Word Out 2014

Unspeakable By Caroline Pignat

Reviewed by Stephanie (Richview YAG)

At first, I thought this book would be a knockoff Titanic love story- nothing against Titanic, but some originality is always appreciated. However, I can absolutely not stress enough how different this book was. The book follows Ellen, a brave young girl who is sent to be a stewardess on the Empress of Ireland- the Titanic’s sister ship if you will. Ellen’s family and the life she left behind in Liverpool is quite complicated- her mother is dead, she lives with her Aunt Geraldine and her father has disowned her for reasons discovered later on in the novel.  Ellen eventually settles in to life as a stewardess until tragedy strikes; the Empress collides with another ship and a disaster similar to the Titanic ensues. One of Ellen’s only friends on the voyage, Meg, performs a selfless act, and Ellen survives with immeasurable guilt. Not only was Meg lost, but Jim, a mysterious young man with secrets of his own whom Ellen has feelings for, has not been found. With a heavy heart, she returns to England, where she is interviewed for the New York Times by a hounding reporter who has dirty tactics. If Ellen will tell her tragic story, he will read her a journal he recovered that belonged to Jim, one page at a time.

This amazing thought provoking novel by Caroline Pignat, follows Ellen’s new “voyage” of life as she experiences guilt, sadness, anger and frustration but ultimately happiness when she takes control, discovers herself, and realizes why she was meant to not only survive but thrive.