amyma's review against another edition
3.0
I'm actually rating this book a 3.5. I really, really liked the book, until I got to the last 1/4 or so. I didn't like the ending, I just didn't feel the ending, what happened didn't go with the previous 3/4 I had just read.
ms_emily's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
kriedesel's review against another edition
5.0
A very well written book dated in history. Loved it!!!
sarahs_readingparty's review against another edition
3.0
I loved the writing and the general storyline of this novel. Descriptions of 1920s New York wealth versus an Irish rural existence/poverty were so different and yet equally stunning. However, the characters were awful! I didn't really like any of them, except minor characters like Emilie. Ellie was so selfish and so whiny throughout so much of the novel. John wasn't much better- though I can understand his frustrations and therefore sympathize with him more. Ellie's parents were just terrible....a product of their time and place and culture, sure, but terrible nevertheless. The marriage between Ellie and John just wasn't believable and I hate how they treated each other. Were they really in love? Maybe, maybe not. The ending redeemed the book somewhat for me but still, not my fave book by any means.
krisis86's review against another edition
3.0
2.5 stars. I really liked the writing and I loved the details and historical aspects of the story. But I did not like part 3. I didn't think it was a very realistic ending. I might check out the next book, but I'm not going out of my way for it.
I do really like Kerrigan's writing style, though.
I do really like Kerrigan's writing style, though.
serenaac's review against another edition
4.0
Ellis Island by Kate Kerrigan is a historical fiction novel set in the 1920s when Ireland is fighting for Home Rule, and Ellie Hogan makes a bold choice to accept a job in New York City to raise the money her husband needs for an operation. Ellie is not like the other members of her school group; she dreams of fine things and a life outside her little village of Kilmoy. Her childhood friend, John, and his family become like a surrogate family for her, showing her the kindness she lacks from her own parents who are so insulated that they forget to hug their daughter and encourage her. Her friendship soon blossoms into love, a childhood love that becomes a motivation for her to impress, to move beyond the bounds of her family.
Read the full review: http://savvyverseandwit.com/2013/08/ellis-island-by-kate-kerrigan.html
Read the full review: http://savvyverseandwit.com/2013/08/ellis-island-by-kate-kerrigan.html
beckylej's review against another edition
5.0
Ellie has loved John almost since the day she met him. When they finally came of age, they married and started a life together. Times were hard and their country was at war, but they were confident it would all work out in the end. Then John was shot. His hip was shattered and without surgery it's possible he would never walk again. Ellie takes a drastic step and travels to America where she's hired on as a maid in the Adams home. Things in America are so different from the life she's always known, and Ellie misses her husband fiercely. Her goal was to stay for just one year, earning enough for John's surgery and then returning home. But things don't quite work out the way she'd planned.
The story takes place between 1908 and 1924-ish. It touches on - amongst many things - the war in Ireland and the resulting Home Rule (the agreement that gave ruling power of the majority of Ireland back to Ireland - if you're a DOWNTON ABBEY fan you'll recall arguments about Irish Home Rule between the Earl of Grantham and his new son-in-law, Tom Branson). This is the movement that John is fighting for in Ellis Island.
Ellie is raised in a household that really shows no affection at all, so it seems fortunate that John and his adoptive parents come into her life when they do. Kerrigan has a real talent for creating heartwarming characters and Maidy and Paud are two exceptional examples. In all honesty, though, all of her characters are wonderful! Even Ellie's mother and father, as cold and untouchable as they are, are so well drawn through Kerrigan's prose!
The favorite, though, is definitely Ellie. By the time she makes it to New York, we really start to learn just how resourceful and strong she is. Every hurdle that's thrown at her is met with admirable resolve. From the beginning, Kerrigan captures Ellie's voice, bringing her to life in such an amazing way. The joys and horrors of her life felt so completely real. What's more, the settings that Ellie moves through are so detailed and vivid that it felt like I was right there alongside her.
ELLIS ISLAND is such a wonderfully told story. I stayed up late reading two nights in a row and immediately started City of Hope so that I could continue Ellie's story.
The story takes place between 1908 and 1924-ish. It touches on - amongst many things - the war in Ireland and the resulting Home Rule (the agreement that gave ruling power of the majority of Ireland back to Ireland - if you're a DOWNTON ABBEY fan you'll recall arguments about Irish Home Rule between the Earl of Grantham and his new son-in-law, Tom Branson). This is the movement that John is fighting for in Ellis Island.
Ellie is raised in a household that really shows no affection at all, so it seems fortunate that John and his adoptive parents come into her life when they do. Kerrigan has a real talent for creating heartwarming characters and Maidy and Paud are two exceptional examples. In all honesty, though, all of her characters are wonderful! Even Ellie's mother and father, as cold and untouchable as they are, are so well drawn through Kerrigan's prose!
The favorite, though, is definitely Ellie. By the time she makes it to New York, we really start to learn just how resourceful and strong she is. Every hurdle that's thrown at her is met with admirable resolve. From the beginning, Kerrigan captures Ellie's voice, bringing her to life in such an amazing way. The joys and horrors of her life felt so completely real. What's more, the settings that Ellie moves through are so detailed and vivid that it felt like I was right there alongside her.
ELLIS ISLAND is such a wonderfully told story. I stayed up late reading two nights in a row and immediately started City of Hope so that I could continue Ellie's story.
mslaura's review against another edition
2.0
This book held so much promise for me from the opening line of Chapter One: "The first time I fell in love with John, I was eight and he was ten." I expected to be swept away in John and Ellie's story. I expected to be rooting for their love to survive life's twists and turns. I expected hardships and difficult choices. But alas, this was not to be. Though the story told of Ellie and John's love, the writing didn't convey any real emotion for me, and the characters' behavior seemed inconsistent. The choices that had to be made did not, for the most part, seem to hold any real sense of conflict, and there was little sense of the struggle of the immigrant experience, which one would expect from a book entitled "Ellis Island". In fact, Ellis Island played a rather small role in the scheme of things, which I found odd. Things fell into place strangely easily for Ellie in America, which I found unrealistic. She did not even seem terribly torn between the ease of her life in America and her love for John back in Ireland. The book did improve somewhat for me in Part Three, with the story taking on a bit more depth, but not nearly enough to make up for Part Two. There were also numerous grammatical errors and misspellings in the book, which drove me nuts.
erinlovescats's review against another edition
2.0
Interesting at first but the ending kind of sucked.