Across A Broken Shore
A Winter 2020 Junior Library Guild Selection.
The last thing eighteen-year-old Wilhelmina “Willa” MacCarthy wants is to be a nun. It’s 1936, and as the only daughter amongst four sons, her Irish–Catholic family is counting on her to take her vows—but Willa’s found another calling. Each day she sneaks away to help Doctor Katherine Winston in her medical clinic in San Francisco’s Richmond District.
Keeping secrets from her family only becomes more complicated when Willa agrees to help the doctor at a field hospital near the new bridge being built over the Golden Gate. Willa thinks she can handle her new chaotic life, but as she draws closer to a dashing young ironworker and risks grow at the bridge, she discovers that hiding from what she truly wants may be her biggest lie of all.
Title: Across A Broken Shore
Author: Amy Trueblood
Genres: Science Fiction
Paperback, 352 pages
Publishing Date: November 5th, 2019
Publishing House: North Star Editions
ISBN-10: 1635830427
ISBN-13: 978-1635830422
Edition Language: English
My Review
This historical fiction novel is one to cozy up with. It envelops the reader with warmth and home feels in a slow and savory way. Set in 1936 San Francisco, it tells the story of an 18-year-old young lady that wishes nothing more than to become a physician and do well in her community. At a time when few women are practicing medicine, it is an inconceivable notion by outside forces.
(UCSF Medical School buildings)
Wilhelmina “Willa” MacCarthy lives with her brothers and parents above the bar that her family runs. The MacCarthys, Irish, have immigrated to the area like so many others and are fortunate to have an apartment and work at a time when so many immigrants are fairing very badly financially.
Each one of the siblings has a path for the future somewhat laid out for them but there's enough wiggle room for the boys. Willa, on the other hand, has been destined by her strongly devout catholic parents to go to the convent and become a nun. This is a very big deal to all of them, as Willa is their a gift to the church.
Cara is Willa's best friend, and she is the only one that knows how Willa really feels about going to the convent. Though it is a very noble and honorable duty, it is not what Willa feels in her heart. Secretly, she has been getting medical texts from the library through her friend and which she hides under her floorboards because her parents would never allow the notion of it. Willa is fascinated by everything she learns and as it turns out, she may not be the only one who wishes for a different future than their parents.
Through happenstance, an accident at the bar involves one of Willa's brothers and she has to take him to the nearest doctor. This is where Willa meets Doctor Katherine Winston who has just taken over a local practice. The two of them hit it off very quickly. Dr. Winston recognizes that Willa has a gift for medical care and offers her to come along and assist her with patients.
Torn between her family's wishes and her desires, she is lying to her family every day to make it to the practice and help assist the sick. Soon, Dr. Winston is taking her along to the medical station by the Golden Gate Bridge construction site to help with more serious injuries. A job that garners her respect and confirms her abilities.
The Golden Gate Bridge in its build boasts a myriad of dangers to the workers. Due to the bad economy at the time, many families are in need, devoid of work and income, especially the immigrated ones seeking to live the dream they've come for. Every day, men stand by he fences waiting to be picked to work at the bridge and those working on the bridge could lose their job in an instant. The conditions are very unstable and the workers' dispensable ratio is already calculated into the cost of the construction by the financiers. Around that same area, homeless have sought out shelter in tents till better times. This plays a great part in the novel and Willa's determination. But her path is neither given or earned unless more obstacles have overcome.
(The Golden Gate Bridge construction began in 1933)
Willa's family carries a heavy burden and it is laid upon her shoulders to bear. This puts her into an impossible wedge only a sacrifice can free. That, however, could become detrimental and break her family apart and shatter every bit of hope she has left.
***
This is the second novel I read by Amy Trueblood, Nothing But Sky being the other. Both novels tell the story of a young female heroine coming of age and creating a path of her own. I enjoyed both of those novels though they are only similar in that they tell of American icons as part of the novel either forgotten or taken for granted. Both books hone in on a particular period/theme not many (if any) young adult novels have been written about and become an indispensable part of the plot.
Across a Broken Shore has been written with heart and sensibility. The characters are vulnerable and portrayed at face value. The story reads inspirational and tender creating all the feels about family ties, love and determination. It actually had me well up at a point and that sais a lot.
I do enjoy a varied mix of genres and books, historical fiction being part of it. This mixes up the pace and themes for each book I pick up, keeping it interesting. There are times I seek action and there are times I like to read something like this book, sweet and heartfelt. The reason I mention this is because the book is so full of "goodness", it could potentially not be the right one for someone who wants a loud book full of action. For the time of 1936 and a story of an Irish / Catholic immigrant family, I think the novel and characters are on par. There is a lot of angst, firsts and talking about faith in the novel.
With that, for me, a little goodness every now and then is ok to balance all else ;)
Happy Reading!
Many Thanks to the publisher. I received a digital copy of this novel from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.
