Hazel Gaynor's "The Lighthouse Keeper's Daughter"

              

        I love books about the ocean, lighthouses, history and character development so 

this book was amazing. It is about a young woman who gets pregnant in the 1930s by a

soldier celebrating his free night before being stationed out of Ireland. Her father is 

running for office so he does not want their family name marred by his  daughter's  

mistake. She is put on a ship with a friend of her mother's to stay with a distant cousin

who moved to  America when she was young.  It also goes into the 1800's and tells the 

story of a brother  and sister and a young woman who helps  her family take care of  a 

lighthouse on an island near Scotland. There are so many ways all of these 

characters intertwine throughout the story and the character development  is amazing.

I love how Matilda, who is the one who stays in America with her cousin, Harriett 

become close. Harriett is very standoffish at first but becomes close to Matilda because

she is alone, young and pregnant with no close family to be there for her.  It is one of

those page turning books that make you want to finish it at once but then you are sad

you did. I really love historical novels and this book was all about strong women in a

time right before war and how they took on men's jobs. I really love how the love of 

the sea and lighthouse keeping was ingrained in so many generations of women's

lives. This is definitely a book to pick up and read during a nice cozy night by the 

fire this fall.