpected blessing in the shipwreck - if she can survive it. She and Everly are both dealing with secrets and trauma that haunts them, and both find a way out of their darkness into the light. I did find it slow going at first as the book built up to the shipwreck, but then it got to that point where I couldn't bear to put it down. It also tied things up very neatly - some might say a little too neatly - but I was glad that things ended well for all the major characters.
I found this a very satisfying read, and I would recommend it to fans of historical fiction, tales that focus on women overcoming desperate circumstances, and those that enjoy Southern settings.
emotional
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Good book with strong facts and delightful fiction. Very interesting
adventurous
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I wanted to love this book, but I just found the parallelism between the shipwreck and the present too forced and cheesy.
4/5 - A decent historical fiction read. I enjoyed learning about the tragedy of the Pulaski. It was obvious the writer did an extensive amount of research as the story included a lot of details that actually happened. I wasn't as intrigued by the present timeline. It was okay, but I think it would have been more interesting if she focused more on the past.
Loved the past time line but the main character in the present time line annoyed me to much.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated