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novelvisits's review against another edition
3.0
My Thoughts: From the very start of Eden the reader learns that sisters Eden and Hope were kidnapped as teenagers. What we don’t know is what happened to them in the time they were held captive. We know that many years later Hope is a struggling playwright and Eden is estranged from her entire family. Despite the title of this book, the story is really Hope’s. Hope narrates, unveiling her story, past and present, as she embarks on a search to find her sister.
Like Abbott, Andrea Kleine dropped just enough hints to keep me wanting more. We learn the kidnapper, Larry, has been in prison for over twenty year, yet are left wondering exactly what he did. We know Hope managed to piece together a life, but know little about Eden. We know both girls were left forever damaged.
“I hated that kind of resolution. Everything is not all right in the end. In the end, your bruises become scars and they make you who you are. This kind of erasure of the past as therapy disturbed me. It angered me. My trauma was my trauma. Larry was mine. He was mine and Eden’s.”
When Kleine stuck to the story of Hope and Eden, I was completely engaged and wanting more. Unfortunately, other parts were a little too rambling. There were an add assortment of side characters sprinkled throughout the book and though most were important to the storyline, their backstories weren’t. I’d have enjoyed Eden more had these been shorter or fewer and had Kleine given a little more attention to Eden and Hope. For me, Eden was just dark enough and wandered smoothly enough to keep me engaged, but in the end didn’t quite wow me. Grade: C+
Note: I received a copy of this book from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (via NetGalley) in exchange for my honest review. Thank you!
Original Source: https://novelvisits.com/give-me-your-hand-by-megan-abbott-eden-by-andrea-klein/
Like Abbott, Andrea Kleine dropped just enough hints to keep me wanting more. We learn the kidnapper, Larry, has been in prison for over twenty year, yet are left wondering exactly what he did. We know Hope managed to piece together a life, but know little about Eden. We know both girls were left forever damaged.
“I hated that kind of resolution. Everything is not all right in the end. In the end, your bruises become scars and they make you who you are. This kind of erasure of the past as therapy disturbed me. It angered me. My trauma was my trauma. Larry was mine. He was mine and Eden’s.”
When Kleine stuck to the story of Hope and Eden, I was completely engaged and wanting more. Unfortunately, other parts were a little too rambling. There were an add assortment of side characters sprinkled throughout the book and though most were important to the storyline, their backstories weren’t. I’d have enjoyed Eden more had these been shorter or fewer and had Kleine given a little more attention to Eden and Hope. For me, Eden was just dark enough and wandered smoothly enough to keep me engaged, but in the end didn’t quite wow me. Grade: C+
Note: I received a copy of this book from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (via NetGalley) in exchange for my honest review. Thank you!
Original Source: https://novelvisits.com/give-me-your-hand-by-megan-abbott-eden-by-andrea-klein/
booklovinalicia's review against another edition
3.0
Overall, this was just an okay read for me. It was quick, yet really slow paced. I mainly read to find out what exactly happened to the girls when they were kidnapped. Then I did get to the end and wasn't "wowed" or even fulfilled. There was just something missing to this novel. I am not quite sure what.
Read my full review on this and other books on my blog at www.booklovinalicia.blogspot.com
Thanks to Netgalley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for allowing me a copy to read and give my honest review.
Read my full review on this and other books on my blog at www.booklovinalicia.blogspot.com
Thanks to Netgalley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for allowing me a copy to read and give my honest review.
rushlotte's review against another edition
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping and Child abuse
Moderate: Rape
sarahlopod's review against another edition
4.0
You can also find this review on my blog.
cw: transphobia, kidnapping, underage drinking, drug use
disclaimer: I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for review consideration. All of the opinions presented below are my own.
I requested this from NetGalley mostly on a whim and ended up being pleasantly surprised. What I liked most about it was probably that it followed the aftermath of the sisters’ kidnapping rather than focusing on the kidnapping itself. It was more of a study on how trauma impacts individuals as they age, as well as the role that relationships with others play in our lives.
“I own the ground, but not the water,” she said. “Isn’t that something?”
The main character is a queer woman (I believe she’s a lesbian, but never drops a definitive ID) and it’s nice that it’s just sort of a fact rather than a plot point. My one issue was the way she referred to another character: as “maybe trans” and later as another character’s “girlfriend/boyfriend.” It didn’t really feel like a respectful way to portray them and rubbed me the wrong way, although I’m a cis woman and can’t speak fully to the representation.
cw: transphobia, kidnapping, underage drinking, drug use
disclaimer: I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for review consideration. All of the opinions presented below are my own.
I requested this from NetGalley mostly on a whim and ended up being pleasantly surprised. What I liked most about it was probably that it followed the aftermath of the sisters’ kidnapping rather than focusing on the kidnapping itself. It was more of a study on how trauma impacts individuals as they age, as well as the role that relationships with others play in our lives.
“I own the ground, but not the water,” she said. “Isn’t that something?”
The main character is a queer woman (I believe she’s a lesbian, but never drops a definitive ID) and it’s nice that it’s just sort of a fact rather than a plot point. My one issue was the way she referred to another character: as “maybe trans” and later as another character’s “girlfriend/boyfriend.” It didn’t really feel like a respectful way to portray them and rubbed me the wrong way, although I’m a cis woman and can’t speak fully to the representation.
half_book_and_co's review against another edition
4.0
When Hope is 14 years old, she and her half-sister, Eden, are abducted from a bus stop where they waited for their father to pick them up. Twenty years later Hope is living in New York as a playwright who had one semi-successful play and not much since. Eden has broken off any contact with their family and Hope has not spoken to her in years. Now, Larry, the man who had abducted them, is up for his parole hearing. Hope sets out to find Eden.
I am still on my -end-of-the-year-tbr-quest. I picked up Eden by Andrea Kleine, which already sat on my shelf since summer, and could not put it down. This is an intricate story of trauma and grief, narrating your own story, relationships of all kinds, and the limits of (some) relationships when coping with trauma. On her journey Hope crashes at her dad's, meets a girl she had made out with as a teenager, she stays at the Hippie-inspired commune where Eden's mother lives, she finds herself on the couch of her ex-girlfriend and her wife, and hitchhikes with a young queer couple. Hope is sometimes needy, not always nice, but most of all she is still a little bit lost and while she focusses on her quest to find Eden it becomes quite apparent that she has more things to re-evaluate in order to move on.
I loved the writing and the way the narrative wove together the narrative of Hope's search for Eden and flashbacks laying open layer after layer of what had happened while they had been abducted. This book does not reveal all, not everything gets resolved, the characters are not all likeable - and some readers might find that frustrating. I think it is very international and brilliant. I highly recommend the book.
I am still on my -end-of-the-year-tbr-quest. I picked up Eden by Andrea Kleine, which already sat on my shelf since summer, and could not put it down. This is an intricate story of trauma and grief, narrating your own story, relationships of all kinds, and the limits of (some) relationships when coping with trauma. On her journey Hope crashes at her dad's, meets a girl she had made out with as a teenager, she stays at the Hippie-inspired commune where Eden's mother lives, she finds herself on the couch of her ex-girlfriend and her wife, and hitchhikes with a young queer couple. Hope is sometimes needy, not always nice, but most of all she is still a little bit lost and while she focusses on her quest to find Eden it becomes quite apparent that she has more things to re-evaluate in order to move on.
I loved the writing and the way the narrative wove together the narrative of Hope's search for Eden and flashbacks laying open layer after layer of what had happened while they had been abducted. This book does not reveal all, not everything gets resolved, the characters are not all likeable - and some readers might find that frustrating. I think it is very international and brilliant. I highly recommend the book.
capt_torrance7's review against another edition
2.0
I greatly enjoyed the beginning and middle of the book but somewhere along the way it went off the tracks. What actually happened to them? Will hope ever learn from it? Will she take responsibility for her trauma and her life? The end provides no answers and I am left feeling wildly disappointed.
megatsunami's review against another edition
3.0
Much of the book consisted of the narrator searching for her estranged sister by visiting various people who are all super narcissistic and deliver long monologues about how the narrator's past trauma impacted THEM. They seemed more like types than like actual people, and their monologues seemed more like they were intended to reveal their character, than like the way people actually talk. The narrator herself was difficult to like or relate to as well. The parts about how her past trauma impacted her recent romantic relationship were interesting and well depicted.
emmajoyreading's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping
Minor: Murder and Transphobia
ibbyyyyy's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
This book was very…meh. It felt like it was building up to something, but the ending. didn’t do much for me. I figured it would take a while to build up like most thrillers, but there ended up being no real pay-off. I also don’t understand why Eden lied and said she remembered Larry in the first place. I guess just because of how she is with her rebellious demeanor? I found that to be somewhat surface level and disappointed there was no deeper reason or meaning derived from that. There was no true character development either; Eden ends up being the same as she always has been, and Hope I guess decides in the last few pages to move on from her past. I couldn’t connect with either of the characters so neither of their fates impacted me. Giving 2 stars only because the chapters about the girls’ abduction were gripping.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping, Alcohol, and Drug use
Minor: Sexual assault
lola425's review against another edition
4.0
Read in prepub. A story about the way trauma affects a family and how two people who suffer the same trauma can manage that trauma in very different ways.
As Hope and Eden's story unfolded, I found myself wondering if even without the trauma they both suffered if Eden wouldn't have ended up exactly the same way. The issues that kept her from her family were not trauma-driven alone. But this is Hope's story, not Eden's, and you hope as you read that finding Eden will bring her some peace, regardless of whether Eden is willing to be a participant in Hope's life or not. It's a somber book, with no real answers supplied, but it forces you to consider your own strength, your own family dynamics and how they might weather the unthinkable.
As Hope and Eden's story unfolded, I found myself wondering if even without the trauma they both suffered if Eden wouldn't have ended up exactly the same way. The issues that kept her from her family were not trauma-driven alone. But this is Hope's story, not Eden's, and you hope as you read that finding Eden will bring her some peace, regardless of whether Eden is willing to be a participant in Hope's life or not. It's a somber book, with no real answers supplied, but it forces you to consider your own strength, your own family dynamics and how they might weather the unthinkable.