This story goes back and forth between 1912 and 1982 telling about a small group of the Titanic passengers from County Mayo in Ireland.  The reasons for leaving Ireland were varied among the 14 passengers and only three survive. There is a contemporary story about one of the survivor's grand daughter and many parallels between both of their lives.  It is an interesting portrayal of a different segment of the Titanic's passengers.

I was really looking forward to reading this book.  The history of old ocean liners fascinates me, especially the story of the Titanic.  Unfortunately, this book was a bit disappointing for me.  It's not that I didn't like it.  There just wasn't much to like.  I didn't feel a connection with the characters and the story seemed to just fly by without much detail.  I figured out the secret the author was keeping early on and was left with little satisfaction.  Overall, I suppose I'd recommend it to somebody that was specifically looking for a book about the Titanic, but I probably wouldn't just generally recommend it.

Ughh DNF 16% of the way through.  I thoroughly enjoyed Meet Me in Monaco by this author, and I will definitely be reading more by this author.  However, I just couldn’t get into this topic only because it was too reminiscent of the movie “Titanic” for me.  I just felt like I already got the gist of the story in a short time.  

Thank you to Netgalley and William Morrow paperback for allowing me to preview this one in exchange for my honest opinion.

An interesting story that felt like it as missing something, but maybe that was the point. I wanted to know more about life after Titanic for the main traveler.

The Girl who Came Home tells the stories of two young women overcoming terrible tragedies. The first is Maggie, who was a young girl traveling from Ireland to America on the Titanic and her great-granddaughter, Grace dealing with the death of her father. I was not expecting to like this book as much as I did. What I though was going to be a heartbreaking story about all the people that lost their lives that fateful night, was actually a sweet story of survival and love that left me very satisfied with the ending.

I give this a 3.5.

The Girl Who Came Home is a book about the Titanic's voyage, inspired by the true story of the Addergoole 14. Maggie is a 17-year-old Irish orphan who is leaving her sweetheart behind to sail to the United States with her aunt Kathleen and a dozen other friends from her small town to start a new life. Obviously, the boat sinks, and Maggie survives. Now that she's 87-years-old, she's finally ready to share her story with her granddaughter, Grace, who is struggling to move on after her own father's death.

I struggled a bit to get through the earlier pages of this one... They are on the Titanic, and we all know it sinks. It's just a given from the beginning. We know Maggie survives, since we meet her as an older woman early on, but we meet a lot of different characters who we know the odds are won't survive. And the dialogue was a bit painful in places.

But, I really liked that the author focused on the steerage class passengers, since it's a group that seems to be more overlooked in accounts of the Titanic, probably because fewer survived. And the writing surrounding the iceberg and subsequent actions of the characters was really good.

I also really enjoyed the love story between her and Seamus, as well as the character of the third-class steward Harry. Harry, especially, came alive on the pages.

Thank you to Book Club Girl at Harper Collins/William Morrow and Netgalley for providing me with a free arc of this book. It has not influenced my opinion.

I thought the book was well written and the reader easily engaged with the characters. The historical aspect of the book was in keeping with other books I have read about the Titanic. This book is written with a dual time line which I like, thought I realize that many do not. The historical artifacts such as letters and other key items in the book particularly appeal to my love for history and my personal inclination to save things. that I think will have a place in the future. This book was entertaining as well as easily readable.  Like all of Ms. Gaynor's books, it was well worth the time spent reading.

I’ve been fascinated by the Titanic for most of my life. Told from the perspective of Maggie, a steerage passenger who survives the sinking, the book is rich with detail about the magnificent, doomed ship. I love books which shift from current times to the past, the author deftly handles these transitions. Many account of the passage are told from the perspective of high-profile passengers and I appreciated learning how 2nd and 3rd class passengers fared. If you enjoy historical fiction, this book will please.

Thanks to Book Club Girl at Harper Collins/William Morrow & Netgalley for sending me a copy of this book!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book is loosely based on the Addergoole Fourteen, a group of fourteen individuals from County Mayo in Ireland who boarded the Titanic in hopes of a better life in America. I had never heard of this group, I will definitely do some research on them now. The Girl Who Came Home was a wonderful story that beautifully wove together the story of 80 year old Maggie, a Titanic survivor, with the story of the past she’s never spoken of.

Loved this book! Vividly captures not only an unimaginable tragedy, but also the feel of both young and enduring loves. I thoroughly enjoyed the awakening realization of the mystery that is our ancestors and relatives as real people with  the same cares, confusions, and heartaches that we assume are unique to ourselves. This book is very readable and I will seek out other books by this author.

Feel good read set in modern time about a survivor of the Titanic.  The story moves back and forth from the actual event in 1912 to the present emphasizing the relationship of the survivor and her granddaughter.

This book was definitely a page-turner! Even though we all know the ending for the Titanic, this brought a new perspective on the aftermath. The present day storyline was engaging as well.

I enjoyed this book. Ever since I heard about the Titanic as a child in the 1950’s, I have been enthralled with books and movies about this subject. I liked how this book was focused on a third class Irish immigrant Maggie. I usually like two period stories but I think this book might have been better to focus on just Maggie’s story.

At first I was afraid this was too much like the Titanic movie. Then the characters began to come alive & I really liked this book.

First, let's get out of the way the fact that this book takes place mostly on the Titanic, so I'm not giving anything away if I tell you the ship sinks - unless you've been living under a rock. From there, the focus of the book is really about Maggie, one of the ship passengers, and how leaving her boyfriend and country behind to start a new life in America is even further exacerbated by being a part of one of the most well-known naval disasters of all time. The book starts off stiff and awkward, then moves to overwritten (there's a lot of giggling going on running around the ship until the Titanic makes too close of an acquaintance with an iceberg), and it's not really until disaster strikes that Gaynor's writing really starts to shine. She does a great job of putting you in the panicked position of a passenger trying to get off the ship, wondering about the people they were traveling with and finally the coping and recovery process. And while I love that she made the focus of the story people in third class instead of the usual first class route, I wish that she'd made the whole story focused on that. I don't really feel like the popular dual timeline is necessary (her great-granddaughter Grace is hearing the story as a burgeoning writer in 1982). I also feel like if she'd focused only on Maggie's experience in 1912, instead of throwing in occasional storytelling from at least four other POVs it would have made the story stronger. This one is kind of a mixed bag for me.

Loved this book. I don't normally read books that possibly might make you sad but the cover drew me in and it was so well written I didn't want to stop reading. The truth to the story made it that much more interesting. I would definitely read it again

I can never resist a Titanic story, and this one did not disappoint. There are 2 timelines going on I. This book, one set in the time of a college aged girl named Grace and the other set when her great grandmother is 17 and setting out on the Titanic. Grace’s story line isn’t really necessary but I understand why it is there. The author did a great job with Maggie, the great grandmother’s, story. There are some predictable spots, other than the Titanic’s demise of course, but all in all a great read. 

Thank you to Book Club Girls, Net Galley and the publisher for the chance to read in exchange for my honest opinions.

Rarely do I give a book a 5 star rating but this is one that truly deserves it.  The Girl Who Came Home is a richly told tale of a group of 14 people from the same small town in Ireland who set out for a new life in America; setting sail on the maiden voyage of Titanic.  Titanic’s story is well known but the author does an incredible job of creating a tale rich with emotion that hold the reader throughout.  Told in two time frames, 1912 and 1982, it focuses on the story of Maggie Murphy a young woman leaving Ireland with her aunt and the story of 87 year old Maggie and her great granddaughter Grace who is trying to find her own way after a terrible loss.  Between the backdrop of the two times, Maggie’s story, and Titanic’s as well is laid out in beautiful prose.  The characters are richly drawn and the story, with all of its tragedy and sorrow, is masterfully told.  A perfect book for anyone interested in Titanic or historical fiction.

Wonderful read filled with touching details about the experience of being an immigrant from Ireland.  The characters were so vivid that I actually had dreams about them.  The story of the Titanic told from this perspective was riveting!