Book Review: Becoming Ellen by Shari Shattuck

Becoming Ellen by Shari Shattuck
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Release Date: August 11, 2015
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Publisher’s Description:

Ellen Homes is done being invisible. Well, sort of.

Living with her closest friends, Temerity and Justice, has helped her step out of the shell of invisibility she once hid away in. She still seeks refuge in solitary time and observing from afar, but she has pushed herself to open up to others in ways that bring her unexpected happiness.

But when a terrible bus crash upends her normal routine, Ellen finds herself on a whirlwind crusade for the unseen and downtrodden. Only this time, helping others—including two young children with no one else to turn to—will mean facing a pain from her past that she’s long tucked away.

Picking up where Invisible Ellen left off, Becoming Ellen returns us to the touching, poignant, and compassionate world of Ellen Homes as she learns how to navigate the world she has decided to become a part of.

***This review has spoilers for Invisible Ellen but not for Becoming Ellen***

Becoming Ellen is the sequel to Invisible Ellen. I highly recommend reading that book first to really understand who Ellen is. And Ellen is a very damaged individual. She has a paralyzing fear of interacting with other people and has used food as an emotional crutch in the past, although not so much in this book.

As with Invisible Ellen, there are several subplots that have Temerity and Ellen involving themselves in sticky situations to try and help people. Some of these situations involved the foster care system and as foster parent myself, I was bothered by the inaccuracies of how the system works. It’s probably not enough to concern someone who isn’t familiar with the system but I didn’t like it.

Ellen still struggles with anxiety and extreme shyness in the book but she is slowly coming out of her shell. She lives with Temerity and her brother Justice now instead of living isolated and alone. Her scar has been fixed for the most part and her relationship with food is healthier, although still not perfect. We learn more about Ellen’s childhood which is the reason she became the person she is now.

I liked this book but I didn’t love it like I loved Invisible Ellen. I think it’s because Invisible Ellen was mostly focused on Ellen and developing her character. Becoming Ellen is more focused on action and plot. If there is another book, I would like it to explore the character of Temerity more deeply in addition to following Ellen on her journey.

If you read Invisible Ellen then I recommend Becoming Ellen. I enjoyed checking in with Ellen, Temerity and Justice.

(I received this book courtesy of Amazon Vine.)