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chelsea_shelves's review against another edition
Graphic: Physical abuse, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Alcoholism, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Toxic relationship, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Fatphobia, Suicidal thoughts, and Rape
sandro_reads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
When Eleanor and her coworker, Raymond, help an elderly man, Sammy, who collapsed, the three form a bond that propels Eleanor to examine her life and the childhood trauma she experienced.
Eleanor is downright funny at times, extremely touching at others and also quite difficult but, it beautifully illustrates how small acts of kindness can cause huge ripple effects in someone’s life.
Moderate: Child abuse
Minor: Domestic abuse and Child death
mjenae's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, and Mental illness
Moderate: Child abuse, Sexual harassment, Medical content, Child death, and Physical abuse
carlar's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child death, Child abuse, Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Suicide attempt, Rape, Cancer, Murder, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Grief, and Death
almaprincess66's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Overall it was fine. It had moments that made me smile but I didn't feel connected enough to her trauma. It wasn't too well established, which I get because that was the whole mistery of the plot. The ending plot twists felt a bit out of place tho. I did't get them.
Bonus points because Eleanor is so autistic coded. She is not which is a shame, but I'll pretend she was. Would explain a lot.
Extra bonus points for showing that a man and a woman can have a friendship without being in love with each other. Also that you can have friends even after your 20s. That was an important message.
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Body shaming, Alcoholism, Child abuse, and Child death
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Murder, Ableism, Death, and Cancer
Minor: Fatphobia
atcarp17's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Alcoholism and Child abuse
willowbiblio's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
----------------
This book kind of felt like two distinct halves. The beginning felt almost unreal because of Eleanor's complete lack of awareness of the impact of her words and actions on others. It was also confusing because it sort of felt like the author was ascribing these challenges exclusively to childhood trauma.
The second half felt so strong, and gave me the sense that the author has been intimately familiar with substance abuse, PTSD, and depression. The way that she wrote about loneliness was so apt, like it's this thing we are ashamed of in this age of ultimate connectedness. Yet so many of us really are alone and isolated.
I think I was also confused by the interactions with Eleanor's coworkers and the way they bullied her. This added to the unreal quality of the first half, but I may also just be lucky to have never been in a work environment with that kind of overt bullying.
I loved the friendship with Roy and how, bit by bit, Eleanor learned to trust and care for someone else. The way that so many women gave her unconditional acceptance, assistance, and support was truly beautiful. I also loved how Eleanor was so devoted to her cat, because I've had those moments of feeling responsible to care for myself so I can care for my cats. I was definitely surprised a bit by the plot twist with Mummy at the end!
Moderate: Child abuse
sgrunwald96's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Gaslighting, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Child death, Addiction, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Alcohol, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Rape, and Death
kaileylebrun's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child death, Chronic illness, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Rape and Sexual assault
Minor: Death of parent
phantomgecko's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This is a story about a very unwell woman. Who does outrageously inappropriate things because she is unwell.
My greatest quibble is Eleanor purports to be very good at crosswords, particularly cryptic (the best kind) and yet she is lacking in so much pop culture knowledge that this cannot possibly be true. Even cryptics, which rely heavily on wordplay, necessitate a basic foundation of cultural knowledge. Like, girlie doesn't know who the Grinch is. She is not completing crosswords.
Otherwise, it is an interesting if uncomfortable novel.
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Mental illness, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Death of parent, Alcoholism, and Alcohol