The Quiet Unraveling of Eve Ellaway by Melanie Hooyenga

Author

The Quiet Unraveling of Eve Ellaway

All Eve Ellaway wants is to escape to college, start a life of her own, and finally sever the connection to her twin sister Gen who disappeared when they were babies. Because while the rest of the world moved on from the kidnapping, Gen’s still very much alive at home. Most families would grieve their missing child. Some families might create a shrine for their lost daughter. But the Ellaways are not most families. Every night, Eve pretends to be Gen to protect her mother's delicate grasp on reality. Eve’s forced to divide her life, her stories, and her dreams so there’s enough to make up two people to maintain her father’s lie — and ease his guilt over Gen’s disappearance — and sacrifice the last threads of her identity and any hope for a normal future. As the lies propping up Eve’s life start to crumble, she no longer knows what she wants. But Gen does, and she’s ready to take it.

Quarter Finalist

Plot/Idea: 10 out of 10

Originality: 10 out of 10

Prose: 10 out of 10

Character/Execution: 10 out of 10

Overall: 10.00 out of 10

Assessment:

Plot/Idea: The Quiet Unraveling of Eve Ellaway is a novel about the titular Eve and her twin, Gen, who was kidnapped when she was a baby. By day, Eve is a typical high school student; by night, she transforms into her twin sister, missing now for nearly 18 years, to spare her mother's fragile mental health and help her avoid the ugly truth of their situation.

Prose: Hooyenga's prose is sharp and lovely, even when describing not-so-lovely things, and she drops clever tidbits throughout the story that make Eve's relationship with her mother—and with Gen—riveting.

Originality: The Quiet Unraveling of Eve Ellaway is singular in every way: the plot, the characters, the circumstances, and the resolution. This is truly a one-of-a-kind novel with an unforgettable ending.

Character/Execution: Hooyenga's characters are distinct and come across as real people trapped (some by choice) in an extraordinary dilemma. She shows readers how identical twins Eve and Gen are entirely different young women, which is a good trick, given that one of them has been missing for almost two decades. Eve is self-aware in a way her parents are not, and while she loves them, that love is often—and understandably—buried under toxic levels of fury, loneliness, and resentment. Eve's dark thoughts and impulses are balanced precariously by moments of poetic insight.

Date Submitted: August 30, 2024

Find out the latest indie author news. For FREE.

Password Reset