Title: Unspeakable
Author: Caroline Pignat
Series: Standalone
Genre: YA Historical
Format: Paperback, 288 pages
Release Date: May 6th 2014
Publisher: Razorbill Canada
Source: ARC received from Publisher for Blog Tour in exchange for an honest review

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On her first voyage as a stewardess aboard the Empress of Ireland, Ellie is drawn to the solitary fire stoker who stands by the ship’s rail late at night, often writing in a journal.

Jim. Ellie finds it hard to think of his name now. After their wonderful time in Quebec City, that awful night happened. The screams, the bodies, the frigid waters … she tries hard to tell herself that he survived, but it’s hard to believe when so many didn’t. So when Wyatt Steele, journalist at The New York Times asks her for her story, Ellie refuses. But when he shows her Jim’s journal, she jumps at the chance to be able to read it herself, to find some trace of the man she had fallen in love with, or perhaps a clue to what happened to him. There’s only one catch: she will have to tell her story to Steele and he’ll “pay” her by giving her the journal, one page at a time.


Unspeakable is one of those books that stays with you even after you finish the last sentence.  This is not only the story of one girl who's life is turned upside down, but it is also the story of a boat load of people that had to witness and survive a horrible tragedy. And I think that duality of perspective was what made me fall in love with this story.

The way this story pans out is very much like the titanic and the way the movie portrays the story of Jack and Rose. A reporter wants to report on the tragedy and therefore Ellie tells him her story of what happened. Except in this version Ellie, at first, does not want to tell her side of the story, but she is baited by excerpts from her lost loves diary, and so she begins to spill the beans.

What I think I enjoyed the most about this story was the mystery of what happened to Jim, and if Ellie would ever find out his story, and what he was hiding from her. And I loved that mystery so much that it kept me reading until the very end. I will say that I was a little disappointed with the reveal at the end, but I was expecting A LOT.

The only issue I had was that the love story seemed to be very sudden and uncalled for. I really wish that we could have seen more of Ellie and Jim and how they got to know each other and how they fell in love. Because when I read their story I never really got a chance to see why they liked each other so much. I wanted to fall in love along with them them, not show up half way through.

Overall I really enjoyed this book, its subject matter was extremely interesting as was its mystery. The love story could have been stronger in my opinion but it did not take away from my overall enjoyment of the book. The writing was phenomenal and I cannot wait to read more from Caroline Pignat in the future!