Eleanor by Jason Gurley

Published by

Sarah Ann

on

January 2, 2016

Eleanor was self-published by Jason Gurley in summer 2014 and picked up by Crown Publishing later that year. Eleanor is a haunting story about twins who have been separated.

Eleanor is six years old when her twin sister Esmerelda is thrown from the car and killed in a violent accident. Now, eight years later, Eleanor’s family is completely torn apart.

As the surviving twin, Eleanor feels guilty and blames herself for Esme’s death. Her mother Agnes is an alcoholic now and drinks herself into a stupor 24/7. Her heartbroken father Paul can barely make it through the day without feeling debilitating pangs of sadness.

One day in the cafeteria at her school, Eleanor inexplicably disappears into thin air and is whisked away into another dimension known as the rift. In the rift, Eleanor meets Mea, Efah, and the Keeper—all of whom are beings responsible for controlling and overseeing all traveling between the rift and the real world.

While in the rift, Eleanor finally faces Esme’s death and sets out to discover whether it’s in her power to alter the past and prevent her sister from dying.

Eleanor can be interpreted in many different ways. I felt that this book was an examination of how one particular family chose to handle their grief.

Perhaps the rift existed in the first place because nobody in the family was at peace following Esme’s death. Or, perhaps the rift was invented by Eleanor because she blamed herself for Esme’s death. Maybe the rift was a figment of Eleanor’s imagination or it existed for anyone, but if that’s the case, why couldn’t Paul and Agnes visit the rift? How could Eleanor see her parent’s dreams?

In the end, I wasn’t too pleased with this novel because I didn’t find any of it surprising or shocking. The story didn’t quite come together in a way that made total sense. I thought the characters were pathetic, and I didn’t like how Eleanor could disappear for days, months, and years on end when she traveled to the rift. What was the point?

The entire rift concept reminded me of the movie Interstellar with Matthew McConaughey, where he communicates with his daughter from another dimension in the future, considering time and space are not linear. Again, I didn’t feel this novel was too original. There were just no surprises.

Other books by Jason Gurley include:

What did you think about this book? I’m curious to know.

Last Updated on November 15, 2025 by Sarah Ann

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