The Galvin Girls: A Novel

The author, Emily Schmidt, was kind enough to provide a free electronic arc copy of her novel to me in exchange for an honest review. I like to read things outside of my comfort zone from time to time and this fell in that arena for me. I am not a huge reader of historical fiction but I do enjoy it from time to time, especially when it is done well. Also, being a first generation immigrant from Russia myself, the story had a special connection for me and I was excited to get a chance to read about the Galvin sisters and their individual experiences coming to this country.

The story centers on five Galvin sisters, as they leave their beloved Ireland and try to make lives for themselves in America. I initially liked the book for being on the short side because I thought it would be a quick read but as I finished it, I craved for more. That definitely goes to show how much I definitely enjoyed this book and will be reading future works by this author. The plot itself is a dear one to me and I relate immensely to it, so I loved every second of it. Also, the photographs in the middle of the book of the family and the Galvin sisters themselves added a special touch and made them even more real in my mind. I loved putting faces to the girls in the book.

Further on, the characterization was great. Even though I wanted the book to be longer so I could get to know the individual Galvin sisters even more, we were given an overall good look into who they are, especially for how long the book was. I really hope there will be more books about the Galvin sisters in the future because I would read them all.

Thirdly, the writing style was good, in my opinion. It was a little more sophisticated than I am used to and the Irish terminology and way of conversation took a little getting used to but once I got used to it, the book went by in a blur. It is really inspiring that the author was able to write such a heartfelt and well thought-out book and I was able to feel genuine love for these sisters and was rooting for them all the way through.

All in all, this book was a fantastic historical fiction novel, albeit a little too short for me. I would recommend it to lovers of historical fiction and even those who don't usually read it because it definitely moved me and I can't wait to see more. Bravo!