A review by shelleys_book_nook
Dear Eliza by Andrea J. Stein

dark emotional sad medium-paced

• 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? It's complicated

4.0

After the death of her father, Eliza receives a letter from her long-deceased mother via her aunt. The envelope says “To be given to Eliza on the death of her father” In the letter Eliza learns some very shocking news, so not only does she have to deal with her father’s passing she also has to deal with the emotional revelations of her mother’s letter.

Eliza’s Mother wasn’t in the book a lot but I hated her with a passion. What she did to her daughter, right after losing the only parent she had left, made me so angry. Children aren’t stupid and you should always be honest with them, especially where this secret is concerned. I also had a hard time liking Eliza’s brother, Rory and his wife. Why weren’t they concerned for Eliza? And why didn’t they have her back? They didn’t consider her feelings. Don’t Eliza’s feelings count for anything? It seemed to me they didn’t care about what she was going through in the slightest. Eliza really lost out in the family lottery. Fortunately she she has great friends in Mo and Josh not to mention a wonderful aunt and support system in Claude.

Written so realistically I loved following Eliza on her journey of discovery and falling in love. If you find my review light on the details it’s because I’m being purposely vague, I don’t want to give any spoilers away. One thing I didn’t like about the book was that Eliza kept calling her parents by their first name, even in her head and in her internal thoughts. It boggled my mind why the author would do that.