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anair02's review
2.0
I can't remember the last time a book has caused me such distress. I read the entire book with a clenched jaw and stiff shoulders. I told myself to keep reading because honestly, I was bored. Eleanor made me angry. She's supposedly 60 years old yet her "mother" ( who is younger) is constantly giving her advice. I mean I understand that the author was trying to develop a complex character with a diverse outlook on life however, I found myself being more and more confused as I read the book. I tried to read the book through the author's eyes because I wanted to understand why the plot was structured the way it was. Was it to explore Eleanor's character? Display her animalistic instincts? The answer is none of the above because the plot was completely and utterly useless. I was extremely bored and just when I started to see potential in the story I was gravely disappointed.
bluejayreads's review against another edition
4.5
This is one of those where I liked the concept (skinwalkers of Native American mythology), but it didn’t sound great enough to drop everything and read it. So it took me a while to get around to it. I actually think that was good for my reading experience, though, because I’d forgotten all about what the concept was, so it was a whole lot of fun to wonder what exactly made Eleanor so strange.
Eleanor was interesting, and my opinion of her changed throughout the entire book. At first she was a weird loner girl. Then a weird loner girl with something else really strange and not normal about her. Then towards the end, it was like Eleanor was not really a person, but more like a fluid concept that could be anything. Size, age, gender…nothing was set in stone. It was really strange, and really different. I loved it.
David was the new boy in school that I expected in a paranormal romance – but in a totally different way. He and Eleanor were friends a while ago, then he comes back. He was friendly and sweet, but he had struggles of his own that he wasn’t really interested in sharing. I enjoyed him, but the enigma of Eleanor overshadowed him a lot.
I absolutely loved the plot (probably because I forgot the back cover before reading). It was half contemporary, with Eleanor navigating school and bullies and David and her adoptive mother dying of cancer, and half paranormal, with Eleanor doing strange things and abnormal things happening. Up until almost the end I was frantically trying to figure out what happened next and failing. It was like one great big fascinating riddle, but the last clue was at the end of the story. I was enthralled the whole way through.
So, the skinwalker/shapeshifter idea – not original, and it isn’t always that great. Eleanor‘s take on the idea – different, original, well-executed…and fabulous. It was still a paranormal thing, but there were some sciency details that made it amazingly believable. And yeah, romance is a huge part of it, but it’s nothing like a standard paranormal romance. It’s more about loving someone for who they are than an actual romance-romance.
My advice: buy this book. Let it sit on a shelf for a week or a month or however long it takes you to forget about this review. Then read it without looking at the back cover. Trust me, it’s worth it.
I received a free review copy of ELEANOR from the author. His generosity in no way influenced, or sought to influence, this review.
Eleanor was interesting, and my opinion of her changed throughout the entire book. At first she was a weird loner girl. Then a weird loner girl with something else really strange and not normal about her. Then towards the end, it was like Eleanor was not really a person, but more like a fluid concept that could be anything. Size, age, gender…nothing was set in stone. It was really strange, and really different. I loved it.
David was the new boy in school that I expected in a paranormal romance – but in a totally different way. He and Eleanor were friends a while ago, then he comes back. He was friendly and sweet, but he had struggles of his own that he wasn’t really interested in sharing. I enjoyed him, but the enigma of Eleanor overshadowed him a lot.
I absolutely loved the plot (probably because I forgot the back cover before reading). It was half contemporary, with Eleanor navigating school and bullies and David and her adoptive mother dying of cancer, and half paranormal, with Eleanor doing strange things and abnormal things happening. Up until almost the end I was frantically trying to figure out what happened next and failing. It was like one great big fascinating riddle, but the last clue was at the end of the story. I was enthralled the whole way through.
So, the skinwalker/shapeshifter idea – not original, and it isn’t always that great. Eleanor‘s take on the idea – different, original, well-executed…and fabulous. It was still a paranormal thing, but there were some sciency details that made it amazingly believable. And yeah, romance is a huge part of it, but it’s nothing like a standard paranormal romance. It’s more about loving someone for who they are than an actual romance-romance.
My advice: buy this book. Let it sit on a shelf for a week or a month or however long it takes you to forget about this review. Then read it without looking at the back cover. Trust me, it’s worth it.
I received a free review copy of ELEANOR from the author. His generosity in no way influenced, or sought to influence, this review.
inkdrinkermal's review
2.0
While the story was compelling, the writing and characters were painful. The writing itself seemed forced and contrite and incredibly judgmental. I get that Midge was chubby - mentioning once would have sufficed, but every time this girl would get brought up, Johnny Worthen wanted to shove it down our throats that she was bigger. Literally. Every single time. The main character was a whiny brat, too. I sympathized with her at first because I, too, am painfully shy. But I also realize that sometimes, you have to give your name to the bank teller, sometimes you have to speak to the cashier, and sometimes, a teacher might call on you. They don't have it out for you, they just expect you to function as normally as everyone else does in society. Eleanor didn't seem to grasp that.
As for the supernatural nature of the story, I felt like it didn't add all that much. You've already got a very interesting plot - a girl gets adopted by a woman who is very, very sick. The girl has a troubled past and gets herself into bad situations at school and in the town. You don't need the girl to have any sort of power - you already have a story, why buy into the paranormal romance genre?
Overall, I felt like the novel was contrite. I hated the stereotypes, I hated Eleanor, and I hated how judgmental Mr. Worthen sounded (Oh, you're chubby? Let's bring it up constantly. Oh, you have big breasts? Let's make that a major part of the plot line. STOP THE BODY SHAMING).
As for the supernatural nature of the story, I felt like it didn't add all that much. You've already got a very interesting plot - a girl gets adopted by a woman who is very, very sick. The girl has a troubled past and gets herself into bad situations at school and in the town. You don't need the girl to have any sort of power - you already have a story, why buy into the paranormal romance genre?
Overall, I felt like the novel was contrite. I hated the stereotypes, I hated Eleanor, and I hated how judgmental Mr. Worthen sounded (Oh, you're chubby? Let's bring it up constantly. Oh, you have big breasts? Let's make that a major part of the plot line. STOP THE BODY SHAMING).
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