Thank you Netgalley and Left-Handed Mitten Publications for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

“The Quiet Unraveling of Eve Ellaway” dives into a world of complex family trauma and mental illness, centering on Eve, a teenage girl forced to live in the shadow of her twin sister, Gen, who was kidnapped when they were just infants. Due to her mother's profound denial and mental health struggles, Eve's father compels her to assume the role of both twins, creating a life where she must alternate between her own identity and that of her missing sister. This bizarre, heartbreaking arrangement shapes Eve’s adolescence, leaving her grappling with her identity and unresolved grief.

The premise is both compelling and disturbing: from an early age, Eve is subjected to the psychological manipulation of embodying two personalities, effectively growing up haunted by a sister who exists only in her mind. Hooyenga’s exploration of Eve’s unraveling mind is immersive, depicting Eve’s unhealthy coping mechanisms, including conversations with her imagined version of Gen and carrying out “her” wishes. These habits evolve into what feels like a dual personality, amplifying Eve's emotional isolation.

As the story unfolds, Hooyenga focuses on Eve’s teenage experiences, including relationships complicated by lies and misunderstandings due to her fractured identity. While the story depicts some mature content, these elements are handled with care, depicting Eve’s complex journey toward self-discovery. There is also LGBTQ representation as Eve begins to recognize her bisexuality, adding another layer to her intricate identity. Hooyenga’s writing captures the nuance of mental illness, though I can’t believe the mother only went to a year of therapy when she has been in denial about her daughter’s kidnapping for over a decade. This is a family that would benefit from everyone going to therapy.

The plot is full of surprises, including two major twists that will leave you reeling. I was certainly not expecting either twist, both of which occur towards the end of the book. These twists, especially the ending, add unexpected dimensions to the story as they challenge notions of reality and you can really see the title come into play with the full unraveling of Eve.

Overall, “The Quiet Unraveling of Eve Ellaway” remains a gripping exploration of identity and mental illness. Through Eve’s story, Hooyenga crafts a memorable, if unsettling, tale of a girl lost between two selves, searching for wholeness in the midst of psychological turmoil. This dark, psychological novel is a raw journey that will captivate readers who enjoy stories that blur the line between reality and delusion.

I really did like how this one started out - a story with themes about identity? A kidnapping? An incredibly relatable and likable main character? I'm in!! I was intrigued to learn more about Eve and the twisty layers of her complicated family (my GOSH was her father horrible!!). While I loved the premise, the story left me wanting more about the background regarding the kidnapping and how the family wound up where they were. While I found myself skimming parts in the middle, I loved the twist at the end and felt the storyline did a great job paralleling Eva's mental health as the story continued. The ending felt satisfying and confusing at the same time, but I think that was kind of the point. Definitely worth picking this one up. Thanks for the ARC!

This book was amazing! I read it in one day and stayed up WAY too late because I had to finish it. I wasn’t sure I was going to like it, but once I started, I was hooked! I’d never read anything by this author, but I’m definitely going to be checking out their whole catalogue. Highly recommend!

HOLY COW!!! This was absolutely amazing and wonderfully written!!! I cannot explain how much I loved this book!

I love the development of Eve and watching her unravel was insane in the absolute best of ways! The way the trauma was portrayed and tied into the mental health diagnosis was such a change because so many people do not realize how those two can be entwined together.


*I received a free ARC from NetGalley*

Really enjoyed this book! The cover and title did their job and made it a great first choice. I was hooked pretty much immediately with a great opening that got right to the heart of the story. I read a lot of suspense and thrillers and figure out a twist pretty quickly and I was pleased at the twists and things not going exactly where I expected. I enjoyed the character relationship with out it being too romance focused. The characters developed nicely with great detail with out throwing too many extra words in for no reason. I would a sequel to see what happens to Eve and her family in the future. Would absolutely recommend to anyone who enjoys thrillers, mystery, and drama.

The synopsis of the book really got me intrigued, and I read the book in one sitting!

The first half of the book was slow, although necessary to understand Eve’s complicated life.

I did see some plot twists coming, but there was some surprises as well!!

Can I just say, I LOVED the wlw romance in this book, it got me kicking my feet! I wish the cast would have been more diverse though.

Also, I loved how mental health was represented in the novel!

I would’ve wished we would have learned more about the kidnapping

While at first I wasn’t sure about the writing, I’m convinced to say I will try another novel by Melanie Hooyenga!

Not quite what i was expecting, to me this is a story about mental health.
Although an interesting storyline i became confused at times mainly when Eve was being Eve.
I returned to this several times and decided it was not really for me.
My thanks to netgalley and the publisher for my copy.

Melanie Hooyenga writes a strong story in this book, I loved the tension of the story. It was great that Eve keeps her twin sister Gen alive to keep the lie alive, and how scary a concept that was. The writing was so well done and had me guessing from start to finish.

This book was a fast read. It was easy to read and get into. To me there wasn't a lot of twists and turns. However, it was sad, different, and one I would recommend to others.

The strength of this book is its premise. The whole idea for it is, frankly, insane. Reading this felt like I was witnessing something so unthinkable you can’t really believe it but also… you know it’s real. I was hooked. It was exactly the sort of messed up story I adore reading. The main character, Eve, was pretentious beyond belief and quite unbearable but I don’t think we were supposed to like her? Parts of this book felt like I’m reading her psychotic break, and it wasn’t clear if I was supposed to be reading it with that interpretation.
But the plot, that I liked. In fact, there was a twist that actually made me gasp. And if you’ve been reading my reviews here for a while (or know me in real life!) you know I am not often shocked by books. Alas, this one managed to!
I would definitely recommend this if you want a twisted and puzzling YA read.

To the outside world, she's Eve. Eve's twin sister Gen was kidnapped age 2. Her mother had a mental breakdown and refuses to accept reality, so her father decided to train Eve to act as both herself and her twin to keep her mum happy. At home, she's both Eve and Gen.

The blurb alone was wild enough for me to really want to love this book!

The story gets even wilder when Gen is found alive, now going under a different name. Her mother reacts badly to this, but at least Eve doesn't have to play Gen anymore. Eve's twin starts getting closer to Eve and wants to visit and meet her bio family in person. What should be a happy time turns into well, a quiet unraveling, because Gen refuses to go away...

Wow

What did I just read??? I have no words, this novel is amazing. I read in one sitting (seriously, cancel all your plans). The chapters are short and straight-to-the-point. An absolutely page turner with an incredible ending.

The Quiet Unraveling of Eve Ellaway follows the life of Eve, a teenage girl whose twin sister was kidnapped as an infant. This alone is enough to challenge even the strongest teenager, but Eve has the extra challenge of having to live inside her mother's delusions. When her twin was kidnapped, Eve's mother had a mental breakdown and cannot see reality. So, Eve has the heavy burden of being both twins for her mother, taking on two personalities with all of their hobbies and differences until Eve's own reality begins to shatter.

Hooyenga carefully and delicately approaches the nuance around mental illness and captures the voices of teenagers at those all important crossroads of their lives. She does it while finding slivers of humor in all the dark places. The Quiet Unraveling of Eve Ellaway will unravel you until you're questioning what is real, what is imagined, and what's the farthest you'd be willing to go to find yourself.

Huge thanks to the author, publisher, and netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this fantastic novel.

***Thanks to NetGalley for providing me a complimentary copy of THE QUIET UNRAVELING OF EVE ELLAWAY by Melanie Hooyenga in exchange for my honest review.***

3.5 STARS

What a wild premise. At age two months Gen Ellaway is kidnapped while her twin Eve sleeps. Because the twins’ recluse mother couldn’t deal with the loss of Gen, their father convinces her that Eve is both twins. This continues for eighteen years unbeknownst to Eve’s mother. Then things become complicate with the discovery of Gen, named Sky by her adoptive parents.

Set aside the fact that the cure for mental illness is not having a child play her missing/presumed dead twin and what type of Mengelian husband does that to his wife and child—the situation is absurd and disturbing.

I had a bit of difficulty following when Eve was Eve and Eve was pretending to be Gen and when Eve thought she was talking to her ghost twin. Eve was a difficult character to embrace. I couldn’t understand why she was so cold and standoffish to Sky.

Hoovenga’s writing, while adequate, didn’t evoke feelings in places where my heart should have palpitated or seized in suspense.

I did enjoy THE QUIET UNRAVELING OF EVE ELLAWAY, just not enough to bump to four stars.