Drawn by the Current by Jocelyn Green

Summary

Lives depend on the truth she uncovers.

She can't give up her search.

A birthday excursion turns deadly when the SS Eastland capsizes with Olive Pierce and her best friend on board. Hundreds perish during the accident, and it's only when Olive herself barely escapes that she discovers her friend is among the victims.

In the aftermath of the tragedy, Olive returns to her work at a Chicago insurance agency and is immersed in the countless investigations related to the accident. But with so many missing, there are few open-and-shut cases, and she tries to balance her grief with the hard work of finding the truth.

While someone sabotages her progress, Olive accepts the help of newspaper photographer Erik Magnussen. As they unravel secrets, the truths they discover impact those closest to Olive. How long will the disaster haunt her--and how can she help the others find the peace they deserve?

Positives

I couldn’t put this book down! I had to keep turning “just a couple more pages” to figure out the answer to all the clues they’d found—but then that answer would open up more questions that I had to keep reading to discover! At some points, it’s pretty mindbending. Who knew insurance agents had such interesting lives?

The theme was very applicable and resonant. Olive’s struggle to find herself outside of what she does, outside of how she helped people reminded me of some situations in my own life and opened my eyes along with hers. Her struggle as a woman in a male-dominated field was also portrayed with sympathy for both sides and without being extreme feminist either.

I had never heard of the Eastland disaster, and the book was very informative without pulling away from the story. Olive didn’t just get over her grief and trauma in the snap of a finger, either. The author took the time to take her on a hard healing journey.

I loved that domestic abuse was given a realistic, but hopeful portrayal. It’s one of those topics that seems to be “off-limits” in Christian fiction, and I appreciated seeing that representation done with care and compassion.

Negatives

None.

Conclusion

Drawn by the Current does more than draw you in. You are fully immersed and splashing in it.