Almost Eden by Anita Horrocks

Horrocks, A. (2006). Almost eden. Toronto, Ontario: Tundra Books.

Summary:

After Elsie’s mother is sent to Eden, a mental institution, Elsie begins to blame herself for her mother’s issues. Trying to survive without her mother, Elsie gets in arguments with both of her sisters, is unable to tell her friends about her mother, and worries about her relationship with God. After countless fights and misadventures, Elsie understands that there must be a God even though she does not understand him and she knows what she must do to help her mother.

Advisory Information:

-Themes:

a. Abandonment, Loss, and Grief: Elsie and her family must learn to cope without her mother.

b. Understanding God: Growing up in a Menonite family, Elsie initially, takes on her parents’ religion and belief system. However, following the admittance of her mother in Eden, Elsie slowly begins to question her faith. She then experiences what she feels is proof of God’s existence, and she starts to discover her own feelings towards God and religion.

c. Coming of Age story: Elsie transitions from a gawky tween into someone who better understands herself and knows that she does not have to have all of the answers in life.

d. Family Relationships: Elsie fights with her family, especially her older sister. However, they also all come together to help their mother “escape” from Eden, one rainy night.

e. Religion: This book looks at a Mennonite city, along with its culture and religious practices.

f. Mental Illness and Hospital practices in the 1970s: Elsie’s mother suffers from Depression and uses shock therapy for treatment. Furthermore, it also looks at how other family members are affected by their relative who has a mental illness. For example, Elsie feels ashamed to tell her friends that her mother is in a mental hospital.

g. Social Relationships: Almost Eden, also looks at friendships and how the emergence of crushes can affect that. Elsie also comes to realize that she can easily misread a person’s character and intentions.

-Age Level

Almost Eden would mostly appeal to 4-7th grade girls. While some of the themes seem more advanced, the writing style and experiences are acceptable for that age.

-Other Information:

Setting takes place in a 1970’s Mennonite city in Manitoba.

Reaction:

I enjoyed the story; I thought that the emotions were fairly realistic for a young girl coping with her mother’s illness. The author did write about Depression in a light that would be more understanding to a younger teen, though. While the author definitely believes in God, the religious content is not an attempt to convert, but rather an opportunity for the reader take what they will from it. The treatments used by Eden, like shock therapy, would probably need an explanation for younger readers. I thought that the author did an excellent job capturing the feel of what it must be like to live in a close-knit religious community in the 1970s.