Ellen is an 11 year old girl that starts off with a depressed mom and abusive father and ends an orphan. She takes us through how this happened and how she feels about the losses, being put in her aunt's care, then being removed from it, in a voice only an 11 year old would have. This rather short book only wound up on my bookshelf because I've been slowly trying to make my way through Oprah's books, though I'm not sure why I bother anymore because I don't seem to like many of them.
Ellen narrates with what feels to me like lack of emotion and simplicity. The simplicity fit with an 11 year old, but it clashed with a feeling of disassociation and too much wisdom for what you'd expect from an 11 year old. This book didn't sit well with me and I think that's the best I can do to put my finger on why.
Looking beyond Ellen to the story itself, I felt rather bored during the whole thing. Thankfully, the book is a pretty short one.
First Line: "When I was little I would think of ways to kill my daddy."
Rating:
(3/5)
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