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Ellis Island #2
City of Hope
An uplifting, inspiring and heartwarming story of a woman truly ahead of her time, City of Hope is the heart-rending but inspiring follow-up to Ellis Island
It is the 1930s and when her beloved husband, John, suddenly dies, young Ellie Hogan decides to leave Ireland and return to New York. She hopes that the city's vibrancy will distract her from her grief. But the Depression has rendered the city unrecognizable-gone is the energy and atmosphere of fun that Ellie fell in love with ten years before.
Plunging headfirst into a new life, Ellie pours all her passion and energy into running a home and refuge for the homeless. In return they give her the kind of love, support and friendship she needs to try and overcome her grief. Until, one day, someone she thought she'd never see again steps through her door. It seems that even the Atlantic isn't big enough to prevent the tragedies of the past from catching up with her.
It is the 1930s and when her beloved husband, John, suddenly dies, young Ellie Hogan decides to leave Ireland and return to New York. She hopes that the city's vibrancy will distract her from her grief. But the Depression has rendered the city unrecognizable-gone is the energy and atmosphere of fun that Ellie fell in love with ten years before.
Plunging headfirst into a new life, Ellie pours all her passion and energy into running a home and refuge for the homeless. In return they give her the kind of love, support and friendship she needs to try and overcome her grief. Until, one day, someone she thought she'd never see again steps through her door. It seems that even the Atlantic isn't big enough to prevent the tragedies of the past from catching up with her.
352 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2011
140 people are currently reading
1698 people want to read
About the author
Kate Kerrigan
32 books244 followersKate Kerrigan is an author living and working in Ireland. Her novels are Recipes for a Perfect Marriage, The Miracle of Grace, Ellis Island, City of Hope, Land of Dreams and The Lost Garden.
Kate began her career as an editor and journalist, editing many of Britain’s most successful young women’s magazines before returning to her native Ireland in the 1990’s to edit Irish Tatler. She writes a weekly column in the Irish Mail about her life in Killala, County Mayo – and contributes regularly to RTE's radio's Sunday Miscellany.
Her novel, The Dress, published by Head of Zeus was shortlisted at the Irish Book Awards in 2015, and her new novel, It Was Only Ever You, was published in hardback edition, October 2016.
www.katekerrigan.ie
I devoured this book in one sitting. I LOVED it!
Marian Keyes
This story is written with so much heart you can hear its beat and feel its pulse in every word on every page.
Cecelia Ahern
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 173 reviews
June 27, 2013
I absolutely love Kerrigan's writing style and insights. The protagonist is a woman ahead of her time in that she is independent and career driven when she is unable to bear children. On the other hand, she is a little cold and prickly in the beginning and does not deviate from her somewhat self centeredness throughout, although her actions are selfless.
The author has a way of articulating a woman's inner most thoughts and feelings that is spot on. Ellie may not be altruistic but her thoughts and feelings are honest and, in some way, most woman can identify with them.
Ellie is the narrator. She tells the story. She tells it the way she experiences and uses little convention of mystery and slowly revealing. She is straight forward and right. She rarely questions her rightness. Although the style is nit conventional, I enjoyed it immensely. The story is told without question and with insights I found piercing to the core.
The book gives a clear picture of New York after the stock market crash, an era and setting largely ignored. The depression in a big city without social policies was big and overwhelming. in Ellie's attempt to escape her grief and possible culpability, she suddenly leaves Ireland to live the big life in New York as she remembered it years before when she was more shallow. Once in New York, she finds her grief has followed her so she finds a mission to keep herself busy. I so enjoyed the book. I really wanted a happy ending. Therein lies my one complaint. The nonending. There is more to the story and another book. I definitely will read it. I must find out what happens to Ellie and the other characters. I want to know if Ellie evolves to match her actions. I love Ellie. I want a happy ending.
3.75 stars
The author has a way of articulating a woman's inner most thoughts and feelings that is spot on. Ellie may not be altruistic but her thoughts and feelings are honest and, in some way, most woman can identify with them.
Ellie is the narrator. She tells the story. She tells it the way she experiences and uses little convention of mystery and slowly revealing. She is straight forward and right. She rarely questions her rightness. Although the style is nit conventional, I enjoyed it immensely. The story is told without question and with insights I found piercing to the core.
The book gives a clear picture of New York after the stock market crash, an era and setting largely ignored. The depression in a big city without social policies was big and overwhelming. in Ellie's attempt to escape her grief and possible culpability, she suddenly leaves Ireland to live the big life in New York as she remembered it years before when she was more shallow. Once in New York, she finds her grief has followed her so she finds a mission to keep herself busy. I so enjoyed the book. I really wanted a happy ending. Therein lies my one complaint. The nonending. There is more to the story and another book. I definitely will read it. I must find out what happens to Ellie and the other characters. I want to know if Ellie evolves to match her actions. I love Ellie. I want a happy ending.
3.75 stars
April 19, 2012
Where I got the book: sent to me (signed!) by the author at my request. I'm talking about the UK edition; the US edition is yet to come at the date of writing.
City of Hope is the sequel to Ellis Island, which I reviewed here. Kate Kerrigan's a writer who I believe should gain more traction here in the US; she writes very nicely, with touches of lyricism that I find pleasing and excellent storytelling technique.
In the last book we left Ellie Hogan back in Ireland, having forsaken the glamor of 1920s New York for the love of her husband John, who is tied to Ireland and his farm with the proverbial bonds of steel. Now we find Ellie torn between being the kind of wife John wants and wanting to live the life of glamor and success that she's glimpsed. She has the success, having built up her own businesses using her understanding of American methods, but life in Ireland is never quite enough for her. Furthermore, she and John have not been able to have the child she longs for.
So when John dies suddenly, Ellie heads straight to New York as an escape from her grief and the burden of having to deal with friends and family who see her as John's widow. But once in New York, she finds a society as overwhelmed by the economic losses of the Depression as she is by her own loss. Yes, there is still glamor, but she quickly discovers it is tarnished.
Ellie turns her relentlessly energetic business brain (which is not much dented by her grief) onto the task of helping those she sees around her. Not surprisingly, this course of action results in new friendships, new loves and a fulfillment of her deepest longings.
In many ways I don't entirely like Ellie--didn't in the first book--and I'm completely OK with that. Kerrigan gives her character drive, intelligence and energy, but otherwise refuses to sugar-coat her. She's conflicted, she makes errors of judgment in personal matters, and she often puts her own needs first. In other words, she's real. The plot of the book reflects that reality; Ellie's life is messy and far from perfect, and it's clear that the key to growth, for her, is not necessarily nobility of character but the sheer relentless will to survive and thrive, and shape her own future. No clinging-vine heroine, this - more of a Scarlett O'Hara.
The plot was reasonably plausible, although I did have a bit of a problem with the gangster sub-storyline. But I really don't know enough about the extent of Mob activities in 1930s New York to comment, and it certainly added a bit of color to the narrative.
I suspect we haven't seen the last of Ellie, and I'm rather hoping she'll come to Chicago next. Plenty of Irish AND gangsters here.
City of Hope is the sequel to Ellis Island, which I reviewed here. Kate Kerrigan's a writer who I believe should gain more traction here in the US; she writes very nicely, with touches of lyricism that I find pleasing and excellent storytelling technique.
In the last book we left Ellie Hogan back in Ireland, having forsaken the glamor of 1920s New York for the love of her husband John, who is tied to Ireland and his farm with the proverbial bonds of steel. Now we find Ellie torn between being the kind of wife John wants and wanting to live the life of glamor and success that she's glimpsed. She has the success, having built up her own businesses using her understanding of American methods, but life in Ireland is never quite enough for her. Furthermore, she and John have not been able to have the child she longs for.
So when John dies suddenly, Ellie heads straight to New York as an escape from her grief and the burden of having to deal with friends and family who see her as John's widow. But once in New York, she finds a society as overwhelmed by the economic losses of the Depression as she is by her own loss. Yes, there is still glamor, but she quickly discovers it is tarnished.
Ellie turns her relentlessly energetic business brain (which is not much dented by her grief) onto the task of helping those she sees around her. Not surprisingly, this course of action results in new friendships, new loves and a fulfillment of her deepest longings.
In many ways I don't entirely like Ellie--didn't in the first book--and I'm completely OK with that. Kerrigan gives her character drive, intelligence and energy, but otherwise refuses to sugar-coat her. She's conflicted, she makes errors of judgment in personal matters, and she often puts her own needs first. In other words, she's real. The plot of the book reflects that reality; Ellie's life is messy and far from perfect, and it's clear that the key to growth, for her, is not necessarily nobility of character but the sheer relentless will to survive and thrive, and shape her own future. No clinging-vine heroine, this - more of a Scarlett O'Hara.
The plot was reasonably plausible, although I did have a bit of a problem with the gangster sub-storyline. But I really don't know enough about the extent of Mob activities in 1930s New York to comment, and it certainly added a bit of color to the narrative.
I suspect we haven't seen the last of Ellie, and I'm rather hoping she'll come to Chicago next. Plenty of Irish AND gangsters here.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 22, 2012
I loved Ellis Island and couldn't wait to read this follow up. Early on I decided that I couldn't stand Ellie. She is a selfish, haughty and childish character and I kept hoping she would get her comeuppance (which isn't what the author intended I don't think). I found the homeless shelter storyline dull and it was too much of a coincidence when her American love showed back up. The gangster sub-plot was just silly! Whereas I thought Ellis Island felt as if it were based in the time period, this felt lazy and rushed and could have been based at any time. Really disappointed as it could have been sooo good.
October 3, 2013
I wasn’t convinced initially about this book (not sure why) but once the story reached the death of Ellie’s beloved husband, John, I was right there with her. It may not be the way some people would react in grief, yet I could understand how Ellie couldn’t bear to be where her life had been lived so much with John. She simply cannot come to terms with his death and tries to run from the reality. So she sets off for New York where she had lived for a time years earlier.
In New York, Ellie sets about making a new life for herself. In the process she sees the poverty around her and ends up helping others who are suffering the effects of the Depression and who have been evicted from homes. But as always happens the past comes back to haunt her.
While I may not always have agreed with Ellie's behaviour or the choices she made, there is a lot to like about the way the character of Ellie is developed, from someone who flees from responsibility and lack of involvement to a person who reaches out and helps others.This is a real feel good story.
I hadn't read the first book Ellis Island but didn’t feel it need to have read that to read this one. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I would have liked a different ending but I believe there is another book to come.
In New York, Ellie sets about making a new life for herself. In the process she sees the poverty around her and ends up helping others who are suffering the effects of the Depression and who have been evicted from homes. But as always happens the past comes back to haunt her.
While I may not always have agreed with Ellie's behaviour or the choices she made, there is a lot to like about the way the character of Ellie is developed, from someone who flees from responsibility and lack of involvement to a person who reaches out and helps others.This is a real feel good story.
I hadn't read the first book Ellis Island but didn’t feel it need to have read that to read this one. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I would have liked a different ending but I believe there is another book to come.
January 25, 2016
This book started out alright but I quickly found Ellie to be annoying and self centered. I didn't care what she did or what happened to her. I finished the book but not exactly sure why I took the time to. Wouldn't recommend it.
November 18, 2012
I genuinely enjoyed City of Hope by Kate Kerrigan. Kerrigan remains one of my favourite chick-lit writers, because she manages to write books that are light enough to make for an easy read, yet leave you with plenty of food for thought.
April 1, 2022
While the story is interesting, there is something off about this book.
The main character is intensely selfish—which is really saying something, since the primary plot of the book is her buying, renovating, and opening homes for little or no charge to homeless families during the Great Depression. She is also strident, difficult, angry, whiny, bossy, and just not very nice.
Because I couldn't like her, it made it difficult to like the book.
Written by Kate Kerrigan, this is the second in the Ellis Island trilogy. At the book's opening, Ellie Hogan has been back in Ireland for 10 years following her three-year adventure in New York City that was the focus of the first book, "Ellis Island." She is (somewhat) happily married to her childhood sweetheart, John, but both are saddened by their failure to have a baby. And then tragedy strikes. Ellie flees to New York to escape the memories of Ireland, but finds her favorite city has drastically changed now that it's 1934 and it's in the throes of the Great Depression. Thanks to several successful businesses she started in Ireland, Ellie seems to have unlimited money at her disposal, despite that fact that everyone else is living at or near poverty. After witnessing the trauma of homelessness, she decides to do something about it, opening homes where people can live and work together. And then the man she thought she would never see again comes waltzing into her life, turning everything upside down.
So what is wrong with the book? The plot is rather thin and totally predictable. In addition, parts of it are laughably contrived and so unrealistic. Virtually all the characters are stereotypes. Most of all, Ellie Hogan is just so annoying! I find it hard to like a book when I don't have some sympathy for the main character. Most of all, the story often descends into a soap opera—and not a very good one, at that.
The book was a disappointment.
The main character is intensely selfish—which is really saying something, since the primary plot of the book is her buying, renovating, and opening homes for little or no charge to homeless families during the Great Depression. She is also strident, difficult, angry, whiny, bossy, and just not very nice.
Because I couldn't like her, it made it difficult to like the book.
Written by Kate Kerrigan, this is the second in the Ellis Island trilogy. At the book's opening, Ellie Hogan has been back in Ireland for 10 years following her three-year adventure in New York City that was the focus of the first book, "Ellis Island." She is (somewhat) happily married to her childhood sweetheart, John, but both are saddened by their failure to have a baby. And then tragedy strikes. Ellie flees to New York to escape the memories of Ireland, but finds her favorite city has drastically changed now that it's 1934 and it's in the throes of the Great Depression. Thanks to several successful businesses she started in Ireland, Ellie seems to have unlimited money at her disposal, despite that fact that everyone else is living at or near poverty. After witnessing the trauma of homelessness, she decides to do something about it, opening homes where people can live and work together. And then the man she thought she would never see again comes waltzing into her life, turning everything upside down.
So what is wrong with the book? The plot is rather thin and totally predictable. In addition, parts of it are laughably contrived and so unrealistic. Virtually all the characters are stereotypes. Most of all, Ellie Hogan is just so annoying! I find it hard to like a book when I don't have some sympathy for the main character. Most of all, the story often descends into a soap opera—and not a very good one, at that.
The book was a disappointment.
May 25, 2020
3.5 stars rounded up. It’s the 1939s and Ellie is coming to terms with the death of her husband. She decides to return to New York, the city she left ten tears earlier. When she returns she runs a refuge and support the homeless, making friends and enemies along the way.
A very evocative book, immersed in rural Ireland and vibrant NYC, and it really made me feel like I was catapulted back in time. I had read the first book in this trilogy, but it was a long time ago, and I think that disadvantaged me somewhat as I couldn’t really remember Ellie’s past.
A decent enough story, but the abrupt ending and change of heart left me confused and disappointed, it was as though the author was throwing this in just to entice readers to want book 3. Which, to be fair, she probably was.
A very evocative book, immersed in rural Ireland and vibrant NYC, and it really made me feel like I was catapulted back in time. I had read the first book in this trilogy, but it was a long time ago, and I think that disadvantaged me somewhat as I couldn’t really remember Ellie’s past.
A decent enough story, but the abrupt ending and change of heart left me confused and disappointed, it was as though the author was throwing this in just to entice readers to want book 3. Which, to be fair, she probably was.
August 19, 2020
I was attracted by the book cover and the book blurb, looking forward to reading a story about a feisty Irish woman in 1930’s New York. I should have paid attention to the raised eyebrow of the used bookstore owner-manager (she knows my reading tastes and was a little surprised when I tossed this novel onto the counter)....Yikes! Even though I quickly knew that I had made a grave error, I ploughed on for two reasons: I pledged to read 100 books in the Goodreads Reading Challenge and I needed something to occupy myself between loads of laundry. The author must be laughing all the way to the bank!
April 28, 2018
An Irish immigrant, Ellie, returns to New York city after her husband dies. Kerrigan gives Ellie some depth with Ellie's strength, independence, and entrepreneurship in the 1930s. I did find some parts slow moving but overall, the story is good. Following Ellie through her trials and tribulations was enough to keep my interest.
December 25, 2019
I didn't fall in lov with this book but I was entertained enough to finish it. There will be a sequel.
June 25, 2013
A few years ago I had the pleasure of meeting Kate Kerrigan, the charming Irish author of Ellis Island, a novel about a young Irish woman who came to America to earn money to pay for an operation her husband back in Ireland desperately needed after an injury.
Set in the 1920s, Ellie comes to New York to work first as a maid, and then learns how to be a secretary. She falls in love with a wealthy businessman and when it comes time to go home to Ireland, she is torn.
City of Hope opens in the 1930s back in Ireland, on the farm where Ellie lives with her husband John. John loves his life as a farmer, but Ellie wants more. She opened a shop near the farm to sell grocery items and products grown on the farm. She started a secretarial school and a beauty salon. Ellie was quite the businesswoman and always looking for ways to expand, much to John's consternation.
When John dies unexpectedly, Ellie is devastated. She runs away, back to New York, to try and pick up the pieces of her life. A chance meeting with a mother and her children, homeless and living in Central Park, convinced her to try and do something to help them.
She buys a home that has been foreclosed on and moves this family in, along with Bridie, an older woman who worked with her as a maid many years ago. They work to rebuild the house, and find that there are many men with construction skills looking for work in the Great Depression.
Ellie finds a new mission for her life- refurbishing homes and giving people a chance to rebuild their lives. She hopes that all of this will keep her from missing John. She meets many new people, and puts her talents to good use. She starts a cooperative, where the women open a cafe and store, selling their prepared food to the wealthy women in the neighborhood.
Then people comes back into her life unexpectedly: her old friend Sheila and a man from her past. Ellie must face up to her past and decide what path she is going to take.
I have to admit that at times I did not understand Ellie's actions. She seems to run away from her problems rather than face them. After John's death, she runs to New York and hides out, leaving John's mother all alone. At the end of the novel she makes a decision that I find baffling. Although I would make different decisions, Kerrigan skillfully creates such an intriguing character that I found myself rooting for her even as I found her maddening.
I love books that take me into a completely new world, and City of Hope does just that. I did not realize that there were Hooverville tent cities in Central Park during the Depression. Kerrigan clearly did a great deal of research to bring this interesting period of time in New York City to such vivid life.
The characters are so well drawn, and I found that if I closed my eyes, I could picture the street in Upper Manhattan where Ellie created new lives for so many people. The problems that Ellie's friends faced during the Great Depression resonated with the problems that face many people today- the loss of jobs and their homes, forcing their families out into the streets. I liked the parallel there.
My favorite line in the book is one from Ellie during John's funeral.
"I shut down. I did not have the room to absorb all their grief, when I could not accommodate my own."
That just hit such a visceral note for me.
If you have read Ellis Island, City of Hope is a must read. Even if you haven't read Ellis Island, City of Hope stands on its own, a novel about grief and new beginnings, and a wonderful piece of historical fiction set during the Great Depression in New York City. (And if you are a fan of Downton Abbey, Bridie reminds me so much of Mrs. Patmore!)
Set in the 1920s, Ellie comes to New York to work first as a maid, and then learns how to be a secretary. She falls in love with a wealthy businessman and when it comes time to go home to Ireland, she is torn.
City of Hope opens in the 1930s back in Ireland, on the farm where Ellie lives with her husband John. John loves his life as a farmer, but Ellie wants more. She opened a shop near the farm to sell grocery items and products grown on the farm. She started a secretarial school and a beauty salon. Ellie was quite the businesswoman and always looking for ways to expand, much to John's consternation.
When John dies unexpectedly, Ellie is devastated. She runs away, back to New York, to try and pick up the pieces of her life. A chance meeting with a mother and her children, homeless and living in Central Park, convinced her to try and do something to help them.
She buys a home that has been foreclosed on and moves this family in, along with Bridie, an older woman who worked with her as a maid many years ago. They work to rebuild the house, and find that there are many men with construction skills looking for work in the Great Depression.
Ellie finds a new mission for her life- refurbishing homes and giving people a chance to rebuild their lives. She hopes that all of this will keep her from missing John. She meets many new people, and puts her talents to good use. She starts a cooperative, where the women open a cafe and store, selling their prepared food to the wealthy women in the neighborhood.
Then people comes back into her life unexpectedly: her old friend Sheila and a man from her past. Ellie must face up to her past and decide what path she is going to take.
I have to admit that at times I did not understand Ellie's actions. She seems to run away from her problems rather than face them. After John's death, she runs to New York and hides out, leaving John's mother all alone. At the end of the novel she makes a decision that I find baffling. Although I would make different decisions, Kerrigan skillfully creates such an intriguing character that I found myself rooting for her even as I found her maddening.
I love books that take me into a completely new world, and City of Hope does just that. I did not realize that there were Hooverville tent cities in Central Park during the Depression. Kerrigan clearly did a great deal of research to bring this interesting period of time in New York City to such vivid life.
The characters are so well drawn, and I found that if I closed my eyes, I could picture the street in Upper Manhattan where Ellie created new lives for so many people. The problems that Ellie's friends faced during the Great Depression resonated with the problems that face many people today- the loss of jobs and their homes, forcing their families out into the streets. I liked the parallel there.
My favorite line in the book is one from Ellie during John's funeral.
"I shut down. I did not have the room to absorb all their grief, when I could not accommodate my own."
That just hit such a visceral note for me.
If you have read Ellis Island, City of Hope is a must read. Even if you haven't read Ellis Island, City of Hope stands on its own, a novel about grief and new beginnings, and a wonderful piece of historical fiction set during the Great Depression in New York City. (And if you are a fan of Downton Abbey, Bridie reminds me so much of Mrs. Patmore!)
June 7, 2013
Ellis Island completely mesmirized me so I was very excited to read and review the sequel for TripFiction.
In Ellis Island we end with Ellie returning to Ireland and to husband John, setting up her own shop and coping with the heartache of miscarriage.
City of Hope starts ten years later; by now Ellie has a successful business Empire and is pretty well off by Irish country standards. She and John have not been blessed with children and Ellie keeps busy with her enterprises and home whilst John runs their farm. Strong willed and independent Ellie is devastated when John dies and unable to cope with his loss runs away, back to New York, thinking she will pick up where she left off ten years before.
In 1934 New York is nothing like the city she left behind, Depression has hit and the streets are full of beggars and homeless families struggling to survive. Ellie contacts old pal Sheila but soon realises she cannot be flighty and flirtatious like Sheila but knows she needs something to ground her and keep her busy and from thinking about John. That something proves to be the old housekeeper of her old workplace and a homeless family she comes across on the streets.
Using the wealth she accumulated in Ireland, Ellie begins buying up derelict houses and housing homeless families, running a highly successful co-operative that keeps them all fed and housed. At last she has something to work towards. However, nothing is plain sailing and Ellie and her new family come up against some dilemmas and finally when Ellie realises she has to face up to her own life and stop running, she has to make a choice that will affect her own future.
It was great to be reunited with Ellie, a much harder but an equally determined Ellie. She is not always likeable, often selfish but you can see why she is and underneath it is a softer, more needy Ellie that she can't quite keep down.
The details of the Depression with it's Hoovervilles and despondent men were realistic and actually all the more shocking because of similar things happening nowadays but the story showed the strength of the characters, Ellie's determination to always do good and help others whilst still showing her underlying vulnerability.
The contrast between Ireland and America was described to good effect I thought, the glittering, showy New York of old gone and a grey, despairing world in its place, whilst Ireland has not really moved on at all seemed somehow to emphasise to the reader what America has lost.
A quick paced read, time moves on quickly and such a lot seems to happen in that space but that is how Ellie describes her new and busy life so it fits with the narrative and the sense of energy and urgency.
I will be looking forward very much to reading the final book in this trilogy and finding out what Ellie's decision is and what becomes of her. Hopefully she will find lasting happiness.
In Ellis Island we end with Ellie returning to Ireland and to husband John, setting up her own shop and coping with the heartache of miscarriage.
City of Hope starts ten years later; by now Ellie has a successful business Empire and is pretty well off by Irish country standards. She and John have not been blessed with children and Ellie keeps busy with her enterprises and home whilst John runs their farm. Strong willed and independent Ellie is devastated when John dies and unable to cope with his loss runs away, back to New York, thinking she will pick up where she left off ten years before.
In 1934 New York is nothing like the city she left behind, Depression has hit and the streets are full of beggars and homeless families struggling to survive. Ellie contacts old pal Sheila but soon realises she cannot be flighty and flirtatious like Sheila but knows she needs something to ground her and keep her busy and from thinking about John. That something proves to be the old housekeeper of her old workplace and a homeless family she comes across on the streets.
Using the wealth she accumulated in Ireland, Ellie begins buying up derelict houses and housing homeless families, running a highly successful co-operative that keeps them all fed and housed. At last she has something to work towards. However, nothing is plain sailing and Ellie and her new family come up against some dilemmas and finally when Ellie realises she has to face up to her own life and stop running, she has to make a choice that will affect her own future.
It was great to be reunited with Ellie, a much harder but an equally determined Ellie. She is not always likeable, often selfish but you can see why she is and underneath it is a softer, more needy Ellie that she can't quite keep down.
The details of the Depression with it's Hoovervilles and despondent men were realistic and actually all the more shocking because of similar things happening nowadays but the story showed the strength of the characters, Ellie's determination to always do good and help others whilst still showing her underlying vulnerability.
The contrast between Ireland and America was described to good effect I thought, the glittering, showy New York of old gone and a grey, despairing world in its place, whilst Ireland has not really moved on at all seemed somehow to emphasise to the reader what America has lost.
A quick paced read, time moves on quickly and such a lot seems to happen in that space but that is how Ellie describes her new and busy life so it fits with the narrative and the sense of energy and urgency.
I will be looking forward very much to reading the final book in this trilogy and finding out what Ellie's decision is and what becomes of her. Hopefully she will find lasting happiness.
November 3, 2014
The story picks up in 1934, Ellie has expanded beyond her country store and now owns a typing school and salon. Because the couple has never been able to have kids Ellie has thrown herself into work, and while John isn't necessarily happy about it, he is supportive and understanding of her needs. But when John suddenly dies, Ellie finds herself fleeing back to New York. Things have changed since she left and the Depression has left the city a shadow of what it once was. Here, Ellie finds a new purpose in helping those who have suffered the most.
John freaking dies?! Agh!
Now that I've got that out, I'm all good. You'll notice that I elected to read both ELLIS ISLAND and CITY OF HOPE for review today; it actually isn't really necessary to read Ellis Island in order to jump into City at all, though I do recommend it, simply because I love Ellie and her story.
So Ellie returns to New York City, in a rush, and finds that her salvation isn't quite as she remembered it. And while she's doing well thanks to her business savvy in Ireland, many of those around her are not. She immediately looks up some old friends and finds that Mrs. Flannery has lost her husband as well and is living in not so great conditions while working full time at a laundry. The many homeless throughout the city gives Ellie an idea, however, one that she quickly recruits Mrs. Flannery for as well.
CITY OF HOPE has an all new cast of characters, which once again illustrates Kerrigan's strength in building real and believable people to fill out her story. Again, Ellie comes across as admirable and adaptable, but again throwing herself into another project to avoid facing her husband's death.
I also thought that Kerrigan did a great job capturing the spirit of the time and place: New York just after Roosevelt has come into office. The desperation and strength that those who suffered most must have felt - something that's represented best through the male characters in the book. And Ireland in the 1930s, too. The place that Ellie longed to escape so badly offered her the success she needed to be able to tackle her projects in New York City.
The end by no means wraps up Ellie's story, there's a whole new book for that! If you're in the UK, you get an earlier stab at it than we will since LAND OF DREAMS is out now in hardcover (due out in paperback this fall - I'm jealous! I really would have jumped immediately into book three after turning the final page of CITY OF HOPE had that been an option for me!
John freaking dies?! Agh!
Now that I've got that out, I'm all good. You'll notice that I elected to read both ELLIS ISLAND and CITY OF HOPE for review today; it actually isn't really necessary to read Ellis Island in order to jump into City at all, though I do recommend it, simply because I love Ellie and her story.
So Ellie returns to New York City, in a rush, and finds that her salvation isn't quite as she remembered it. And while she's doing well thanks to her business savvy in Ireland, many of those around her are not. She immediately looks up some old friends and finds that Mrs. Flannery has lost her husband as well and is living in not so great conditions while working full time at a laundry. The many homeless throughout the city gives Ellie an idea, however, one that she quickly recruits Mrs. Flannery for as well.
CITY OF HOPE has an all new cast of characters, which once again illustrates Kerrigan's strength in building real and believable people to fill out her story. Again, Ellie comes across as admirable and adaptable, but again throwing herself into another project to avoid facing her husband's death.
I also thought that Kerrigan did a great job capturing the spirit of the time and place: New York just after Roosevelt has come into office. The desperation and strength that those who suffered most must have felt - something that's represented best through the male characters in the book. And Ireland in the 1930s, too. The place that Ellie longed to escape so badly offered her the success she needed to be able to tackle her projects in New York City.
The end by no means wraps up Ellie's story, there's a whole new book for that! If you're in the UK, you get an earlier stab at it than we will since LAND OF DREAMS is out now in hardcover (due out in paperback this fall - I'm jealous! I really would have jumped immediately into book three after turning the final page of CITY OF HOPE had that been an option for me!
May 6, 2012
I couldn't wait to get my hands on this sequel to Ellis Island, which I enjoyed very much. I had developed a respect for the main character Ellie Hogan after she had returned from her adventures in glamorous 1920's New York to her husband in Ireland to set up a business.
City of Hope is set 10 years later and starts off in Ireland where Ellie has experienced a mixture of success and heartache. I felt pretty frustrated with her on occasions and if she had been my friend I would have shaken her! But on reflection, the character is nothing less than authentic and I could understand why she had turned out this way.
She is unstoppable when it comes to business and everything she touches seems to turn to gold. However, when disaster strikes and her husband (the love of her life) dies suddenly, she doesn't know what to do with her grief and is driven back to New York in the hope of escaping in the glamour of the lifestyle she has previously known. She tracks down her 'flippertygibbet' of a friend, Sheila, and sets about to have a good time and forget everything. But Ellie isn't Sheila and she is unable to keep up the pretence for long. She does continue her quest to escape in a much more 'Ellie like' fashion.
The book moves at a very fast pace when she is met with some people who had been made homeless through the depression and she finds some good causes to help with the money she has made through her successes. I would have liked some more detail around this part, perhaps around the way some of the relationships in her community had developed but then again the fast pace was probably a reflection of her escapism at the time and the story is about her after all.
The integrity that is a fundamental part of Ellie's character remains and throughout all her good works she is continually met with the truth that she cannot run away from herself. This integrity and the love of her friends (and a good man) enable her to go back and face where she has come from and some very touching scenes and realisations (which are a part of growing up for us all).
We are left with a bit of a cliffhanger at the end and and I am now looking forward to the next installment. I can't imagine where she is going to end up next!
City of Hope is set 10 years later and starts off in Ireland where Ellie has experienced a mixture of success and heartache. I felt pretty frustrated with her on occasions and if she had been my friend I would have shaken her! But on reflection, the character is nothing less than authentic and I could understand why she had turned out this way.
She is unstoppable when it comes to business and everything she touches seems to turn to gold. However, when disaster strikes and her husband (the love of her life) dies suddenly, she doesn't know what to do with her grief and is driven back to New York in the hope of escaping in the glamour of the lifestyle she has previously known. She tracks down her 'flippertygibbet' of a friend, Sheila, and sets about to have a good time and forget everything. But Ellie isn't Sheila and she is unable to keep up the pretence for long. She does continue her quest to escape in a much more 'Ellie like' fashion.
The book moves at a very fast pace when she is met with some people who had been made homeless through the depression and she finds some good causes to help with the money she has made through her successes. I would have liked some more detail around this part, perhaps around the way some of the relationships in her community had developed but then again the fast pace was probably a reflection of her escapism at the time and the story is about her after all.
The integrity that is a fundamental part of Ellie's character remains and throughout all her good works she is continually met with the truth that she cannot run away from herself. This integrity and the love of her friends (and a good man) enable her to go back and face where she has come from and some very touching scenes and realisations (which are a part of growing up for us all).
We are left with a bit of a cliffhanger at the end and and I am now looking forward to the next installment. I can't imagine where she is going to end up next!
March 16, 2015
This is the second novel in the Ellis Island trilogy and again I really enjoyed the developing story. I shall definitely be reading the final novel in the trilogy.
July 3, 2013
Having loved Ellis Island, I was not happy to see that this book opened with the death of Ellie's beloved husband John. Grieving and unable to face life without John, Ellie abruptly leaves Ireland and her successful, relatively wealthy life and returns to New York. Instead of finding the beloved, vibrant New York that she remembered, she discovers a city suffering from the Depression.
Ellie's giving nature surfaces though and she soon finds that helping others is the best antidote for grief. Her business sense returns and she opens a home for the homeless and the down and out. Building a new life and family around her, Ellie is able to ignore her grief over losing John. She finds success and satisfaction and friendship.
When she finally comes to terms with her grief, she is able to return to Ireland and finds that the new life she has in America isn't as completely satisfying as she had imagined.
Not an inherently happy story, City of Hope is still heartwarming. I didn't love Ellie quite as much here as I did in Ellis Island, and I found her selfish even with her generosity in helping others. I did appreciate that her character had changed as she had suffered loss. And while I didn't love the ending, I do realize this is second in a trilogy and I hope for a more satisfying conclusion in the third book.
Ellie's giving nature surfaces though and she soon finds that helping others is the best antidote for grief. Her business sense returns and she opens a home for the homeless and the down and out. Building a new life and family around her, Ellie is able to ignore her grief over losing John. She finds success and satisfaction and friendship.
When she finally comes to terms with her grief, she is able to return to Ireland and finds that the new life she has in America isn't as completely satisfying as she had imagined.
Not an inherently happy story, City of Hope is still heartwarming. I didn't love Ellie quite as much here as I did in Ellis Island, and I found her selfish even with her generosity in helping others. I did appreciate that her character had changed as she had suffered loss. And while I didn't love the ending, I do realize this is second in a trilogy and I hope for a more satisfying conclusion in the third book.
April 19, 2012
After reading the first installment, I was completely satisfied with the ending that Kerrigan had given Ellie & John. After finding out that she had written another, I found myself very pleased that Kerrigan is in charge of this story and not me! (And even more pleased that she's writing a third novel about Ellie!)
I particularly enjoyed the way that she didn't shy away from Ellie's weaknesses. I might not like every choice that Ellie makes, but I recognize her as a fallible character and respect Kerrigan's writing much more because of her honest way of writing Ellie. It was a beautiful story, and while I was heartbroken to see Ellie's husband pass, I was glad to see her story continue.
She returns to New York, finding it vastly different from her memory of 10 years prior. Soon everything changes for Ellie. Her initial plan was to run away from Ireland and her grief, but as she turns to helping those in need around her, she instead finds this the perfect solution to delay her grief (albeit not forever...).
This book was brilliant. I loved how many characters she brought back from the first novel, and how, once again, their side stories were fleshed out quite well without detracting from Ellie's main story-line.
Cannot wait to read more by this lovely author!
I particularly enjoyed the way that she didn't shy away from Ellie's weaknesses. I might not like every choice that Ellie makes, but I recognize her as a fallible character and respect Kerrigan's writing much more because of her honest way of writing Ellie. It was a beautiful story, and while I was heartbroken to see Ellie's husband pass, I was glad to see her story continue.
She returns to New York, finding it vastly different from her memory of 10 years prior. Soon everything changes for Ellie. Her initial plan was to run away from Ireland and her grief, but as she turns to helping those in need around her, she instead finds this the perfect solution to delay her grief (albeit not forever...).
This book was brilliant. I loved how many characters she brought back from the first novel, and how, once again, their side stories were fleshed out quite well without detracting from Ellie's main story-line.
Cannot wait to read more by this lovely author!
July 8, 2020
Lately I am having a difficult time liking the main characters in the books I am reading! Also hated the ending.
July 31, 2012
I love Ellie's journey. I was quite sad to see John die, but excited to go back to New York with ELLIE. I loved seeing a return of some characters--like Birdie--from Ellis ISLAND. I am glad ELLIE finally faced her grief after losing John. most of all I loved Tom ending up with Ellie (orphaned baby) and glad she didn't marry Matt. HOPING Kate's next book is trilogy set ending. KK is such a strong writer with narrative that feels so real, almost as if I went back to NY & Ireland during the 1930s. excellent. Read in two sittings flying back to be with my family. I just hope she keeps her stores in Mayo.
May 22, 2013
I remember LOVING this heroine in the first book. In this book, she's really selfish and unlikable. It just didn't happen for me. I didn't get the impression she really loved John and instead rather resented him for holding her back from a more glamorous life. Remembering the ending of book one, I can't say I'm surprised, but to just leave your husband's funeral to go across the ocean to Saks Fifth Avenue and party????
NO.
However, I do appreciate the way subtle reminder to never part in anger. You really never know when a loved will drop dead. Be sure to spend time with them and let them know--through both actions and words--you love them.
NO.
However, I do appreciate the way subtle reminder to never part in anger. You really never know when a loved will drop dead. Be sure to spend time with them and let them know--through both actions and words--you love them.
May 15, 2016
This book was a big disappointment especially after reading the fantastic Ellis Island.
I almost wish I hadn't continued on with this series.
The continuity issues bothered me a lot, as I had read the first book in the series right before reading this one, so the story was fresh in my mind.
And the character of Ellie bothered me a lot, she was a completely different person from the first book, she was vain, shallow and rude.
Also I didn't buy into her grief after how horrible she was to her husband at the beginning of the book.
I have the third book in the series borrowed out from the library, but I'm holding off on reading it after the disappointment of this one.
I almost wish I hadn't continued on with this series.
The continuity issues bothered me a lot, as I had read the first book in the series right before reading this one, so the story was fresh in my mind.
And the character of Ellie bothered me a lot, she was a completely different person from the first book, she was vain, shallow and rude.
Also I didn't buy into her grief after how horrible she was to her husband at the beginning of the book.
I have the third book in the series borrowed out from the library, but I'm holding off on reading it after the disappointment of this one.
September 5, 2013
Hmmm...what can I say. I liked the book, it was a good book, I don't like who Ellie is becoming. When John died I felt a lot of sympathy for her. Losing the love of your life is hard. I don't like the way she is starting to treat people and hurt people. And she is becoming a bit whiney. She has amassed a lot and pulled her self up from nothing, but she is so flakey. With that said, I loved the historical setting of the novel. Let's see what the 3rd part brings. She needs to redeem herself.
May 8, 2015
Ellie was barely civil to her husband in the first book, or in the first 65 pages of this book. Once he dies (that is not a spoiler), I did not buy into her obsessing about him and the fact that he was dead on almost every single one of the remaining 258 pages! I found myself rolling my eyes. There was nothing to like about Ellie, but I held out for a satisfactory ending. Sadly, the author couldn't even deliver that. Instead she ended it abruptly in the last 23 pages. Now there is going to be a third book, but who cares what happens to Ellie? Not me.
October 11, 2019
This book was only give 2 stars because the main character, Ellie Hogan, is insufferable. I will read the final book in the series only to find out if she is at all redeemable.
I surely hope the author intended for this character to be so unlikeable, because I can't fathom someone thinking she could be an endearing character to love & route for.
I cried for the last 2 pages purely out of heartbreak for the choices being made by Ellie, not by any great literary work.
I surely hope the author intended for this character to be so unlikeable, because I can't fathom someone thinking she could be an endearing character to love & route for.
I cried for the last 2 pages purely out of heartbreak for the choices being made by Ellie, not by any great literary work.
April 26, 2013
I'm two chapters away from finishing this book and it's been dragging on for the last twenty. There's not much of a plot and the entire book seems to be a series of subplots. The main character and narrator, Ellie, isn't always that likable. The prequel, Ellis Island, had more of a plot than this. It was alright, it wasn't great though.
May 12, 2013
I really enjoyed the follow up to Ellis Island. I like how Ellie's story developed. She was a good but flawed person. I found certain moments a little unbelievable though. I enjoyed the background characters and their stories as well. I'm really looking forward to the final story in this trilogy! Kerrigan has left me wanting more!
June 24, 2016
I did not like Ellie from the start. She is selfish, unstable, and doesn't know what she wants. The plot was weak. Sheila was horrible. Chuck coming back was a great mistake, his going away was even greater. I started to like the story when Ellie and Matt finally got together, but then that horrible ending had to come.
April 3, 2012
A birthday gift, this is not one I would have chosen to read. Very predictable and mediocre writing as a young Irish widow makes her fame and fortune in the USA. I just couldn't warm to the main character but still I did read to the end.
November 7, 2013
This book was okay. It had a lot going on it it, but I never really identified with the character. She seemed cold and aloof to me, and very flighty!! I had not read the first book in the series, Ellis Island, so maybe that is why I couldn't associate with her.
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