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The Island Girls
‘This book was so good. I didn't want to put it down… the storyline sucked you into it and made you feel like you were really there.’ Goodreads Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Vinalhaven Island. A disappearing place, in the wild Atlantic, of towering pines, lobster traps and two sisters torn apart by tragedy… Harvard 1960. Nineteen-year-old Susannah says farewell to college life for the summer and returns to Vinalhaven Island, her remote rocky home off the coast of Maine. Her beloved sister Kate is marrying Matthew, a local fisherman, a man with a heart as cold as the Atlantic Ocean. Years later, nurse Emer is sent to Vinalhaven to look after Susannah, who has lived in isolation since her sister’s tragic death. When Emer discovers a bundle of letters in a rainbow quilt in the bedroom, she and Susannah grow closer. Eventually, Susannah opens up enough to tell Emer the story of Kate’s brutal and secret past. But when Emer starts asking locals about Kate, the island air sizzles with hostility. There are people who would rather that Susannah kept quiet, who have no qualms about threatening Emer. But despite the warnings to stay away, Emer is determined to find out what really happened the night Kate died – and the final secret that is keeping Susannah a prisoner to the past. An unputdownable and unforgettable story of impossible choices and two sisters who would do anything for one another. Set on a bewitching sea-scented island, The Island Girls will burrow into your heart. Perfect for fans of Lisa Wingate, Anita Shreve and The Light Between Oceans. What everyone’s saying about The Island ‘The Island Girls is a gorgeous, beautifully written, compelling story of love, loss and hope. I was completely absorbed in the stories of Emer and Susannah and their sisters when reading and somewhat bereft to leave them behind. This is a story which really touched me and I will remember the characters for a long time. If I tell you that I have added it to my Top Reads list for 2020, you will know how much I loved it. Please buy it, you won't be disappointed!’ Portobello Book Blog, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘It is gripping, beautiful, moving and unforgettable. Readers, you are in for a TREAT!’ Sinead Moriarty ‘So much love for this book!! I adored the story of Emer and the prickly Susannah, as they both face up to extremely difficult pasts and find ways of moving forward.’ Books and Me, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Absolutely loved this… Highly recommended.’ Goodreads Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘I found it extremely difficult to put the book to one side for any length of time. … Once I started to read that I was it, I completely immersed myself into the story and I found myself going through all kinds of different and contrasting emotions… This may be the first of Noelle's books that I have had the pleasure of reading but it certainly won't be the last… a beautiful and emotional story’ Ginger Book Geek &
314 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 23, 2020
751 people are currently reading
542 people want to read
About the author
Noëlle Harrison
16 books40 followerspseudonym: Evie Blake
Born in London, I moved to Ireland in 1991, shortly afterwards setting up the theatre company Aurora. I have written four stage plays, Northern Landscapes, Black Virgin, Runaway Wife and The Good Sister, and one short film, Blue Void. I have also written extensively on visual art in Ireland, contributing to various journals and artists’ catalogues over the years.
In August 2004 my first novel Beatrice was published by Tivoli/ Pan Macmillan. My second novel, A Small Part Of Me, was published by Tivoli / Pan Macmillan in September 2005. My third novel I Remember was published by Pan Macmillan in September 2008. The Adulteress an erotic ghost story set now and in 1941 in Ireland was published by Pan Macmillan in September 2009. The Secret Loves of Julia Caesar is an illustrated limited edition novella, a companion book to The Adulteress as well as a novel in its own right. It is published October 2012.
I currently live in Bergen in Norway. In September 2012 Beatrice was published by Juritzen Forlag in Norwegian. My books have also been translated and published in Italy, Germany, Holland, and Hungary.
I offer a critiquing service for budding writers and teach various creative writing workshops through Inkwell Writers.
I also write under the pen name of Evie Blake, author of Valentina published by Headline in October 2012, Valentina on the edge (March 2013) and Valentina Unlocked (October 2013). The Valentina Trilogy will be translated and published in Italy, Germany, Holland, Spain, France, Portugal, Brazil, and Serbia.
Born in London, I moved to Ireland in 1991, shortly afterwards setting up the theatre company Aurora. I have written four stage plays, Northern Landscapes, Black Virgin, Runaway Wife and The Good Sister, and one short film, Blue Void. I have also written extensively on visual art in Ireland, contributing to various journals and artists’ catalogues over the years.
In August 2004 my first novel Beatrice was published by Tivoli/ Pan Macmillan. My second novel, A Small Part Of Me, was published by Tivoli / Pan Macmillan in September 2005. My third novel I Remember was published by Pan Macmillan in September 2008. The Adulteress an erotic ghost story set now and in 1941 in Ireland was published by Pan Macmillan in September 2009. The Secret Loves of Julia Caesar is an illustrated limited edition novella, a companion book to The Adulteress as well as a novel in its own right. It is published October 2012.
I currently live in Bergen in Norway. In September 2012 Beatrice was published by Juritzen Forlag in Norwegian. My books have also been translated and published in Italy, Germany, Holland, and Hungary.
I offer a critiquing service for budding writers and teach various creative writing workshops through Inkwell Writers.
I also write under the pen name of Evie Blake, author of Valentina published by Headline in October 2012, Valentina on the edge (March 2013) and Valentina Unlocked (October 2013). The Valentina Trilogy will be translated and published in Italy, Germany, Holland, Spain, France, Portugal, Brazil, and Serbia.
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April 25, 2020
EXCERPT: The Vinalhaven ferry wove between the brightly coloured lobster pot buoys bobbing up and down among the fishermen's boats. How Orla would have loved the pretty little harbour of this Maine Island with its wooden houses all different colours and the wharf sitting high atop wooden stilts. Sunlight was dancing on the dappled water, the scent of the sea everywhere, its salty tang on Emer's lips. How many times had her sister declared her dream of island life? Well here Emer was, living her sister's dream, running away from her own nightmare.
ABOUT THIS BOOK: When young nurse Emer loses her beloved sister, she is haunted by grief and desperate to escape her memories. Taking a job in Vinalhaven, a rocky outpost in the wild Atlantic, feels like the refuge she so badly needs.
Her patient, Susannah, has lived in isolation for many years, since the tragic death of her sister Kate caused her to withdraw from island life. However, when Emer discovers a bundle of letters in a rainbow quilt in her bedroom and shares the story of her own loss, Susannah opens up. She begins to tell the story of Kate’s brutal and secret past, and her marriage to a man with a heart as cold as the ocean.
But when Emer starts asking locals about Kate, the island air sizzles with hostility. There are people who would rather that Susannah kept quiet, who have no qualms about threatening Emer. But despite the warnings to stay away, Emer is determined to find out what really happened the night Kate died – and the final secret that is keeping Susannah a prisoner to the past.
ABOUT THIS BOOK: The first thing I would like to say about The Island Girls is that the publicity blurb isn't at all true to the story. Yes, this is about two sets of sisters whose lives are separated by almost sixty years.
1950s: Susannah and Kate are natives of the small island off the coast of Maine. Susannah hates island life and dreams of going to college. Kate thinks of nothing but marrying an island boy and raising her children in her old home.
2011: Emer has lost her sister Orla to cancer, and feeling guilty for having abandoned her sister in her final hours, she runs from her job and her lover to be the palliative carer of an old woman, also dying of cancer, on a remote Maine island.
I had high hopes of this novel for the first two thirds. There was the implied promise of mystery and deeply buried family secrets. An old lady on her death bed, a secret cache of letters, family estrangements - all the ingredients were there. But a story that should have been intriguing was, instead, lackluster and predictable. I lost interest to the point where I put it down for twenty four hours and just walked away from it.
The characters were flat. They never reached out to draw me into the story, which is told by both Susannah and Emer. Susannah narrates her childhood with Kate, and her time at Harvard with her lover, Ava. This is interspersed with Emer's story of caring for Susannah, of adapting to life on the island, and of battling her own guilt and grief. We also get to read some of the letters from Kate to Susannah, which are of little value.
I was disappointed. I expected more. I didn't get it.
😔😕.5
#TheIslandGirls #NetGalley
THE AUTHOR: pseudonym: Evie Blake
Born in London, I moved to Ireland in 1991, shortly afterwards setting up the theatre company Aurora. I have written four stage plays, Northern Landscapes, Black Virgin, Runaway Wife and The Good Sister, and one short film, Blue Void. I have also written extensively on visual art in Ireland, contributing to various journals and artists’ catalogues over the years.
I currently live in Bergen in Norway. In September 2012 Beatrice was published by Juritzen Forlag in Norwegian. My books have also been translated and published in Italy, Germany, Holland, and Hungary.
DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Bookouture via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of The Island Girls by Noelle Harrison for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.
For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com
This review is also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and my webpage https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...
ABOUT THIS BOOK: When young nurse Emer loses her beloved sister, she is haunted by grief and desperate to escape her memories. Taking a job in Vinalhaven, a rocky outpost in the wild Atlantic, feels like the refuge she so badly needs.
Her patient, Susannah, has lived in isolation for many years, since the tragic death of her sister Kate caused her to withdraw from island life. However, when Emer discovers a bundle of letters in a rainbow quilt in her bedroom and shares the story of her own loss, Susannah opens up. She begins to tell the story of Kate’s brutal and secret past, and her marriage to a man with a heart as cold as the ocean.
But when Emer starts asking locals about Kate, the island air sizzles with hostility. There are people who would rather that Susannah kept quiet, who have no qualms about threatening Emer. But despite the warnings to stay away, Emer is determined to find out what really happened the night Kate died – and the final secret that is keeping Susannah a prisoner to the past.
ABOUT THIS BOOK: The first thing I would like to say about The Island Girls is that the publicity blurb isn't at all true to the story. Yes, this is about two sets of sisters whose lives are separated by almost sixty years.
1950s: Susannah and Kate are natives of the small island off the coast of Maine. Susannah hates island life and dreams of going to college. Kate thinks of nothing but marrying an island boy and raising her children in her old home.
2011: Emer has lost her sister Orla to cancer, and feeling guilty for having abandoned her sister in her final hours, she runs from her job and her lover to be the palliative carer of an old woman, also dying of cancer, on a remote Maine island.
I had high hopes of this novel for the first two thirds. There was the implied promise of mystery and deeply buried family secrets. An old lady on her death bed, a secret cache of letters, family estrangements - all the ingredients were there. But a story that should have been intriguing was, instead, lackluster and predictable. I lost interest to the point where I put it down for twenty four hours and just walked away from it.
The characters were flat. They never reached out to draw me into the story, which is told by both Susannah and Emer. Susannah narrates her childhood with Kate, and her time at Harvard with her lover, Ava. This is interspersed with Emer's story of caring for Susannah, of adapting to life on the island, and of battling her own guilt and grief. We also get to read some of the letters from Kate to Susannah, which are of little value.
I was disappointed. I expected more. I didn't get it.
😔😕.5
#TheIslandGirls #NetGalley
THE AUTHOR: pseudonym: Evie Blake
Born in London, I moved to Ireland in 1991, shortly afterwards setting up the theatre company Aurora. I have written four stage plays, Northern Landscapes, Black Virgin, Runaway Wife and The Good Sister, and one short film, Blue Void. I have also written extensively on visual art in Ireland, contributing to various journals and artists’ catalogues over the years.
I currently live in Bergen in Norway. In September 2012 Beatrice was published by Juritzen Forlag in Norwegian. My books have also been translated and published in Italy, Germany, Holland, and Hungary.
DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Bookouture via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of The Island Girls by Noelle Harrison for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.
For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com
This review is also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and my webpage https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...
November 19, 2022
Irish nurse Emer loses her sister Orla to cancer, she’s consumed by grief and Emer feels guilty and is desperate to leave her job at Massachusetts General Hospital. She finds a new position looking after Susannah Olsen, who lives on Vinalhaven Island, off the coast of Maine and her patient is a real loner. The two women get off to a shaky start, Susannah doesn’t want anyone taking care of her and despite the fact that her niece Lynsey employed Emer to be her companion and palliative care nurse.
The two women have something in common, they have both lost a sister they loved dearly and Susannah is reluctant to talk about Kate. Emer discovers Kate died in suspicious circumstances in the 1960’s, her husband Mathew Young disappeared and has never been seen since. When Emer finds a bundle of old letters, Susannah starts telling her about her childhood and how her mother favored her younger sister, Susannah's plans of going to to college and Kate’s troubled marriage.
The dual time line story looks at the relationship and bond between sisters, how they would do anything for each other, in Susannah’s case she put her life on hold and she doesn’t want Emer to do the same.
I received a copy of The Island Girls from NetGalley and Bookouture in exchange for an honest review. The narrative written by Noelle Harrison is thought provoking and tackles difficult subjects. A story about sisters, love, loss, guilt, grief, cancer, domestic violence, secrets, justice and four stars from me. I have read, The Boatman’s Wife by Ms. Harrison, both books have Irish characters, links to lobster fishing and the remote islands off the coast of Maine, and four stars from me.
The two women have something in common, they have both lost a sister they loved dearly and Susannah is reluctant to talk about Kate. Emer discovers Kate died in suspicious circumstances in the 1960’s, her husband Mathew Young disappeared and has never been seen since. When Emer finds a bundle of old letters, Susannah starts telling her about her childhood and how her mother favored her younger sister, Susannah's plans of going to to college and Kate’s troubled marriage.
The dual time line story looks at the relationship and bond between sisters, how they would do anything for each other, in Susannah’s case she put her life on hold and she doesn’t want Emer to do the same.
I received a copy of The Island Girls from NetGalley and Bookouture in exchange for an honest review. The narrative written by Noelle Harrison is thought provoking and tackles difficult subjects. A story about sisters, love, loss, guilt, grief, cancer, domestic violence, secrets, justice and four stars from me. I have read, The Boatman’s Wife by Ms. Harrison, both books have Irish characters, links to lobster fishing and the remote islands off the coast of Maine, and four stars from me.
April 22, 2020
'She’d been steadily drifting further and further away from her life before. She would never get it back. She knew that. But maybe her destination was a place where she could forget, and be forgotten? This was all she wanted right now.’
The Island Girls by Noelle Harrison will be published with Bookouture April 23rd. It is described as ‘an unputdownable and unforgettable story of impossible choices and two sisters who would do anything for one another.‘
Emer is a young Irish woman living and working as a nurse in Massachusetts General Hospital. A personal upheaval, a shattering tragedy changes everything for Emer and her life shifts in a very unexpected manner. When Emer loses her beloved sister to cancer, Emer is rattled with guilt and is unable to cope with her life, her relationships and her reality as she knows it. She makes a spontaneous decision to leave her job, her life in Massachusetts, to take up a new position somewhere far away from the familiar, from the memories. Her new role will be as a live-in carer providing palliative assistance to an elderly lady, Susannah Olsen, who is living an isolated and solitary existence on the island of Vinalhaven off the mid-Maine coast.
Emer arrives on the island unprepared for what lies ahead. As she steps off the ferry she is taken aback by the silence, the immediate sense of anonymity she experiences.
‘As she walked off the boat, it hit Emer how quiet the island was. All she could hear were the gulls crying, and the water lapping against all the fishermen’s boats…..she hadn’t considered how isolated this island really was. As she walked down Main Street, it felt as if she were walking back in time.’
It is very clear from the initial meeting that Susannah Olsen does not appreciate having a stranger imposed on her. Susannah has lived on her own for quite some time and having a carer is not on her agenda. Emer was hired by Susannah’s niece but, without Susannah’s support, it is clear from the get-go that Emer has her work cut out for her.
Susannah and Emer both carry their own personal baggage, their own grief that causes each a great pain. As the days pass, Emer begins to unravel snippets of Susannah’s past. She too has kept her reasons for being there to herself, but her own shell begins to crack just a little, as her relationship with Susannah thaws.
Something is not right on the island. The locals are secretive about incidents long hidden in the annals of time. As Emer picks up on bits and pieces, we get to hear about Susannah’s life and the events that lead to her lonely existence among a community that carries much hostility toward her. Susannah had a sister, Kate, who died a tragic death and Emer soon realises that she has a lot more in common with Susannah than she thought. They share a grief, a longing for life to have been different. Emer has time to change her ways but for Susannah, the past is a lot more challenging to reconcile.
‘I guess our life on the island was one which never fit you right. I like to imagine you some days when I look out the window across the harbour, all those miles of sea and land between us. But, sister, we are always connected.‘
Emer and Susannah’s stories are intertwined throughout the novel taking the reader back in time with some fascinating insights into a very different world. Noelle Harrison sensitively handles themes of grief, betrayal, abuse, guilt and loneliness. It is an emotive story, one that, at times, will anger, sadden and bring joy to the reader. I particularly enjoyed reading about Susannah’s story. Her life and the decisions she made were so compelling and interesting, her pain and heartache so very evident off the pages.
The Island Girls is a story about women and their struggle for independence, about their determination and strength to survive in a world that is not always as they were expecting or hoping for. It is also a story of sisters as it explores that very unique and special bond that exists in this most fragile of relationships.
The Island Girls is an engaging, well-paced tale, an enjoyable read.
“These women were islands in a sea of male voices. They inspire me in all that I write as does the wild and lush autumnal landscape of Maine with it’s glorious foliage, piles of pumpkins and deep blue ocean”
– Noelle Harrison
The Island Girls by Noelle Harrison will be published with Bookouture April 23rd. It is described as ‘an unputdownable and unforgettable story of impossible choices and two sisters who would do anything for one another.‘
Emer is a young Irish woman living and working as a nurse in Massachusetts General Hospital. A personal upheaval, a shattering tragedy changes everything for Emer and her life shifts in a very unexpected manner. When Emer loses her beloved sister to cancer, Emer is rattled with guilt and is unable to cope with her life, her relationships and her reality as she knows it. She makes a spontaneous decision to leave her job, her life in Massachusetts, to take up a new position somewhere far away from the familiar, from the memories. Her new role will be as a live-in carer providing palliative assistance to an elderly lady, Susannah Olsen, who is living an isolated and solitary existence on the island of Vinalhaven off the mid-Maine coast.
Emer arrives on the island unprepared for what lies ahead. As she steps off the ferry she is taken aback by the silence, the immediate sense of anonymity she experiences.
‘As she walked off the boat, it hit Emer how quiet the island was. All she could hear were the gulls crying, and the water lapping against all the fishermen’s boats…..she hadn’t considered how isolated this island really was. As she walked down Main Street, it felt as if she were walking back in time.’
It is very clear from the initial meeting that Susannah Olsen does not appreciate having a stranger imposed on her. Susannah has lived on her own for quite some time and having a carer is not on her agenda. Emer was hired by Susannah’s niece but, without Susannah’s support, it is clear from the get-go that Emer has her work cut out for her.
Susannah and Emer both carry their own personal baggage, their own grief that causes each a great pain. As the days pass, Emer begins to unravel snippets of Susannah’s past. She too has kept her reasons for being there to herself, but her own shell begins to crack just a little, as her relationship with Susannah thaws.
Something is not right on the island. The locals are secretive about incidents long hidden in the annals of time. As Emer picks up on bits and pieces, we get to hear about Susannah’s life and the events that lead to her lonely existence among a community that carries much hostility toward her. Susannah had a sister, Kate, who died a tragic death and Emer soon realises that she has a lot more in common with Susannah than she thought. They share a grief, a longing for life to have been different. Emer has time to change her ways but for Susannah, the past is a lot more challenging to reconcile.
‘I guess our life on the island was one which never fit you right. I like to imagine you some days when I look out the window across the harbour, all those miles of sea and land between us. But, sister, we are always connected.‘
Emer and Susannah’s stories are intertwined throughout the novel taking the reader back in time with some fascinating insights into a very different world. Noelle Harrison sensitively handles themes of grief, betrayal, abuse, guilt and loneliness. It is an emotive story, one that, at times, will anger, sadden and bring joy to the reader. I particularly enjoyed reading about Susannah’s story. Her life and the decisions she made were so compelling and interesting, her pain and heartache so very evident off the pages.
The Island Girls is a story about women and their struggle for independence, about their determination and strength to survive in a world that is not always as they were expecting or hoping for. It is also a story of sisters as it explores that very unique and special bond that exists in this most fragile of relationships.
The Island Girls is an engaging, well-paced tale, an enjoyable read.
“These women were islands in a sea of male voices. They inspire me in all that I write as does the wild and lush autumnal landscape of Maine with it’s glorious foliage, piles of pumpkins and deep blue ocean”
– Noelle Harrison
May 1, 2020
4.5⭐
The story is set on the island of Vinalhaven. Emer is an Irish nurse who arrives at the island to become the companion and palliative care nurse for Susannah. At first, she finds it difficult to help her, because Susannah insists that she doesn't need any help.
One day, Emer finds out some old letters from Susannah. They were hidden inside the quilt on her bed. She could't resist to read them, and that's how she learns about Susannah's past. As days go by, the two women start growing fond of each other, and they realise they have more in common than they could have imagined.
The story is quite interesting and it keeps you wanting to know more about the life of Susannah and her sister Kate. And I liked the way these little bits of the sisters' lives, especially Susannah's, are presented as letters most of the time. I think it makes it so easy to imagine. It feels like you are there too.
I highly recommend it.
Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for my honest review.
The story is set on the island of Vinalhaven. Emer is an Irish nurse who arrives at the island to become the companion and palliative care nurse for Susannah. At first, she finds it difficult to help her, because Susannah insists that she doesn't need any help.
One day, Emer finds out some old letters from Susannah. They were hidden inside the quilt on her bed. She could't resist to read them, and that's how she learns about Susannah's past. As days go by, the two women start growing fond of each other, and they realise they have more in common than they could have imagined.
The story is quite interesting and it keeps you wanting to know more about the life of Susannah and her sister Kate. And I liked the way these little bits of the sisters' lives, especially Susannah's, are presented as letters most of the time. I think it makes it so easy to imagine. It feels like you are there too.
I highly recommend it.
Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for my honest review.
April 10, 2020
Absolutely loved this. Emer has arrived on the island of Vinalhaven to look after ailing elderly Susannah who has pancreatic cancer. Coping admirably with a difficult old lady who insists she doesn't need anyone, she is quickly pulled into Susannah's past through the discovery of letters tucked into the quilt on her bed.
Both Emer and Susannah have secret pasts. Emer has left the Boston hospital where she nursed abandoning her doctor lover Lars. They were together on the night Emer's sister Orla died and she has never forgiven herself for not being there for her. In letting her sister down she feels she does not deserve any happiness with Lars. Susannah too has lived with guilt over the murder of her younger sister Kate at the hands of a brutal husband; something which totally changed the direction of her life and a promising career in teaching.
Written from both women's aspects and moving between present day and the 1950s/60s not only does it solve a mystery, it also details Susannah's life as a Harvard student at a time of huge social change in America. Highly recommended.
Both Emer and Susannah have secret pasts. Emer has left the Boston hospital where she nursed abandoning her doctor lover Lars. They were together on the night Emer's sister Orla died and she has never forgiven herself for not being there for her. In letting her sister down she feels she does not deserve any happiness with Lars. Susannah too has lived with guilt over the murder of her younger sister Kate at the hands of a brutal husband; something which totally changed the direction of her life and a promising career in teaching.
Written from both women's aspects and moving between present day and the 1950s/60s not only does it solve a mystery, it also details Susannah's life as a Harvard student at a time of huge social change in America. Highly recommended.
May 5, 2020
ARC provided by Bookouture and Noelle Harrison via NetGalley. All opinions are mine and freely given.
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05-05: Wow.. I'm not even going to waste your time building up to whether or not this book is worth reading.. it absolutely is. If you like family drama, mystery, or contemporary works with depth of any kind, you should give 'The Island Girls' by Noelle Harrison a read. Today. Seriously, the links are below.
Normally, I'm not typically into childhood centric stories about the bonds of youth. You might assume I have a chilly nature.. and to a degree you might be right. But I also grew up an only child with very few kids in my personal life at all. Mostly, I grew up around adults and a couple of other kids like me.. who were more like smaller, less experienced adults. None of us really knew how to be children.
Reading this book, I feel like that's how it was for Susannah too.. albeit for far more serious reasons.
Taking place on a remote island called Vinalhaven off the coast of Maine, the narrative alternates between a timeline between the mid-50's to mid-60's where a pair of sisters were coming of age and 2011, Susannah still lives, but Kate is now long gone.. and a young Irish palliative care nurse named Emer has arrived to help out through the end stages of her cancer.
Like Susannah and Kate, Emer is one half of a tragically broken pair. Her sister Orla, having died about a month prior also to cancer, has left her feeling guilty for not being with her at the end. So, through this commitment to Susannah, she hopes to make it up to her own sister.
What starts out as a languidly paced tale about the pitfalls of the island mindset they grew up with, turns gradually into a starkly shaded story of dreadful intuitions and trauma.
Their lives, especially once Kate becomes enthralled with a local fisherman, become a bit of a slow rolling storm. Even miles out at sea.. you can tell it's going to be devastating sooner or later.
Interestingly enough, Harrison blind-sided me with an event fairly late into the book, when I'd settled into an easy sense of security.. much like the characters in her story. I had been casually reading from the beginning, as I always do with mysteries, with a pretty decent expectation as to where it was all leading.
Mind you, some of those expectations were correct, but only the least of them and not remotely in the way I originally believed they would be.
From the event forward, my entire perspective changed. It shocked me so much that I re-read the first lines as it happened, three or four times in a row.. just stunned.
After that, I started to make logic leaps that I never would have early on in the book. My imagination even went a bit wild, admittedly.. as some of my leaps I realized quickly made no sense, though I still wondered as to the possibility of them.
Ultimately, I did understand most of what was barreling down upon me as a reader, before it happened.. but not long before and that result was far more satisfying than anything I normally experience with a title like this.
The author does a beautiful job of telling the tale through a series of letters interspersed between standard narratives told by both Susannah and Emer. And the two pairs of sisters lives almost mirror each others in a way, building an amazing foundation for the connection forming between the main characters. She elegantly sprinkles information throughout the book.. connecting more and more dots until you can see the entire painful picture she has painted.
Noelle Harrison is a writer to watch. She brought me to tears and I'm not even mad about it. She earned them. I can't wait to read more of her work.
PURCHASE LINKS: AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | GOOGLEPLAY BOOKS | KOBO
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05-04: Wasn't super focused on my reading this weekend, too many other proverbial irons in the fire.. but this story got better and better. Review to come.
05-03: I wouldn't call it slow.. but it's methodically paced. Not that you spend much time thinking about it.. to be honest. It definitely draws you in.
05-02: I don't know why I'm intrigued by this novel, I'm really not normally interested in those childhood centric stories.. but it certainly seems to have potential.
April 24, 2020
The Island Girls by Noëlle Harrison
Three sets of sisters who all experience tragedy have their lives overlap and sometimes mirror one another in this poignant story of love and loss.
Emer is still dealing with the loss of her beloved sister to cancer when she heads to a small island to do end of life care for Susannah. The two women have a rocky start but become closer with time and as they share what came before they met the two learn of sisters and lovers lost as well as perhaps finding a bit of comfort along the way. The story is told by flipping between the past and present and aa s a result the story unfolds slowly but drew me in and kept me reading till the very end.
What I liked:
* Emer: a good woman, sister and nurse – she has lost her way due to grief and a need to self flagellate but does eventually come around
* Susannah: a woman before her time who escaped her island only to once again return and then never leave again
* Katie: Emer’s sister was one who got lost in love and battered in the process
* Orla: Emer’s sister who died too young
* Rebecca & Lynsey: Katie’s children who are very close to their aunt Emer...and yet distant from her, too.
* Lars: a good man that stuck by Emer in spite of her pushing him away
* The way the book made me see the characters, feel with them and care about the outcome of their lives.
* The island – beautiful but not necessarily a healthy place for sometime
* That at least one couple seems to manage a HEA
What I did not like:
* Being reminded how horrible cancer is and how it respects no man or woman
* The loss of life to cancer and other ways
* The burden Susannah carried for so many years
* Being reminded that those being abused can still love their abuser and not leave
Did I like this book? Yes
Would I read more by this author? Yes
Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC – This is my honest review.
4-5 Stars
Three sets of sisters who all experience tragedy have their lives overlap and sometimes mirror one another in this poignant story of love and loss.
Emer is still dealing with the loss of her beloved sister to cancer when she heads to a small island to do end of life care for Susannah. The two women have a rocky start but become closer with time and as they share what came before they met the two learn of sisters and lovers lost as well as perhaps finding a bit of comfort along the way. The story is told by flipping between the past and present and aa s a result the story unfolds slowly but drew me in and kept me reading till the very end.
What I liked:
* Emer: a good woman, sister and nurse – she has lost her way due to grief and a need to self flagellate but does eventually come around
* Susannah: a woman before her time who escaped her island only to once again return and then never leave again
* Katie: Emer’s sister was one who got lost in love and battered in the process
* Orla: Emer’s sister who died too young
* Rebecca & Lynsey: Katie’s children who are very close to their aunt Emer...and yet distant from her, too.
* Lars: a good man that stuck by Emer in spite of her pushing him away
* The way the book made me see the characters, feel with them and care about the outcome of their lives.
* The island – beautiful but not necessarily a healthy place for sometime
* That at least one couple seems to manage a HEA
What I did not like:
* Being reminded how horrible cancer is and how it respects no man or woman
* The loss of life to cancer and other ways
* The burden Susannah carried for so many years
* Being reminded that those being abused can still love their abuser and not leave
Did I like this book? Yes
Would I read more by this author? Yes
Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC – This is my honest review.
4-5 Stars
April 9, 2020
Emer is a nurse and loses her sister to cancer. She blames herself for not being there at that moment because she was to caught up in her boyfriend. So she dumps him and takes on a new job. Her patient Susannah has live in isolation in the rocky outpost of the Atlantic. She has been there ever since the tragic death of her sister Kate.
This story goes back and forth from the past to the present in each chapter, Some is the POV of Susannah now and in the past. We also get to know Emer better. While there, Emer finds a bundle of letters that Savannah had written to Kate and Kate kept them. Susannah is writing a story for her nieces, about their mother and had kept the letters Kate gave her, Now she has her letters as well. Both of these women need to let the past go. But the Islanders don't like Susannah and blame her for things that have gone wrong.
I enjoyed this book very much. Getting to know Susannah from the time she was a little girl until the present. H0w her mother treated her and how she was treated by her peers.
Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for the ARC.
This story goes back and forth from the past to the present in each chapter, Some is the POV of Susannah now and in the past. We also get to know Emer better. While there, Emer finds a bundle of letters that Savannah had written to Kate and Kate kept them. Susannah is writing a story for her nieces, about their mother and had kept the letters Kate gave her, Now she has her letters as well. Both of these women need to let the past go. But the Islanders don't like Susannah and blame her for things that have gone wrong.
I enjoyed this book very much. Getting to know Susannah from the time she was a little girl until the present. H0w her mother treated her and how she was treated by her peers.
Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for the ARC.
September 15, 2020
Noelle Harrison is rooting for the girls all the way with this terrific and touching story. The character of Susannah Olsen (who can resist a grouchy old lady) had me captivated from the start. Maine is stunning and I was starting to feel quite at home on the island of Vinalhaven! I enjoyed the split narrative, the twists and turns and the ending was satisfying (I did shed a tear or two which is always a good sign).
May 11, 2020
This was written by one of my students and it just came out through Bookoutre. Only 99p on ebook!
I really enjoyed this look into life on a small island off Maine and secrets between families. Susannah is dying of cancer and a young nurse named Emer takes the job as an excuse to flee everything she knows after the death of a loved one. In the past, we see Susannah's relationship with her sister and desire to break free of her stifling life on the island. So what happened that she's still there as an old woman?
Content warnings: rape and attempted rape, spousal abuse, cancer.
I really enjoyed this look into life on a small island off Maine and secrets between families. Susannah is dying of cancer and a young nurse named Emer takes the job as an excuse to flee everything she knows after the death of a loved one. In the past, we see Susannah's relationship with her sister and desire to break free of her stifling life on the island. So what happened that she's still there as an old woman?
Content warnings: rape and attempted rape, spousal abuse, cancer.
May 1, 2020
This book was so sweet. I felt for the characters in the book as I, too, have lost a sister from cancer at a very young age. I loved how the relationship between Emer and Susannah unfolded and how at the end, the two have found a way to really appreciate each other. I give this book a 3.5 stars, round up to 4 stars as I loved the way the story unfolded, especially with Susannah’s background and incorporating her own personal relationship that she had lost when she was younger. However, I didn’t really enjoy reading the story between Emer & Henry, felt very stalkerish and although it did add another level to the plot, I just felt i wanted to hurry and skip that portion of the story. And- the book states the Henry dated one of the nieces.. how did they not know they were related???
Again, this book was pretty good. Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this book before the publish date.
Again, this book was pretty good. Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this book before the publish date.
January 30, 2021
Worth the read.
April 24, 2020
Oh my goodness, how I loved this book!
This is the story of Emer and Susannah. Emer is a young Irish nurse who has very recently lost her sister and, desperate to try to move away from her memories, takes a job looking after elderly Susannah on the island of Vinalhaven, an island in the Atlantic off the coast of Maine. Susannah also lost a sister in tragic circumstances years before and despite having graduated from Harvard, came home to the island and has stayed there ever since. Through Susannah's story in the past and her sister Kate's letters which Emer finds hidden in a quilt, we come to find out just what led to that decision all those years ago.
I loved the characters of both Emer and Susannah and the way that Noelle Harrison depicted their relationships with their sisters. She shows that the bonds between both sets of sisters were strong and yet also conveys that at times there were strains. I don't want to give anything away of course so will just say that both Emer and Susannah experienced some incredibly difficult situations and had what must have been impossible decisions to make. I have to admit a sneaking preference for Susannah's story, particularly in the 1950s when she was at Harvard. As the author has said, the women at Harvard at the time were rather like islands themselves, surrounded by a sea of men. I particularly enjoyed the way that Susannah's relationship was depicted sensitively and so movingly.
The setting of the island was perfectly described too and was a wonderful backdrop to the story. As with many stories set on islands, although it is clearly a beautiful place, there is a sense of claustrophobia and being trapped, particularly for Susannah.
The Islands Girls is a gorgeous, beautifully written, compelling story of love, loss and hope. I was completely absorbed in the stories of Emer and Susannah and their sisters when reading and somewhat bereft to leave them behind. This is a story which really touched me and I will remember the characters for a long time. If I tell you that I have added it to my Top Reads list for 2020, you will know how much I loved it. Please buy it, you won't be disappointed!
This is the story of Emer and Susannah. Emer is a young Irish nurse who has very recently lost her sister and, desperate to try to move away from her memories, takes a job looking after elderly Susannah on the island of Vinalhaven, an island in the Atlantic off the coast of Maine. Susannah also lost a sister in tragic circumstances years before and despite having graduated from Harvard, came home to the island and has stayed there ever since. Through Susannah's story in the past and her sister Kate's letters which Emer finds hidden in a quilt, we come to find out just what led to that decision all those years ago.
I loved the characters of both Emer and Susannah and the way that Noelle Harrison depicted their relationships with their sisters. She shows that the bonds between both sets of sisters were strong and yet also conveys that at times there were strains. I don't want to give anything away of course so will just say that both Emer and Susannah experienced some incredibly difficult situations and had what must have been impossible decisions to make. I have to admit a sneaking preference for Susannah's story, particularly in the 1950s when she was at Harvard. As the author has said, the women at Harvard at the time were rather like islands themselves, surrounded by a sea of men. I particularly enjoyed the way that Susannah's relationship was depicted sensitively and so movingly.
The setting of the island was perfectly described too and was a wonderful backdrop to the story. As with many stories set on islands, although it is clearly a beautiful place, there is a sense of claustrophobia and being trapped, particularly for Susannah.
The Islands Girls is a gorgeous, beautifully written, compelling story of love, loss and hope. I was completely absorbed in the stories of Emer and Susannah and their sisters when reading and somewhat bereft to leave them behind. This is a story which really touched me and I will remember the characters for a long time. If I tell you that I have added it to my Top Reads list for 2020, you will know how much I loved it. Please buy it, you won't be disappointed!
May 9, 2020
Everything Noelle Harrison has ever written has hit me in the feels…hard. The Island Girls is no exception to that rule. In fact, this story is laden with love and loyalty but also with pain, loss, grief, and guilt. And every single emotion is so easy to related to it’s impossible to read this book without having your heart both broken and restored.
As the blurb describes, The Island Girls tells the parallel stories of two women who, more than a generation apart have their lives turned upside down by the loss of their dearly beloved sister. It’s a story about the things we do for love, the sacrifices we are willing to make for those who are dear to us, and the often high price we have to pay for loving with all our hearts.
There are many parallels between the Susannah and Emer’s story; the depth of the love for their sister being the main similarity, but not the only one. Caring for Susannah is both Emer’s attempt to redeem herself after she’s made what she considers an unforgivable mistake, and a form of refuge. Travelling to Vinalhaven is Emer’s attempt to get away from everything and everybody, including the man she loves, who remind her of how she’s failed Orla, her sister.
Susannah’s continued presence on Vinalhaven is a similar form of self-punishment. Her reasons for staying (as revealed very late in the book, so I won’t mention them) are no longer valid, but she’s sacrificed too much for too long and has given up on any hope of getting back all she lost.
Learning Susannah’s back story is Emer’s opportunity to find her way back to herself, to salvage her life and herself, if she’s willing to see, listen, and learn the lessons. The question whether or not Emer will be able to put herself back together is as tension-filled as the slow but relentless unfolding of Susannah’s history.
As always, Noelle Harrison has created a glorious novel. Her sentences evoke images and emotions. She paints vivid pictures with her words, be it of the landscape the story takes place in or the emotions motivating the characters. It is impossible not to get taken in by Emer and Susannah. Their heartbreak, their loyalty, and even their stubborn refusal to put reality ahead of their feelings, all bleed off the page, into the reader. It left me wanting to slap both women almost as much as I wanted to hug them and tell them ‘it’ wasn’t their fault.
Ultimately this is a story about love, about loyalty, and about learning to live with the fact that sometimes love and loyalty aren’t enough to combat the very real horrors of life. The Island Girls is a heart-breaking yet glorious and ultimately uplifting story that will stay with me for some time to come. This is not the first time I whole-heartedly recommend a story by Noelle Harrison, and I’ve got a feeling it won’t be the last either.
As the blurb describes, The Island Girls tells the parallel stories of two women who, more than a generation apart have their lives turned upside down by the loss of their dearly beloved sister. It’s a story about the things we do for love, the sacrifices we are willing to make for those who are dear to us, and the often high price we have to pay for loving with all our hearts.
There are many parallels between the Susannah and Emer’s story; the depth of the love for their sister being the main similarity, but not the only one. Caring for Susannah is both Emer’s attempt to redeem herself after she’s made what she considers an unforgivable mistake, and a form of refuge. Travelling to Vinalhaven is Emer’s attempt to get away from everything and everybody, including the man she loves, who remind her of how she’s failed Orla, her sister.
Susannah’s continued presence on Vinalhaven is a similar form of self-punishment. Her reasons for staying (as revealed very late in the book, so I won’t mention them) are no longer valid, but she’s sacrificed too much for too long and has given up on any hope of getting back all she lost.
Learning Susannah’s back story is Emer’s opportunity to find her way back to herself, to salvage her life and herself, if she’s willing to see, listen, and learn the lessons. The question whether or not Emer will be able to put herself back together is as tension-filled as the slow but relentless unfolding of Susannah’s history.
As always, Noelle Harrison has created a glorious novel. Her sentences evoke images and emotions. She paints vivid pictures with her words, be it of the landscape the story takes place in or the emotions motivating the characters. It is impossible not to get taken in by Emer and Susannah. Their heartbreak, their loyalty, and even their stubborn refusal to put reality ahead of their feelings, all bleed off the page, into the reader. It left me wanting to slap both women almost as much as I wanted to hug them and tell them ‘it’ wasn’t their fault.
Ultimately this is a story about love, about loyalty, and about learning to live with the fact that sometimes love and loyalty aren’t enough to combat the very real horrors of life. The Island Girls is a heart-breaking yet glorious and ultimately uplifting story that will stay with me for some time to come. This is not the first time I whole-heartedly recommend a story by Noelle Harrison, and I’ve got a feeling it won’t be the last either.
March 28, 2020
Sister's
The Island Girls is a story of sisters and their love for each other. It is about a beautiful island off the coast of Maine. It is about cancer and the hurt it can cause. It is about relationships and the complications that come with them.
Emer and her sister Ora both from Ireland are close with each other, especially after the death of their mother from Cancer. When Ora gets cancer Emer, a nurse, is there for her sister, however, on the night Ora dies Emer was with her boyfriend Lars and she is haunted by that knowledge. She should have been with her sister. This causes Emer to take a job on an island off the coast of Maine to take care of Suzanne who is dying with pancreatic cancer.
Emer finds letters hidden in a quilt from Suzanne's sister Kate and reads them. She also helps Suzanne type up letters for her nieces that she raised when her sister died when the girls were very young. The letters tell a story of two sisters that were close. Kate marries Mathew who is an abusive husband. Suzanne has never liked Mathew and leaves the island for college. Suzanne meets Eva and has a relationship with Eva while at college. The marriage to Mathew and Suzanne and Eva's relationship strains the ties between the two sisters. When Suzanne gets a letter from Kate saying she is leaving Mathew and needs her help Suzanne travels to the island. When Suzanne gets there the two girls are hiding under the bed, Kate is dead in the front yard and her mother is in her room. What happened that night Suzanne keeps a secret and never tells anyone.
When Emer comes to work for Suzanne she meets Henry who takes her on tours of the beautiful scenic spots on the island. One night when they go for a walk to an isolated spot Henry isn't so nice. Suzanne rescues her and secrets are revealed. Emer and Suzanne both bare their hearts and as Suzanne's girls gather around her Emer travels to New York to be with Lars.
It was a good story, I loved the descriptions of the beautiful places on the Island. The love between both sets of sisters. It was sad at times, but a good story all the same. I thought it was well written, the content was sometimes hard to read, but it was life and life is what it is not always what we want. People are all different and that is what makes each of us so unique.
If you are looking for a good story you might want to consider this book. I did enjoy reading it.
Thanks to Noelle Harrison, Bookouture, and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy of the book for an honest review.
The Island Girls is a story of sisters and their love for each other. It is about a beautiful island off the coast of Maine. It is about cancer and the hurt it can cause. It is about relationships and the complications that come with them.
Emer and her sister Ora both from Ireland are close with each other, especially after the death of their mother from Cancer. When Ora gets cancer Emer, a nurse, is there for her sister, however, on the night Ora dies Emer was with her boyfriend Lars and she is haunted by that knowledge. She should have been with her sister. This causes Emer to take a job on an island off the coast of Maine to take care of Suzanne who is dying with pancreatic cancer.
Emer finds letters hidden in a quilt from Suzanne's sister Kate and reads them. She also helps Suzanne type up letters for her nieces that she raised when her sister died when the girls were very young. The letters tell a story of two sisters that were close. Kate marries Mathew who is an abusive husband. Suzanne has never liked Mathew and leaves the island for college. Suzanne meets Eva and has a relationship with Eva while at college. The marriage to Mathew and Suzanne and Eva's relationship strains the ties between the two sisters. When Suzanne gets a letter from Kate saying she is leaving Mathew and needs her help Suzanne travels to the island. When Suzanne gets there the two girls are hiding under the bed, Kate is dead in the front yard and her mother is in her room. What happened that night Suzanne keeps a secret and never tells anyone.
When Emer comes to work for Suzanne she meets Henry who takes her on tours of the beautiful scenic spots on the island. One night when they go for a walk to an isolated spot Henry isn't so nice. Suzanne rescues her and secrets are revealed. Emer and Suzanne both bare their hearts and as Suzanne's girls gather around her Emer travels to New York to be with Lars.
It was a good story, I loved the descriptions of the beautiful places on the Island. The love between both sets of sisters. It was sad at times, but a good story all the same. I thought it was well written, the content was sometimes hard to read, but it was life and life is what it is not always what we want. People are all different and that is what makes each of us so unique.
If you are looking for a good story you might want to consider this book. I did enjoy reading it.
Thanks to Noelle Harrison, Bookouture, and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy of the book for an honest review.
Read
April 26, 2020I love discovering new authors and particularly those authors, who are new to me and who write historical fiction. I read the synopsis for 'The Island Girls' and it certainly looked like the kind of read I would enjoy. I must be psychic because that's exactly what happened- I thoroughly enjoyed reading 'The Island Girls' but more about that in a bit.
I must be honest and say that it took me a little while to get into this book, which has more to do with the fact that I was tired when I started to read and cannot be taken as a criticism of the author. However, once I got into the story itself, that was it I was away and I found it extremely difficult to put the book to one side for any length of time. I became intrigued by the story of Emer and Susannah and I had to keep reading to find out just what the truth actually was. This wasn't a book that I could read in one burst but it was a book that I was able to binge read over the space of a few days. Once I started to read that I was it, I completely immersed myself into the story and I found myself going through all kinds of different and contrasting emotions. On occasion, I found that I was getting myself upset, getting myself angry and occasionally feeling very frustrated with the actions of particular characters.
In my opinion, 'The Island Girls' is well written. This may be the first of Noelle's books that I have had the pleasure of reading but it certainly won't be the last. I love the way in which she crafted a beautiful and emotional story, which brought two women together who wouldn't normally have met otherwise. Both women have had their problems over the years but have displayed great grit and determination. Noelle uses such vivid and realistic descriptions that I got a real sense of life on the island and I got a real feel for the characters. I did feel as though I was part of the story myself and that's down to Noelle's great storytelling.
In short, I enjoyed 'The Island Girls' and I would recommend it to other readers. It is certainly an emotional and interesting read. I will be reading more of Noelle's work in the future. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 4* out of 5*.
I must be honest and say that it took me a little while to get into this book, which has more to do with the fact that I was tired when I started to read and cannot be taken as a criticism of the author. However, once I got into the story itself, that was it I was away and I found it extremely difficult to put the book to one side for any length of time. I became intrigued by the story of Emer and Susannah and I had to keep reading to find out just what the truth actually was. This wasn't a book that I could read in one burst but it was a book that I was able to binge read over the space of a few days. Once I started to read that I was it, I completely immersed myself into the story and I found myself going through all kinds of different and contrasting emotions. On occasion, I found that I was getting myself upset, getting myself angry and occasionally feeling very frustrated with the actions of particular characters.
In my opinion, 'The Island Girls' is well written. This may be the first of Noelle's books that I have had the pleasure of reading but it certainly won't be the last. I love the way in which she crafted a beautiful and emotional story, which brought two women together who wouldn't normally have met otherwise. Both women have had their problems over the years but have displayed great grit and determination. Noelle uses such vivid and realistic descriptions that I got a real sense of life on the island and I got a real feel for the characters. I did feel as though I was part of the story myself and that's down to Noelle's great storytelling.
In short, I enjoyed 'The Island Girls' and I would recommend it to other readers. It is certainly an emotional and interesting read. I will be reading more of Noelle's work in the future. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 4* out of 5*.
May 25, 2020
Susannah and Kate grow up on a small island. Susannah has a passion for learning and is determined to go to college whereas Kate is happy with a traditional life as a wife and mother, never leaving the island.
In the present day, Emer is mourning the loss of her sister Orla and takes a job caring for elderly Susannah as she approaches the end of her life.
The Island GIrls is a deeply moving story of love and sacrifice. I felt so frustrated, angry even, at Susannah's mother and sister for not supporting her more or listening to her viewpoint. Their blinkered perspective ruins Susannah's happiness. As a parent and sister myself, I can't imagine trying to hold them back despite how scary the world may seem.
I was completely swept up in the lives of the characters and the use of letters and the dual timeline narrative to show us the past and present is effective in making both time periods come to life. I also felt frustration with Emer for wallowing in her grief and guilt, throwing away a chance at happiness. It is always a sign of a good book when it inspires such an emotional response!
Some of the topics raisied by the book are quite hard hitting including domestic abuse. But the strength of female solidarity shines through and the subordination of women by a patriarchal society is challenged by individuals. It is incredible to think that society viewed women in that way as recently as the 1950s but then Emer in the modern day is still manipulated by a man.
There are twists in the book that I did not expect and made Susannah's sacrifice even more poignant at the end. I felt that the ending was a little abrupt although all of the different threads were concluded.
The Island Girls is beautifull written and it is easy to get lost in the world of Susannah and Emer, feeling their pain but also sharing their hopes.
In the present day, Emer is mourning the loss of her sister Orla and takes a job caring for elderly Susannah as she approaches the end of her life.
The Island GIrls is a deeply moving story of love and sacrifice. I felt so frustrated, angry even, at Susannah's mother and sister for not supporting her more or listening to her viewpoint. Their blinkered perspective ruins Susannah's happiness. As a parent and sister myself, I can't imagine trying to hold them back despite how scary the world may seem.
I was completely swept up in the lives of the characters and the use of letters and the dual timeline narrative to show us the past and present is effective in making both time periods come to life. I also felt frustration with Emer for wallowing in her grief and guilt, throwing away a chance at happiness. It is always a sign of a good book when it inspires such an emotional response!
Some of the topics raisied by the book are quite hard hitting including domestic abuse. But the strength of female solidarity shines through and the subordination of women by a patriarchal society is challenged by individuals. It is incredible to think that society viewed women in that way as recently as the 1950s but then Emer in the modern day is still manipulated by a man.
There are twists in the book that I did not expect and made Susannah's sacrifice even more poignant at the end. I felt that the ending was a little abrupt although all of the different threads were concluded.
The Island Girls is beautifull written and it is easy to get lost in the world of Susannah and Emer, feeling their pain but also sharing their hopes.
April 23, 2020
So much love for this book!! I adored the story of Emer and the prickly Susannah, as they both face up to extremely difficult pasts and find ways of moving forward.
Emer is on a boat and running away. Grieving for her sister Orla, she wants to right some wrongs and needs to do that away from memories of the past. So she gets a job nursing the terminally ill Susannah, a stubborn old woman who is convinced she doesn't need any help and resents the intrusion of this new person in her life. Emer has time to explore the local surroundings with her nursing duties, and makes an impression on some of the locals immediately.
And then we have the story of Susannah, and we look back on her childhood in the 1950's as she grows up with her sister Kate, who is the apple of her mothers eye. Whatever Susannah does is never good enough, and when she wants to take a different path that what her mother, and society, expects then she's even more of a black sheep of the family. It was so fascinating to see Susannah and her struggles to live her own life. Imagine being discouraged from wanting to better yourself and be more than just a housewife and mother!
The more time Susannah and Emer spend together then the more the similarities about their pasts and their relationships with their sisters are explored and I loved the different storylines as they both played out. The stories take quite a dark twist at times and I enjoyed the suspense and drama that added to the mix!
It's a story about the bond between sisters, about grief, about regret, not following the path others plan for you and I highly recommend it!
Emer is on a boat and running away. Grieving for her sister Orla, she wants to right some wrongs and needs to do that away from memories of the past. So she gets a job nursing the terminally ill Susannah, a stubborn old woman who is convinced she doesn't need any help and resents the intrusion of this new person in her life. Emer has time to explore the local surroundings with her nursing duties, and makes an impression on some of the locals immediately.
And then we have the story of Susannah, and we look back on her childhood in the 1950's as she grows up with her sister Kate, who is the apple of her mothers eye. Whatever Susannah does is never good enough, and when she wants to take a different path that what her mother, and society, expects then she's even more of a black sheep of the family. It was so fascinating to see Susannah and her struggles to live her own life. Imagine being discouraged from wanting to better yourself and be more than just a housewife and mother!
The more time Susannah and Emer spend together then the more the similarities about their pasts and their relationships with their sisters are explored and I loved the different storylines as they both played out. The stories take quite a dark twist at times and I enjoyed the suspense and drama that added to the mix!
It's a story about the bond between sisters, about grief, about regret, not following the path others plan for you and I highly recommend it!
February 23, 2020
“The Island Girls” by Noelle Harrison set on Vinalhaven Island, Maine is a compelling story about the love between sisters. First off, what struck me most was author Noelle’s descriptions of Vinalhaven Island and how much it makes me want to visit the island one day. She is very descriptive of the island and various places on the island.
Her story set in two different time periods between two sets of sisters Susannah & Kate and Emer & Orla shows the bond of sisterly love and how the bonds of sisterhood never fade despite time and distance. Both Susannah and Kate lost their sisters at an early age and they meet at the end of Susannah’s life in 2011. Susannah and Kate’s story unravels as she dictates to Emer the letters Kate sent to Susannah while she was away at Harvard at the end of her life as she battles pancreatic cancer.
The story flowed well and despite a few typos in the advanced copy I received it was one that was hard to put down from beginning to end. Noelle Harrison does not disappoint in this story, the first of what I’m guessing many I will read by this author.
I did receive an advanced copy of the book however all opinions expressed are solely my own and not influenced by receiving the complimentary edition.
Her story set in two different time periods between two sets of sisters Susannah & Kate and Emer & Orla shows the bond of sisterly love and how the bonds of sisterhood never fade despite time and distance. Both Susannah and Kate lost their sisters at an early age and they meet at the end of Susannah’s life in 2011. Susannah and Kate’s story unravels as she dictates to Emer the letters Kate sent to Susannah while she was away at Harvard at the end of her life as she battles pancreatic cancer.
The story flowed well and despite a few typos in the advanced copy I received it was one that was hard to put down from beginning to end. Noelle Harrison does not disappoint in this story, the first of what I’m guessing many I will read by this author.
I did receive an advanced copy of the book however all opinions expressed are solely my own and not influenced by receiving the complimentary edition.
May 11, 2020
I received this book through NetGalley and am voluntarily reviewing it. This book has great potential, but didn't quite suck me in like other books do. The characters were kind of flat. However, the story line was pretty interesting.
Susannah is an elderly woman who lives on an isolated island of Vinalhaven. Although Susannah is adamant that she does not need help, Emer, an Irish nurse, arrives to take care of her as a live-in care-giver, hired by Susannah's niece. Susannah does not want her there. That much is clear. As Emer does her nurse duties, she finds some old letters that are hidden inside Susannah's blanket. She can't contain her curiosity so she reads them and discovers that Susannah and Emer have some things in common.
This is where the story takes a turn. We find out about Susannah's sister Kate, who died in a tragic way. The people on the island appear secretive and hostile towards Susannah. Emer is able to get an idea of why by picking up bits and pieces here and there.
This story is about challenges and determination. Trying to be strong in a world that keeps trying to bring you down. This books moves between the present and the past. I recommend it.
Susannah is an elderly woman who lives on an isolated island of Vinalhaven. Although Susannah is adamant that she does not need help, Emer, an Irish nurse, arrives to take care of her as a live-in care-giver, hired by Susannah's niece. Susannah does not want her there. That much is clear. As Emer does her nurse duties, she finds some old letters that are hidden inside Susannah's blanket. She can't contain her curiosity so she reads them and discovers that Susannah and Emer have some things in common.
This is where the story takes a turn. We find out about Susannah's sister Kate, who died in a tragic way. The people on the island appear secretive and hostile towards Susannah. Emer is able to get an idea of why by picking up bits and pieces here and there.
This story is about challenges and determination. Trying to be strong in a world that keeps trying to bring you down. This books moves between the present and the past. I recommend it.
March 18, 2020
The story introduces us to Emer, a nurse who is unable to cope with the death of her sister and runs away to Vinalhaven Island to nurse a stranger, the terminally ill Susannah. It starts predictably enough with Susannah not happy with her niece hiring a nurse to look after her and giving Emer a hard time, but it soon changes into something much more interesting. The bonds of sisterhood are explored as the story unfolds of Susannah and her sister Kate, mirrored by Emer and her sister Orla. The constraints placed on women in the 60s is explored as Susannah craves education and a life beyond marriage and babies. The storyline was well-paced and well thought out and I enjoyed the story. However, I did struggle a bit with the male characters in the story as they were a little one dimensional.
This was my first book from this author, and I intend to read more.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review
#NetGalley #TheIslandGirls #Bookouture
This was my first book from this author, and I intend to read more.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review
#NetGalley #TheIslandGirls #Bookouture
May 7, 2020
An ambitious, compelling new novel from Noelle Harrison, author of The Gravity of Love. Who doesn't love a story about sisters?! This one has two sets of them, Susannah and Kate, brought up on the rocky, remote island of Vinalhaven, off the Maine coast, and modern Irish girls Emer and Orla. Emer and Susannah are brought together when Emer comes to the island to nurse Susannah through her final illness.Divided by time, circumstance and geography, all four sisters share an island heritage, which proves to be something of a double-edged sword. Harrison is a master of emotion, taking the reader on a rollercoaster ride of love, loss and grief. The sense of place and the locations are stunning; the pumpkin colours of Fall on the island are contrasted with the 1950s/60s vibe on the Harvard campus. This book has lots to say about the love between sisters, the changes and challenges facing women both past and present, and, in timely fashion, about isolation and how we can sometimes self-isolate to protect ourselves in all sorts of ways.
May 17, 2020
This book intertwines the stories of Emer (and her late sister Orla) and Susannah (and her late sister Kate). Emer is hired to care for Susannah through her final days. At first, Susannah is resistant but soon finds she has a lot in common with her young nurse and they become friendly.
This wasn't a book that made a deep impact on me. There were some things that I did not like. There is an entire page remembering Kate but she is called Orla. The frequent back and forth between the two sets of characters and time periods was a bit confusing. There are several references to the fact that Susannah favors one of her nieces over the other. However, it was never clearly revealed why; you are just left to wonder. I need closure! I can't seem to determine a central "theme" or "message" from this book. It wasn't until about the middle of the book that I really found myself interested in the story. The mystery of Kate is finally revealed but there were so many other questions left unanswered. Maybe there will be a follow up centering around Lynsey.
This wasn't a book that made a deep impact on me. There were some things that I did not like. There is an entire page remembering Kate but she is called Orla. The frequent back and forth between the two sets of characters and time periods was a bit confusing. There are several references to the fact that Susannah favors one of her nieces over the other. However, it was never clearly revealed why; you are just left to wonder. I need closure! I can't seem to determine a central "theme" or "message" from this book. It wasn't until about the middle of the book that I really found myself interested in the story. The mystery of Kate is finally revealed but there were so many other questions left unanswered. Maybe there will be a follow up centering around Lynsey.
April 23, 2023
If I was basing my rating just on readability, I would've given this a 4, but I gave it less because the story was so enraging to me, that that almost took over. Maybe that's the sign of a good book, because it really was a page turner from the 2nd half on. It was just so mind-blowing how the women in this story functioned. The fact that you had a mother who allowed her daughter to marry a man who treated her horribly, who turns out to be a rapist (whom she defends when he rapes her other daughter!), and a daughter who still married him knowing all these things, it's just unfathomable. Then the other daughter leaves them both in the hands of this rapist and goes off to find happiness, only to give it all up to come back when it all goes to hell. And of top of all that, the narrator / main character also puts herself into compromising positions with a man she barely knows, and was lucky to escape without something worse happening. There were just too many stupid women in this book for me to take it seriously, but it certainly was infuriating.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 4, 2020
After the death of her sister to cancer Emer feels that she needs to leave Boston and takes a job nursing an old lady, Susannah, on the remote island of Vinalhaven. Susannah grew up on Vinalhaven and as a child couldn't wait to leave, her sister Kate was the opposite and couldn't wait to marry Matthew her childhood sweetheart, but Susannah hated Matthew and would she be proved right to do so? Although Susannah didn't want Emer there in the first place she gradually thaws and after Emer finds some hidden letters that Susannah wrote to Kate she starts to piece the past together, can Susannah's story finally be laid to rest or are there people on the island who want to prevent that happening!
A good story working well in the two timelines, there are some good characters and the story has enough intrigue to keep you attention
A good story working well in the two timelines, there are some good characters and the story has enough intrigue to keep you attention
April 24, 2020
An interesting location for this historical dual timeline novel and one that is skilfully evoked. When Emer's and Susanna's lives intertwine, we are led through Emer's discovery of some letters secretly sewn into a quilt into a discovery that will shock.
I enjoyed both stories but there were times when I felt the narrative losing pace a little. It soon picked up, however, and then I was gripped once again.
This story gives the readers an insight into island life over a period of decades and the close-knit community that inhabits it. It also explores many themes that are important today, the rights of women, marriage, sexuality, and does it in a sensitive manner.
This is a book with a difference and as such the characters and location will stay with you.
I enjoyed both stories but there were times when I felt the narrative losing pace a little. It soon picked up, however, and then I was gripped once again.
This story gives the readers an insight into island life over a period of decades and the close-knit community that inhabits it. It also explores many themes that are important today, the rights of women, marriage, sexuality, and does it in a sensitive manner.
This is a book with a difference and as such the characters and location will stay with you.
April 27, 2020
Emotionally stirring and evocative, sums up this beautiful Historical Fiction read by Noelle Harrison.
Sisters; how to live with them, without them, and choices made that can't be undone. Dying too soon and loving while you can features strongly in this emotional story. While many aspects of healthy love is portrayed, there is also domestic abuse and the unhealthy love it Carries.
Although sometimes dark and heavy, this poignant read may be uncomfortable for many readers, cancer and its aftermath features strongly.
3⭐
Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture and the author Ms. Noelle Harrison for the opportunity to read this Advanced Readers Copy of "Island Girls". The opinions expressed in this review are mine alone.
Sisters; how to live with them, without them, and choices made that can't be undone. Dying too soon and loving while you can features strongly in this emotional story. While many aspects of healthy love is portrayed, there is also domestic abuse and the unhealthy love it Carries.
Although sometimes dark and heavy, this poignant read may be uncomfortable for many readers, cancer and its aftermath features strongly.
3⭐
Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture and the author Ms. Noelle Harrison for the opportunity to read this Advanced Readers Copy of "Island Girls". The opinions expressed in this review are mine alone.
May 3, 2020
Emer was devastated by the death of her sister & guilt-ridden that she was not there for her final moments. In an attempt to come to terms with it she leaves her nurses position in a busy hospital to nurse Susannah on Vinalhaven, an island off the Atlantic coast. Susannah has been quite firm with her two nieces that she neither wants nor needs a nurse so things are not easy for Emer. When she finds old letters sewn into a quilt she sees a different side to Susannah.
Told in the present & in the past detailing Susannah's life this was a beautifully evocative story. It captured the atmosphere of the island & the characters were vividly written. I really enjoyed this book. Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book.
Told in the present & in the past detailing Susannah's life this was a beautifully evocative story. It captured the atmosphere of the island & the characters were vividly written. I really enjoyed this book. Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book.
April 22, 2020
Emer and Susannah both bear a heavy burden of guilt over the deaths of their sisters. This is primarily Susannah's story- moving between the 1960s and the present. She's dying of cancer and Emer has come to the island where she lives to serve as her nurse. Emer is mourning her sister Orla but Susannah's situation is so much worse. She knew there was a problem with Kate's husband. Now, all these years later, secrets are divulged because Emer found their letters and she's asking questions. There aren't many surprises here but the story is well told and the characters good. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.
April 26, 2020
A multi-generational story about the bonds of sisterhood and the lengths people will go to protect family, this book had me in tears by the end. Susannah was a fascinating character, and seeing the world through her eyes was educational. In the flashback chapters to the 50s and 60s, she was idealistic and ready to experience new things. She reminded me of Baby from “Dirty Dancing.” I also liked how Emer and Susannah ultimately saw aspects of each other that they could relate to despite their rocky start. Highly recommended. For more thoughts, please visit my blog at Fireflies and Free Kicks Fiction Reviews. Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for a digital ARC of this book.
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