Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Book review: Unspeakable by Caroline Pignat

Unspeakable by Caroline Pignat (published by Razorbill Canada, May 6, 2014)



Unspeakable is a historical novel based on the sinking of the ocean liner Empress of Ireland in 1914, and is published just in time for the hundreth anniversary of the disaster. Over a thousand people died, but unlike similar shipwrecks such as the Titanic (the most famous of all) or the Lusitania, this disaster seems to be relatively unknown.

The book goes back and forth in time, telling the story of the fictional main character Ellie's life before, during, and after the disaster. Ellie is an eighteen-year-old young woman from England, and it was her first voyage working as a stewardess on the ship. She had a shipboard romance with Jim, who was working as a stoker and who she assumes was lost in the disaster. Prior to the voyage, Ellie suffered a great personal loss, and what happened is slowly revealed as Ellie is interviewed about her experience by a reporter and thinks back on the voyage and the circumstances that led to her leaving home and getting a job as a stewardess.

Unspeakable is a very well written book about a lesser known historical tragedy, but more than that, it is also the story of Ellie's personal journey. Recommended for readers who enjoy young adult historical fiction.


Friday, April 11, 2014

Where I've been

So, anyone following my blog may have noticed I was MIA for a while (though I have still been on active on Twitter, Goodreads, Facebook, etc...). I meant to post something earlier but never did. I haven't abandoned the blog. I haven't posted for a while because of this little cutie:













I am now the mom of a baby girl born in February. I didn't feel very well during my pregnancy so I wasn't feeling up to reading or reviewing very much. Now that she is here and I am feeling so much better (other than sleep deprivation!) I really want to get back to reading and of course, reviewing, again. So, hopefully I'll have some new reviews up soon and thanks to everyone who didn't unfollow me during the nine months this blog was dead.
 
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