Ellis Island by Kate Kerrigan

There are a few different ways I go about finding books to review. I spend a lot of time on Amazon.com, scrolling through books I’ve read and liked, looking for similar novels that I think I will enjoy. I find a lot from being on GoodReads, a place to list the books you’ve read and want to read, then compare with others.

 Sometimes I will read a review in People Magazine or Entertainment Weekly, then look for the author and see if I can get a review copy. And then I use my library so often that I feel like everyone knows me there. I receive emails from the PR department at book publishers, offering to send books for review which is my favorite since so many books slip under my radar. I’m sure there are thousands of novels that I’d love, I simply don’t know about them!

In this case, I found Ellis Island on Amazon after looking for books like Wildflower Hill, a book I thoroughly enjoyed. My library had not yet gotten this one in and I was dying to read it. Having just spent fifty bucks on books for my kindle, I didn’t have it in my budget to buy it so I wrote the author who never got back to me. Insert sad face. (I know emails don’t always reach their intended recipient) I kept the book in mind though and finally my library got a copy- I’m glad they did because this novel  is a real treasure!

I like many kinds of books but I have a special place in my heart for immigrants coming to America at the turn of the century, or early 1900′s. I find it fascinating to leave one country in search of dreams in another.

At the heart of this book is smart, independent Ellie who leaves not only her home in poor, rural Ireland  but also her true love John, in search of work and opportunities in America. John needs an operation and the only way Ellie can find to earn a decent living is to head to the US and make good money, send it home and pay for her husband’s surgery.

Ellie heads to New York to work  for a wealthy socialite. It’s here where Ellie falls in love with the big city and all it offers, in stark contrast to the small town in Ireland where she grew up and where she left her husband. Ellie enjoys New York and  modern conveniences like showers and electricity, automobiles and so much more. The authors descriptions are so vivid, I felt like I was walking along the streets with Ellie.

After a few years in New York, its with a heavy heart Ellie must decide whether to return to the farm where her husband waits for her or stay in her beloved New York. How can she ever leave behind the glamour of the city for the poor farm town in Ireland? Yet how can she stay away from the man she’s loved since she was a child? I enjoyed this book very much and highly recommend it!

Recently I read The Linen Queen and The Yellow House by Patricia Falvey and really enjoyed those. When We Were Strangers by Pamela Schoenewaldt was excellent too.  I am always in the mood for a good book!