A review by jonathan_von
Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh

3.0

Eileen is a pretty damn dark book for sixteen-year-olds. Take some Gillian Flynne and some Patricia Highsmith, mix it up with a self-loathing coming-of-age story that seems to promise a shocking ending. There's alcoholism, child abuse, stalking, and lesbianism. It's all very dark. Except, it isn't. I actually really related to this book and liked what the author was going for but it's written like a kid's book. I can see the appeal, these dark, psychological heroines are simplified and put in nice little bite-sized packages. But it's just slick YA in the end.