The Next Ship Home

A Novel of Ellis Island

By: Heather Webb

Narrated by: Kathryn Markey

Ellis Island, 1902: Two women band together to hold America to its promise: "Give me your tired, your poor...."

Ellis Island, 1902. Francesca arrives on the shores of America, her sights set on a better life than the one she left in Italy. That same day, aspiring linguist Alma reports to her first day of work at the immigrant processing center. Ellis, though, is not the refuge it first appears thanks to President Roosevelt's attempts to deter crime. Francesca and Alma will have to rely on each other to escape its corruption and claim the American dreams they were promised.

A thoughtful historical inspired by true events, this novel probes America's history of prejudice and exclusion - when entry at Ellis Island promised a better life but often delivered something drastically different, immigrants needed strength, resilience, and friendship to fight for their futures.

©2022 Heather Webb (P)2022 Recorded Books

A story of friendship, love and belief that we all deserve to be who we are and love who we want

The internal struggles of the characters, their bravery for what they believed in, the fierceness of their friendships and love for one another- all of this and more make this a story all should read.

Wonderful Story!

Enjoyed every minute! So much history with fantastic narration! The description of Ellis Island was so amazing you could imagine you were there

Poignant memoir for ALL of WE immigrants!

beautifully portrayed story of how we all want the same basic happiness & needs in our lives.

Fully human and timely immigrant story of the heart

This book is so timely, with its focus on the immigrant experience. But it’s also a story of the heart, exposing our human frailties and failings, showing how brave we are, bringing to life the fight to endure, the strife to shake off the old way of ignoring wrongs and rewarding abusers of power.

Francesca escapes with her sister, Marie, to America, but nothing is like she’d imagined, starting with the boat trip over. Soon she meets Alma, a woman who is deep in her own misery. Is there room in Alma’s heart to help another—one of thousands suffering? Maybe not, for Alma has her own problems, with a step-father who doesn’t want her and who seemingly has no power over her own life.

Webb brings these two women and their families and friends to life, while also showing us the horrors that were Ellis Island, the in between land of immigrants. Wonderful! Enjoyed the audio.

Good story

I enjoyed this book, a little predictable and therefore was a little long. Liked the ending.

must read

best book ever read. wish there was a book two. a true tear ,excellently written

Kept me entertained

Great story. The narration was a bit melodramatic at times, but I enjoyed the book very much.

Immigrants arrive at Ellis Island, but do not find what they hoped

1902 Ellis Island-Leaving Italy hoping for a better live Francesca Ricci and her sister Maria make their way to America. They have traveled as third-class passengers on a boat and the conditions were horrible. Food and water was scare, disease and rats abound. When they arrive at Ellis Island Maria is sick, but they both need to pass a medical check at Ellis Island to gain entry to America.
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Alma, an aspiring linguist starts working at the immigrant processing center. She was sent to work by her stepfather but was not prepared for what she witnesses. It becomes very clear that corruption is part of the process in the decision making on who stays and who goes. The ladies meet and have to rely on each other to get through some very dark times. Who will survive? What sacrifices will each have to make?
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Ellis Island was a dream for a better life and the promises were spoken. Unfortunately many immigrants did not have a smooth transition because of the corruption, expectations, disappointments, bribery and horrible conditions by many. This was a wonderful novel, and shows how people are resilient, even under the worst circumstances. #friendship, #ellisisland, #heatherwebb, #sourcelandmark, #netgalley, #arc, #bookreview, #bookstagram, #booksconnectus, #stamperlady50

Excellent!! Could not stop listening

An excellent book from the very first page. All I wanted to do is to continue listening, what a great story!!

Wonderful story Beautifully written and performed

I loved hearing this story of Ellis Island and the plight of the immigrants. The bravery,perseverance and strength of the characters were inspiring. I highly recommend this book.