Writing: 5+/5 Plot: 4/5 Characters: 5/5
Charming, deep, and full of insight. A coming of age and beyond novel with clear flows from life experiences to the development of a personality, a worldview, and a moral core.
Eleanor Maud is a bit of a loner, with an adored older brother, a best friend from the “other” side of the tracks, an odd collection of adults who provide her with myriad perspectives and experiences, and a pet rabbit she has named God. Introverted and introspective from an early age, we see her develop a sense of self and a unique brand of faith by continually modifying her worldview and her self-understanding in reaction to events both personal and societal (e.g. a suicide, a scary lump, lost memory; 9/11, the massacre at Dunblane, John Lennon getting shot).
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this, being immersed in another’s quirky and slanted, but also rational and considering, mind. Ellie was an easy character for me to “travel with” in this way. I loved the cast of supporting characters who were each unconventional in his or her own way, always through eccentricities well-supported by their outlook and exploits. This is a reprint of the book — it was originally published in 2011 and was the author’s debut. She has since written three additional books.
Some beautiful quotes:
“He had skirted the periphery of my early life like an orbiting moon, held between the alternate pull of curiosity and indifference, and probably would have remained that way, had Destiny not collided with a Tyrolean coach that tragic, pivotal afternoon.”
“He presented a colorful alternative to our mapped-out lives. And every day as I awaited his return from school, my longing became taut, became physical. I never felt complete without him. In truth I never would.”
My father had never met a lesbian before, and it was unfortunate that K. H. should be his first, because his liberal cloak was pulled away to reveal an armory of caricatured prejudice. He could never understand what Nancy saw in her, and all she ever said was that K. H. had amazing inner beauty, which my father said must be extremely hidden, since an archeological dig working round the clock would probably have found it hard to discover.
“I just want my friend back,” I said, tears burning behind my eyes. ‘I’ve become forgettable”
Do I believe in a mystery, the unexplained phenomenon that is life itself? The greater something that illuminates inconsequence in our lives; that gives us something to strive for as well as the humility to brush ourselves down and start all over again? Then yes, I do. It is the source of art, of beauty, of love, and proffers the ultimate goodness to mankind. That to me is God. That to me is life. That is what I believe in.
And she had left nature alone, opting instead to banish vanity like the meddlesome, suffocating weed it was.
His strange presence had uncovered a loneliness of such devouring longing, one that reached cruelly back into the past, and I knew I could no longer be around him.”
And he uncovered in us a curious need: that we each secretly wanted him to remember us the most. It was strange, both vital and flawed, until I realized that maybe the need to be remembered is stronger than the need to remember.
Thank you to G. P. Putnam’s Sons and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. The book will be published on February 24th, 2026.
Books to look forward to ... 