Brooklyn by Colm Toibin

Such a gently told story - no fancy language, no hidden meanings - the perfect voice for the young female protagonist. Eighteen year old Eilis is given the chance to leave Ireland for a new life in post WWll Brooklyn. Sharing a boarding house with a small group of fellow Irish immigrants, the proper life style working on the sales floor of a department store, life in NYC, finding love, even the tragedy that forces her to make some hard choices - all simply shared. Life as it must have been for so many. No raging dysfunctional family, no mystery, no magic - just life and a young woman you, as the reader, can't wait to see happy in the end.