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Eating the Cheshire Cat
(In a world of perfectly planned parties and steep social ladders, traditional rites of passage take unexpected turns when three girls and their overbearing mothers collide. In the astonishing opening scene, Sarina Summers's mom smashes her daughter's hands so a doctor will be forced to fix Sarina's one imperfection - crooked pinkie fingers. As Sarina and her mom pursue Sarina's impeccable image, Nicole Hicks's self-destructive obsession with Sarina thwarts her own mother's plans)
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First published January 17, 2000
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About the author
Helen Ellis
22 books722 followersHELEN ELLIS an American novelist. She has authored two published novels, along with a short story collection and a forthcoming collection of essays. She is a poker player who competes on the national tournament circuit. Raised in Alabama, she lives with her husband in New York City.
Her first novel, Eating the Cheshire Cat (Scribner: 2001), is a dark comedy written in Southern Gothic fiction style. It tells the story of three girls raised in the South, and the odd, sometimes macabre tribulations they endure.
The Turning: What Curiosity Kills (Powell's Books: 2010), her second novel, is a "teen vampire" story about a southern 16-year-old girl adopted into a wealthy New York City family and centers on shape-shifting, teen romance, and the supernatural.
Her third publication, American Housewife (Doubleday: 2016), is "a sharp, funny, delightfully unhinged collection of stories set in the dark world of domesticity".
A collection of essays entitled Southern Lady Code was published in April 2019.
You can find her on Twitter @WhatIDoAllDay and Instagram @AmericanHousewife.
Her first novel, Eating the Cheshire Cat (Scribner: 2001), is a dark comedy written in Southern Gothic fiction style. It tells the story of three girls raised in the South, and the odd, sometimes macabre tribulations they endure.
The Turning: What Curiosity Kills (Powell's Books: 2010), her second novel, is a "teen vampire" story about a southern 16-year-old girl adopted into a wealthy New York City family and centers on shape-shifting, teen romance, and the supernatural.
Her third publication, American Housewife (Doubleday: 2016), is "a sharp, funny, delightfully unhinged collection of stories set in the dark world of domesticity".
A collection of essays entitled Southern Lady Code was published in April 2019.
You can find her on Twitter @WhatIDoAllDay and Instagram @AmericanHousewife.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 200 reviews
July 22, 2007
This book starts off as demented. It ends as demented. Most of what happens in the middle is demented. I loved it. It's the story of three girls, caught up in the modern-day scratch-and-claw fest that seems to be prevalent under the surface of the popular and upper-crust society, but these girls have a distinctly Southern background. The reader meets Sarina, the prom queen, cheerleader, Tri Delt who has always been loved by everyone and has always gotten her way (often by using such clever manipulation that her victims think it was their idea to do this thing for her), and who is really the central character. Then there's Nicole, Sarina's best friend who wants nothing more than to please Sarina, to ensure her happiness, and, above all, to make sure she and Nicole are always together. Nicole and Sarina both have equally manipulative and insane mothers, and their mothers play a large role in the story. The third main character is Bitty Jack, who is poor and therefore like a bug in the eyes of Sarina and those like her, and Bitty's struggle to both prove her worth to and get revenge on Sarina because of a childhood incident that emotionally scars Bitty and her family. Most of the book shows the intersection of Sarina's life with Nicole's and Sarina's life with Bitty's, but at the end, all three lives entertwine with a fairly explosive ending. Very Southern gothic in the manner of the Texas cheerleader massacre and similar instances, I was greatly entertained and disturbed by the characters and their motivations, and how very real they seemed.
November 30, 2017
Eating the Cheshire Cat by Helen Ellis is a page-turner. There’s so much packed in this novel—suspense, humor, horror, great characters, and so much drama. It takes place in Tuscaloosa, Alabama which contributes wonderfully to the atmosphere of the story. Ellis’s third person subjective point of view truly makes this novel come to life. We get the alternating perspectives of the three main characters. Sarina, encouraged by her mother, uses her beauty to get what she wants. Her selfishness runs so deep that she’s willing to sacrifice the only friend she has to maintain her image. Nicole is uninterested in her image which causes her to clash with her mother. She is more interested in her friend Sarina. Her obsession runs so deep she is willing to flunk out of school and dress-down to please Sarina. Bitty Jack doesn’t come from the same privileged social world that Sarina and Nicole do. She’s also not as pretty. She has to earn scholarships and work in order to attend college for instance. The shifting perspective creates suspense which grows more and more as you approach the grand finale. This is a girl-drama layered with wonderfully dark and twisted elements that’ll make you keep reading.
By Claudia Estrada
By Claudia Estrada
January 13, 2009
If you appreciate a darker sense of humor, this is a book for you. If not, you might only end up wanting to throttle the cast.
Sarina Summers is perfect in every way. Except for her pinky fingers. Their slight crookedness mars her style, and so when she is 16, she gets drunk and has her mother break them.
Nicole Hicks lives across the street, and has idolized Sarina her whole life. Her mother is nicer, her life is better. As long as you keep her happy, she'll return the favor. And all Nicole wants is to keep this balance. So much so that she intentionally fails 10th grade, thinking it will better her chances for a friendship, when in fact it proves to be her undoing.
Bitty Jack Carlson grew up in a small town, on a Summer Camp. Summers, she attends. The rest of the year, she's home-schooled. The year Sarina attends, life changes forever.
Caught using a hairdryer in an unusual fashion by Bitty Jack's father while he's changing a light bulb, Sarina cries abuse. Camp maintenance workers are no longer allowed into cabins without staff invitation, and her father is not allowed to work in them at all during summer, but otherwise, things mostly blow over. Until years down the line when Bitty Jack is dating Sarina's first boyfriend, and Sarina's life is coming apart at the seems.
Sarina hatches a plan to get Stewart back. The plan? Out herself as an abuse survivor at a Take Back the Night rally, where both Stewart and Bitty Jack will be there to hear. The back-lash causes the Camp to come under siege by the Press and thus ends the Carlson's have always known. So when Nicole Hicks climbs through Bitty Jack's window late one night with her own plan, rather than being afraid, Bitty Jack is mesmerized.
She has few details. They need to hijack the mascot uniform from Stewart. That's all she knows. From the President's Box she looks on, and as we wait for Nicole's plan to hash out, we come to find Bitty Jack had one of her own.
____
This is definitely the oddest book I think I've ever read. I picked it up mainly because of the title. The story was interesting, and definitely darkly humorous, but also kind of disturbing. If dark humor is your thing, I imagine you'd get a kick out of it. If it's not, I'd probably stear clear.
Sarina Summers is perfect in every way. Except for her pinky fingers. Their slight crookedness mars her style, and so when she is 16, she gets drunk and has her mother break them.
Nicole Hicks lives across the street, and has idolized Sarina her whole life. Her mother is nicer, her life is better. As long as you keep her happy, she'll return the favor. And all Nicole wants is to keep this balance. So much so that she intentionally fails 10th grade, thinking it will better her chances for a friendship, when in fact it proves to be her undoing.
Bitty Jack Carlson grew up in a small town, on a Summer Camp. Summers, she attends. The rest of the year, she's home-schooled. The year Sarina attends, life changes forever.
Caught using a hairdryer in an unusual fashion by Bitty Jack's father while he's changing a light bulb, Sarina cries abuse. Camp maintenance workers are no longer allowed into cabins without staff invitation, and her father is not allowed to work in them at all during summer, but otherwise, things mostly blow over. Until years down the line when Bitty Jack is dating Sarina's first boyfriend, and Sarina's life is coming apart at the seems.
Sarina hatches a plan to get Stewart back. The plan? Out herself as an abuse survivor at a Take Back the Night rally, where both Stewart and Bitty Jack will be there to hear. The back-lash causes the Camp to come under siege by the Press and thus ends the Carlson's have always known. So when Nicole Hicks climbs through Bitty Jack's window late one night with her own plan, rather than being afraid, Bitty Jack is mesmerized.
She has few details. They need to hijack the mascot uniform from Stewart. That's all she knows. From the President's Box she looks on, and as we wait for Nicole's plan to hash out, we come to find Bitty Jack had one of her own.
____
This is definitely the oddest book I think I've ever read. I picked it up mainly because of the title. The story was interesting, and definitely darkly humorous, but also kind of disturbing. If dark humor is your thing, I imagine you'd get a kick out of it. If it's not, I'd probably stear clear.
July 13, 2019
The opening chapter of this book consists of a mother drugging her daughter and then proceeding to break her crooked pinky fingers so that they can be reset straighter—anything to make her daughter more perfect. And this is when you know you’re in for a truly wacky and demented ride.
The daughter is Serena Summers, and she’s a classic mean girl: beautiful, manipulative, ruthless in getting what she wants. Her next door neighbor, Nicole, is obsessed with her. And Nicole’s mother is obsessed with trying to take Sarina down as an extension of her ongoing rivalry with Sarina’s mother.
Then there’s Bitty Jack Carlson, a sweet girl from the wrong side of the tracks who gets caught up in the orbit of Sarina’s destruction.
Mordantly funny and outrageous, this novel covers everything from summer camp to cheerleading to sororities—and even traveling freak shows, because why not? Ellis takes southern cliches and stereotypes and reimagines them in shocking and depraved new ways.
The plot becomes a little too convoluted at times, but nevertheless this book is a fun and wild ride from the wacky beginning to the bitter end.
The daughter is Serena Summers, and she’s a classic mean girl: beautiful, manipulative, ruthless in getting what she wants. Her next door neighbor, Nicole, is obsessed with her. And Nicole’s mother is obsessed with trying to take Sarina down as an extension of her ongoing rivalry with Sarina’s mother.
Then there’s Bitty Jack Carlson, a sweet girl from the wrong side of the tracks who gets caught up in the orbit of Sarina’s destruction.
Mordantly funny and outrageous, this novel covers everything from summer camp to cheerleading to sororities—and even traveling freak shows, because why not? Ellis takes southern cliches and stereotypes and reimagines them in shocking and depraved new ways.
The plot becomes a little too convoluted at times, but nevertheless this book is a fun and wild ride from the wacky beginning to the bitter end.
June 24, 2008
This is what I get for deciding to read a book entirely based on the cover and title. The cliche saying proved itself correct in this case.
The book, while interesting through certain parts, was about as predictable as a lifetime movie. The quote on the cover claims that its "a darkly funny gothic novel... deliciously catty".
It was catty, I'll give it that. It was about three females in and around their teen years, thats a no brainer.
But it was about as gothic as a hot topic shopper, and as dark as the emo kids at my local coffee shop.
I still can't figure out why there is a goldfish in a blender on the front cover. My only guess is because the author figured that was probably her best shot at getting anyone to read this. And it worked, congrats Helen Ellis.
It gets two stars instead of one because I did actually find it interesting enough to finish, but not three because my brain felt a bit softer after I finished it.
The book, while interesting through certain parts, was about as predictable as a lifetime movie. The quote on the cover claims that its "a darkly funny gothic novel... deliciously catty".
It was catty, I'll give it that. It was about three females in and around their teen years, thats a no brainer.
But it was about as gothic as a hot topic shopper, and as dark as the emo kids at my local coffee shop.
I still can't figure out why there is a goldfish in a blender on the front cover. My only guess is because the author figured that was probably her best shot at getting anyone to read this. And it worked, congrats Helen Ellis.
It gets two stars instead of one because I did actually find it interesting enough to finish, but not three because my brain felt a bit softer after I finished it.
July 24, 2021
I loved the sharp wit and clever satire in this author’s short story collection American Housewife. This full length novel takes on the Southern sorority circuit or circus, I should say. It didn’t work for me at all. No humor, no light-hearted moments, just bleak, gross scenes, played out by awful, unlikable, but more importantly one-dimensional cartoonish characters. This book almost belongs to the horror genre except that it is so boring, save one “twist” in the first chapter that sold me on the book. In fact, many of the chapters read as self-contained short stories and probably would have done better like that. The plot, if you want to call it that, comes to a sadly predictable ending that was supposed to be a spectacular send-off of the main antagonist but in my opinion, just went out with a whimper. Very disappointed.
April 29, 2013
I read this because I used to always see Helen Ellis lined up right next to Bret Ellis at the bookstore. I took a gamble one day between BEE novels and picked this one up.
Wow, what a crappy novel this is. Helen Ellis goes into long and so painfully obvious explanations of her alma mater's sorority traditions. I know we should write what we know, but at some point a line must be drawn in the sand and originality is expected. The characters are not only unlikable but also untenable and uninteresting, and in the latter half of the book they become outright ridiculous in their actions.
Just not a good writer, I have to say.
Wow, what a crappy novel this is. Helen Ellis goes into long and so painfully obvious explanations of her alma mater's sorority traditions. I know we should write what we know, but at some point a line must be drawn in the sand and originality is expected. The characters are not only unlikable but also untenable and uninteresting, and in the latter half of the book they become outright ridiculous in their actions.
Just not a good writer, I have to say.
May 20, 2009
I have learned my lesson.
I said to myself, "self, go ahead, read a book that may take no thought in general to read". The first hundred or so pages were bearable, mildly enjoyable. It felt very juvenile, but I could stand to read it. Then the story drug on and on and I began to find myself have to work hard to finish each chapter. The characters at this point begin to shift from realistic to entirely unbelievable. Dynamic, sure. Relatable? Not even close. The character of Sarina seemed to be a sweet enough girl who was really just a little messed up. Her character changes at least made a little sense. Nicole, was ridiculous. In the beginning, she was the slightly less attractive, awkward friend. We didn't really sense any malice in her, as she was the victim of most of the scenarios present. However, by the end, she snaps so many times that she becomes a full fledged saboteur who has shed her need to stay in the shadows for a madness that allows her to show herself to the world as she takes down her nemesis. That seems pretty likely for a teenage-young adult girl, right?
Bitty Jack, despite her hokey name and cliche back story, was the one character I could stand for most of this book. She seemed reasonable and realistic, as the persevering victim of Sarina's cruelty. She moves on and does the best she can with what she's got. She appreciates her life and the people in it. She maintains this sense up until the second or third last chapter in the book. Suddenly she feels the need to exact revenge on her childhood foe, and herself becomes homicidal.
It was really just a silly premise and tough to buy into. Angry girls backstabbing each other, having sex, trying to fit in while eliminating the competition with fiendish attempts.
It was pretty dull, most of the time. I couldn't have cared less. But it definitely does not take a lot of concentration to soak in the story, so go ahead if you have extra time and don't want to be fully awake.
I said to myself, "self, go ahead, read a book that may take no thought in general to read". The first hundred or so pages were bearable, mildly enjoyable. It felt very juvenile, but I could stand to read it. Then the story drug on and on and I began to find myself have to work hard to finish each chapter. The characters at this point begin to shift from realistic to entirely unbelievable. Dynamic, sure. Relatable? Not even close. The character of Sarina seemed to be a sweet enough girl who was really just a little messed up. Her character changes at least made a little sense. Nicole, was ridiculous. In the beginning, she was the slightly less attractive, awkward friend. We didn't really sense any malice in her, as she was the victim of most of the scenarios present. However, by the end, she snaps so many times that she becomes a full fledged saboteur who has shed her need to stay in the shadows for a madness that allows her to show herself to the world as she takes down her nemesis. That seems pretty likely for a teenage-young adult girl, right?
Bitty Jack, despite her hokey name and cliche back story, was the one character I could stand for most of this book. She seemed reasonable and realistic, as the persevering victim of Sarina's cruelty. She moves on and does the best she can with what she's got. She appreciates her life and the people in it. She maintains this sense up until the second or third last chapter in the book. Suddenly she feels the need to exact revenge on her childhood foe, and herself becomes homicidal.
It was really just a silly premise and tough to buy into. Angry girls backstabbing each other, having sex, trying to fit in while eliminating the competition with fiendish attempts.
It was pretty dull, most of the time. I couldn't have cared less. But it definitely does not take a lot of concentration to soak in the story, so go ahead if you have extra time and don't want to be fully awake.
March 7, 2010
This book is very dark and sometimes followed a bit of an odd plot turn, but I loved every minute of it. Ellis took the archetypical mean girl, college life, cliques, southern society, and "cheerleader" moms, and twisted them into characters of a fairly original, overblown villainy, clique-ish, surreal story. It was a simple read but definitely held my attention; the characters are very memorable, and as the story progresses you can't help but find out what happens in the end.
June 10, 2017
One of the most unique books I've read. Everything that happens is outrageous and far-fetched, yet the characters are so relatable, it's easy to suspend your disbelief. This book is readable because of the good guy (girl), Bitty Jack. Most other characters are reprehensible but you'll enjoy rooting for them to fail, which in this story means suffering social embarrassment.
April 19, 2019
I loved this book! It kept surprising me around every corner. Though the characters are young adults, and it's easy to read, it's not your typical John Green type novel. Couldn't put this down once I started it.
February 1, 2009
This is supposed to be a funny book but I didn't laugh once. Maybe you have to have lived in the South to see the irony. I was mostly appalled.
August 3, 2024
This book would go from 0 to 100 faster than an Audi. And the 100 was always COMPLETELY bizarre and out of left field. The ending definitely took me off guard... Not really in a bad way? But also not in a good way? If you want something very odd and disappointing, give it a try.
July 15, 2008
This book was messed up, yo! But I also enjoyed it in a sick way. To give you an idea, the first thing that happens in this book is that a mother breaks her daughter's pinky fingers with the hammer end of an ax because the daughter is self-conscious about a slight bend in her fingers and they couldn't find a doctor who would do anything about it. Ewww!! Right??! It gets more twisted from there, believe it or not. It's all meant to be a satire of the whole Deep-South-Social-Climbing-Sorority-Culture Thing. It's pretty funny at times, but disturbing also. Anyone who spent any time on the wrong end of cool will get a weird satisfaction out of this. And if you're on goodreads. chances are I'm talking to you. It's a quick read. Not the greatest book ever, but definitely different and worth a shot.
(Thank you, Lady Catherine, for the rec. Did you find it at Urban Outfitters?)
(Thank you, Lady Catherine, for the rec. Did you find it at Urban Outfitters?)
January 31, 2016
I picked this book up after reading American Housewife. If you enjoyed Helen Ellis' short story collection, especially the darker elements, then Eating The Cheshire Cat is for you. There isn't actually a lot of Wonderlandian elements if you are coming due to the title, though the main characters live on Cheshire Lane and it definitely lives up to the "we're all mad here" quote of its name sake.
I thoroughly enjoyed this read. It was entertaining and, while fancifully insane, still felt grounded in reality. The likelihood of something like this happening in real life? Slim, but still possible.
The characters are fleshed out and believable. Ellis gives the right amount of detail without over sharing. All in all, this was a wonderfully entertaining world that I never want to visit in real life - 5 stars.
I thoroughly enjoyed this read. It was entertaining and, while fancifully insane, still felt grounded in reality. The likelihood of something like this happening in real life? Slim, but still possible.
The characters are fleshed out and believable. Ellis gives the right amount of detail without over sharing. All in all, this was a wonderfully entertaining world that I never want to visit in real life - 5 stars.
May 4, 2012
This book reminded me a bit of the movie "Drop Dead Gorgeous" w/ Denise Richards. It had that same dark comedy element.
The story revolves around the lives of three young women and their links to each other as they grow from early teenagers to college students. Sarina is manipulative and hurtful and effects the lives of Bitty Jack and Nicole until its climax.
I picked this one up from a used book store based on the interesting cover, and now I'm going to pass it on to my sister. :)
The story revolves around the lives of three young women and their links to each other as they grow from early teenagers to college students. Sarina is manipulative and hurtful and effects the lives of Bitty Jack and Nicole until its climax.
I picked this one up from a used book store based on the interesting cover, and now I'm going to pass it on to my sister. :)
November 25, 2009
This was more of a young adults' book but I enjoyed it. It was a really quick read and the description of fitting in during your college years and trying to make the best for yourself really sticks out as the "moral of the story."
It's a little twisted, but honestly I think you could gather that from the photo of a goldfish in a blender on the cover.
It's a little twisted, but honestly I think you could gather that from the photo of a goldfish in a blender on the cover.
July 11, 2010
I love this book. The first time I read it I was still in school at the University of Alabama and as weird as it may seem now whenever I read it it makes me miss Tuscaloosa. It is a weird, funny, and a disturbing book. I couldn't put it down the first time I read it.
August 9, 2011
This book got my attention from the start and I couldn't put it down. It was like watching a train wreck. Being from the Tuscaloosa area, I liked that I was familiar with the landmarks in the book. I definately recommend this one...
March 26, 2013
According to the books I've read, such evil lurks in the hearts of Southern women. I should have been born in the South.
Read
April 15, 2015So weird and bizarre and good. Like a twisted soap opera.
November 15, 2016
This book was so crazy. I want all my friends to read so we can discuss. Page turner!
October 2, 2024
I reallyyy enjoyed this. It seemed so either dystopian or old fashioned but if you know how sorority culture and family dynamics are in SEC schools specifically at Alabama, you know that it’s totally realistic. There were some parts that were just a little strange to me, but I can’t knock a star off because isn’t that kind of the point of the book…it’s a doozie from start to finish.
I though Bitty’s side plot with the carnival was weird, but her whole point was being the weird girl so it made sense, but a part of it took away a little bit from the story for me. The ending although satisfying (I guess…??) didn’t really really do it for me but I don’t know what else I would have wanted thus also won’t be knocking off a star.
I would definitely suggest this if you want a fucked up southern coming of age story with mean girls vibes and insane parents. Also if you want something you can read in a day because it’s so hard to put down!
I though Bitty’s side plot with the carnival was weird, but her whole point was being the weird girl so it made sense, but a part of it took away a little bit from the story for me. The ending although satisfying (I guess…??) didn’t really really do it for me but I don’t know what else I would have wanted thus also won’t be knocking off a star.
I would definitely suggest this if you want a fucked up southern coming of age story with mean girls vibes and insane parents. Also if you want something you can read in a day because it’s so hard to put down!
September 20, 2021
4.5- This started strong, but got a bit garbled as it continued. I really didn't think Nicole's parts added much, even though I had wanted them to after her first section. Sarina was the focus. It was a story about Southern perfection and what girls and their mothers will do to try and obtain it. Bitty Jack was more comfortable as she was and provided an interesting foil to Sarina's world and Nicole's orbit around Sarina.
All in all, this was done well. Messy, but that's how things are. I did things became too uneccesarily dramatic and complicated in the end when sometimes the smaller things at the beginning made a bigger impact for me.
All in all, this was done well. Messy, but that's how things are. I did things became too uneccesarily dramatic and complicated in the end when sometimes the smaller things at the beginning made a bigger impact for me.
August 10, 2024
The title is confusing, at least to me. But overall I liked this book. Living in Alabama, it made it interesting to me. I like books set in locales that I know about. So I guess that's why it bugs me that the author decided to set the camp in a fictional Alabama county. I don't understand why. The camp is an important part of the book though there was no need to make up a fake county, when so many other things were real. The author mentioned many real towns and many real places in Alabama, so I just don't understand the need for a fake county. That said, Roll Tide!
August 30, 2023
This book started off completely insane and ended completely insane! I loved it!! It was a story I just couldn’t put down. Normally in stories like these the evil ones don’t really get what’s coming to them, this is Not one of those cases. I will definitely read this again someday.
Read
October 26, 2024I didn't read it
August 3, 2025
This is my absolute favorite book. I’ve read it no less than 5 times. It is deeply dark, funny and twisted. It exposes the rotten underbelly of polite, southern society.
January 23, 2016
I’ve always been fond of novels with Fairytales as their foundation. So when I saw the book titled Eating the Cheshire Cat I didn’t let it go, despite the fact that its cover is less appealing than the other books around the store (yes, that trick with the goldfish didn’t work on me) or that it wasn’t in its best condition. I still purchased the book and besides, the synopsis sounded interesting enough. Its cheap price was a bonus.
Eating the Cheshire Cat presents us three different Alices with three different mothers, who want different things. Here we have the spoiled Sarina Summers and her I-will-do-everything-for-my-daughter mother; the obsessive Nicole Hicks whose mother’s life goal is for her to beat the bad influence Summers girl; and the nice girl Bitty Jack Carlson, with her also nice mom, who gets tangled in the chaotic events.
Funny, honest, and at times dark, the book gave me a free trip to Tuscaloosa, Alabama and let me meet people who, in all honesty, I’d rather not meet in real life. Ellis made three main characters that are very different with each other but her consistency is evident in every chapter, you’d know she has good knowledge of her characters. I’d have to say one of her strengths as a writer is that she is consistent with her characters and she gave a good voice to each one of them, you’d either love them or hate them.
Another good thing about this book is that for every scene, there’s a sufficient description that helps the reader’s imagination paint it, descriptive sentences that take the readers straight into the event. Admittedly, there were many times while I was reading the book that I got chills, and even put the book away from me.
The story was fast paced but it was good because it matched the fiery characters it revolves around. However, the shifts in timeline were confusing. One minute, the character was reminiscing a memory and then you’d just be surprised that the next sentence you’re reading is back to the present time. This confusion is why I can’t say that the book is an easy read.
On the brighter side, the story is full of twists and surprises that you could not just wait to flip the page and read more. Each scene leaves you wanting for more. It’s mysterious in a way that makes it exciting. It tackles issues we are all aware of, some we’re familiar with and some we have no idea at all. Last but not the least, I commend Ellis for writing a story with an ending that is as remarkably peculiar as its first chapter.
Though I admit I didn’t like it that much, Eating the Cheshire Cat is a proof that not all the good books are only the mainstream and bestsellers. Underrated authors also write stories which are sometimes, if not most of the time, actually better than the popular books. Unfortunately for Ellis, I can’t count Eating the Cheshire Cat as one of those books.
Eating the Cheshire Cat presents us three different Alices with three different mothers, who want different things. Here we have the spoiled Sarina Summers and her I-will-do-everything-for-my-daughter mother; the obsessive Nicole Hicks whose mother’s life goal is for her to beat the bad influence Summers girl; and the nice girl Bitty Jack Carlson, with her also nice mom, who gets tangled in the chaotic events.
Funny, honest, and at times dark, the book gave me a free trip to Tuscaloosa, Alabama and let me meet people who, in all honesty, I’d rather not meet in real life. Ellis made three main characters that are very different with each other but her consistency is evident in every chapter, you’d know she has good knowledge of her characters. I’d have to say one of her strengths as a writer is that she is consistent with her characters and she gave a good voice to each one of them, you’d either love them or hate them.
Another good thing about this book is that for every scene, there’s a sufficient description that helps the reader’s imagination paint it, descriptive sentences that take the readers straight into the event. Admittedly, there were many times while I was reading the book that I got chills, and even put the book away from me.
The story was fast paced but it was good because it matched the fiery characters it revolves around. However, the shifts in timeline were confusing. One minute, the character was reminiscing a memory and then you’d just be surprised that the next sentence you’re reading is back to the present time. This confusion is why I can’t say that the book is an easy read.
On the brighter side, the story is full of twists and surprises that you could not just wait to flip the page and read more. Each scene leaves you wanting for more. It’s mysterious in a way that makes it exciting. It tackles issues we are all aware of, some we’re familiar with and some we have no idea at all. Last but not the least, I commend Ellis for writing a story with an ending that is as remarkably peculiar as its first chapter.
Though I admit I didn’t like it that much, Eating the Cheshire Cat is a proof that not all the good books are only the mainstream and bestsellers. Underrated authors also write stories which are sometimes, if not most of the time, actually better than the popular books. Unfortunately for Ellis, I can’t count Eating the Cheshire Cat as one of those books.
March 12, 2010
This was a fast easy don't want to stop reading kind of book. It was totally weird and dark, not the kind of book I would read but I like it but the ending left me kind of wanting a little more. I felt it ended a little to soon and some of the middle could have been left out.
I really liked Bitty Jack and wanted her to be happy and in love. I could feel her pain and would get upset right along with her and was happy with her too so I did not really feel her ending was so good.
Sarina was a piece of work! I don't think she liked herself every much and that is why she was such a witch. She needed someone who was less then her as a best friend in order to feel of worth so Nicole was that for her.
Nicole's problems I felt came from her mother trying too hard to turn her into this person she wasn't. She mother wanted a "Sarina" and that is why I feel she became so crazy with her. She also wanted to be her.
It was a crazy wild ride of a story that I liked till the end I needed just a little more..
I really liked Bitty Jack and wanted her to be happy and in love. I could feel her pain and would get upset right along with her and was happy with her too so I did not really feel her ending was so good.
Sarina was a piece of work! I don't think she liked herself every much and that is why she was such a witch. She needed someone who was less then her as a best friend in order to feel of worth so Nicole was that for her.
Nicole's problems I felt came from her mother trying too hard to turn her into this person she wasn't. She mother wanted a "Sarina" and that is why I feel she became so crazy with her. She also wanted to be her.
It was a crazy wild ride of a story that I liked till the end I needed just a little more..
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