3.5 stars.

eARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Amy Trueblood continues to astound me with her ability to make me fall in love with a world in a genre I normally detest. Historical fiction is not my thing. BUT. Amy Trueblood's books are my thing. I first fell in love with her debut NOTHING BUT SKY and, to this day, it remains one of my favorite reads of the year so far. So, I had a lot of expectations going into reading ACROSS THE BROKEN SHORE. Let me just say-- IT DID NOT DISAPPOINT. This book is raw, it's real, it ripped my soul to pieces over and over again and then left me to clean up the own pieces. It's extremely different in tone from Trueblood's debut, but still presents characters just as real and strong as ever. The ending was significantly stronger than I thought it would be, it seemed like all the plot and character development happened in the last section of the book (this is what prevents me from giving it higher rating, because the first part was so slow). I would absolutely, definitely recommend to a friend, and can't wait to add this book to my shelf in November.

The setting for this book was lovely, but I found the plot to be painfully slow and I did not find any characters to be particularly compelling. This falls into the rare category of books that I did not finish (I stopped at 42% completion).

A thoughtful and heartfelt book about a young Catholic girl who has to choose between her parent’s insistence that she become a nun and her desire to be a doctor. The building of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge provides a fascinating backdrop to the story. Historical depression details like the Hoovervilles, drifters, and immigrants are seamlessly woven into the plot line.

Willa is a strong female character who is fettered by guilt and family expectations. She helps a female doctor who encourages her to follow her to go to medical school. Willa also meets a handsome young man named Sam, who is a Protestant. Their romance is a sweet sub plot.

Willa’s struggle between duty and dreams will resonate with young people who are searching for their own truth.

Set in 1930s San Francisco , against the backdrop of the building of the Golden Gate Bridge, Willa MacCarthy is torn between her dream of studying medicine and her family's plan for her to become a nun.
When she meets a female doctor, Dr Katherine Winston, she finally has the opportunity to experience medicine first hand.
Willa has to make a choice between her dreams and her duty to her family.
Lots of interesting characters and detail about American life during the Depression - a lot of research has gone into this book and it was a great YA read

Although it had some interesting elements - a slightly more uncommon choice of period for historical fiction, a strong portrayal of familial, cultural and religious ties - I felt that the writing and plotting was somewhat amateurish (using the phrase "lady doc" two or three times is awkward but acceptable; the book far surpassed that by about page fifty) and sometimes became clunky through poorly integrated (over)research

Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I loved Across A Broken Shore! A young woman is expected to join a convent in 1930s San Francisco and has a secret desire to study medicine, will she follow her families wishes or her own? Overall I liked the main character, Willa, though at times she was a bit whiny, It was a quick read and it was nice to see a different type of historical fiction as there hasn't been much set in this time period.

Across a Broken Shore is a wonderful mix of historical fiction, coming of age and girl power and I loved every moment of it.

Willa lives in San Francisco in the 1930s. Her Irish immigrant family expects her to join a convent and devote her life to prayer but she is fascinated by human anatomy and medicine. This story looks at the choices we make in youth and the struggles navigating family expectations versus personal aspirations.

The book is so well-written with well-developed characters and just the right amount of historical detail. There are glimpses into how women handle male-dominated professions, a streak of feminism and an overall message that it’s essential for young people to follow their dreams, even in the face of family opposition.

I loved the depth of this book and found it compelling from start to finish. This is a 5 star read for me!

As a fan of historical fiction, I knew this book would be right up my alley, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

Willa is a fantastic heroine and a very relatable character. At eighteen-years-old, she is destined to fulfill her Irish-Catholic family’s tradition of becoming a nun, but Willa dreams of more. After meeting Dr. Katherine Winston and agreeing to be her assistant, she is even more convinced that her true passion is in the medical field. To make matters even more complicated, she meets a young man who is working on the Golden Gate Bridge and while he is only there until the bridge is completed, she develops feelings for him. All the while, she is keeping these secrets from her family and the fast approaching day of her joining the convent is looming over her head. Will she live up to her family’s expectations or will she go after what she truly wants?

This really was a great book, and I found all of the characters to be likable in their own way, but above all, I loved Dr. Winston. I think it was kismet that she came into Willa’s life at just the right moment...or maybe I should credit Paddy for injuring himself and forcing them to meet by chance. Either way, she had such a huge impact on Willa’s life and encouraged her to make decisions of her own, while everyone else was trying to make life choices for her. It was a time when women were just beginning to make a name for themselves in professions that were traditionally reserved for men, and Dr. Winston saw something in Willa, thus pushing her to stand up for what she truly wanted in life.

Highly recommend!

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2788548264

I thought this book was so cute, and a pretty easy read. I loved the ideas and themes of the book. There were certainly many different issues that the characters faced. However since there were so many different things going on in the plot, it seemed a bit scattered at times. I wish there were about 100 more pages, and some of the issues were wrapped up in the plot more cleanly.

#AcrossABrokenShore #NetGalley
A coming of age story during the time of the depression. The story kept my attention. Willa comes from an Irish Catholic family, the only girl in a family of boys. Willa has a love of reading medical books, but is promised to the convent, When her brother gets hurt, she meets the new doctor, Katherine Winston. Dr. Winston sees Willa's potential and invites her to come help in her medical office. A sweet coming of age story, a daughter who feels like she has already disappointed her parents, is fascinated by the medical field. The story is set around the building of the Golden Gate bridge, in San Francisco. I liked the story and the closeness Willa shared with her brothers.

In this story we follow Willa who comes from and Irish Catholic family and has already been promised to the church to become a Nun. However, Willa had discovered a love of medicine. She is given the opportunity to practice medicine when her brother severally cuts his fingers and requires stitches. The doctor they take him to end up being Dr. Katherine Winston, a female doctor, who offers Willa an apprenticeship. She agrees and hides the fact that she is working from her family.

I absolutely loved this novel. I loved the setting of it taking place during the building of the Golden Gate Bridge, I loved seeing the way women we treaded in the medical field at that time, I loved seeing the way people lived during the depression era, and I loved the sweet romance that developed thought out this story. The ending of this story broke my heart but I loved it even more for it. I would very much recommend this book to anyone who is interested in historical fiction.

Oh my heart! This book was more out of my norm than usual. But I absolutely loved it! I laughed and I cried. And the ending was beautifully done.
I’m not writing a synopsis because you can read that for yourself.
But I do highly recommend this read!

Across a broken shore is set in San Francisco during the great depression. It’s a story of a girl who is the only daughter in her Irish-Catholic family. She is forced by her family to become a nun, yet she has a burning desire to become a doctor.to peruse her dream she is secretly helping Doctor Winston in her medical clinic, but the situation becomes more compilated than what she was expecting.
This is a beautifully written novel presenting Willa’s great character. I enjoyed the fact that Amy Trueblood is emphasizing on the importance of family in her book.
Complimentary copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book so much! It has the perfect combination of history, family life, and romance! Set in the Great Depression years, social issues are well depicted. If I ever need a reminder, as a parent, as to why we should encourage and let our children follow their chosen path, this is my go-to book! When you do something that you’re passionate about, you set yourself up for success. I liked how the characters sustain this idea throughout the book. Therefore, I recommend it as a reading choice for young adults, too.
Thank you to Net Galley for providing me with an e-book copy in exchange for my honest review!

Willa MacCarthy is drawn to medicine. Despite the fact that her Irish-Catholic family expects her to become a nun, she finds a way to work secretly with Dr. Katherine Winston. Together, they work in a field hospital near the Golden Gate bridge, which is in the middle of construction. Torn between medicine and her family, Willa must make a choice.

I loved the setting of this book. Great Depression era San Francisco was a fascinating setting. I don't know that I've read any other books set here. Willa, although a bit whiny, was a good character, who showed tremendous growth throughout the book. Overall, well worth picking up.

Amy Trueblood does an amazing job of telling Willa's coming-of-age story. Willa is a girl living in 1930's San Fransisco. She struggles to find herself under the backdrop of the construction of the Golden Gate bridge. She is torn between her family's wishes for her to become a nun and her won to study medicine. The characters are colorful and the story unusual, but somehow incredibly believable.

The author brought to life the real struggles of Americans during the great depression. Her writing is beautiful and more than a few parts of the story pulled on my heartstrings. The ending surprised me, which is unusual. Usually, I can guess an ending early on. I could hardly put this book down! Overall it is an excellent work of fiction. I recommend it as great reading to both teens and adults.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

Everyone should be so lucky to have a Wilhelmina MacCarthy in their lives. Against the backdrop of the Golden Gate Bridge's tumultuous erection, I enjoyed experiencing the growth and transformation of this kindhearted, courageous, and spirited character that Amy Trueblood so expertly brings to life on the page.

Interesting idea for a historical fiction. Gorgeous cover. Other than that it didnt grasp me, wasn't a huge fan of the main character. Not what I expected when I read the synopsis. Not my cup of tea unfortunately.

I wish i could say i loved this, but i honestly could not connect with the writing style. Cover is gorgeous and reminded me of the movie Brooklyn, but, I just had the most awful time trying to click with the story. Sadly, I couldnt go thhru with it.

I thank the publisher for very kindly approving me for review and I hate to dissapoint, but Ive been struggling to even go thru page 40 at this point. Its just bot going to happen. Netgalley is asking me to rate this, so i will
Give it 4 stars as effort but please know I will not post any review of this or score it on amazon or goodreads. I rather not rate this book or place a bad review in any social media as respect to the author.

I loved nearly all of the characters in this book, the family aspect progressed well and was enjoyable to read.

It had a good message about following your own path in life and I loved the historical aspects.

3.5 stars rounded up.