Eleanor by Jason Gurley

From Goodreads.com

   1985. The death of Eleanor's twin sister tears her family apart. Her father blames her mother for the accident. When her mother looks at her, she sees only the daughter she lost. Their wounded family crumbles under the weight of their shared grief.

   1993. Eleanor is 14 years old when it happens for the first time... when she walks through an ordinary door at school and finds herself in another world. It happens again and again, but it's only a curiosity until the day at the cliffs. The day when Eleanor dives... and something rips her out of time itself.

And on the other side, someone is waiting for her.

   Eleanor begins with a woman (named Eleanor) sitting and watching the rain fall. She is married to a man named Hob and they have a daughter, Agnes. You can feel Eleanor's depression and Hob's adoration is obvious. The story jumps into the future to a set of twins, Esmeralda and Eleanor, and their mother, Agnes. The book reads like a family tale of depression and loss (which it is) but then we meet Mia and strange things start to happen to Eleanor. She finds herself in odd worlds that seem to have no connection to one another. She comes back to her world missing time, hours, even days, have passed.

   I'm not exactly sure how I discovered this book. I feel like a read a recommendation from Neil Gaiman for it, I don't remember where I saw it though. I'm not in the habit of reading a book simply because someone famous recommends it, but it's Neil Gaiman! I remember immediately looking for it at my local library to read the synopsis only to find that we hadn't yet received it.

   Eleanor is a book that will stick with me for a while. I already see myself picking it back up in a year or so just to experience it again. Science fiction is woven perfectly into contemporary fiction. I loved the balance. I like contemporary fiction but sometimes I get too frustrated with the story line. The fantasy aspect definitely kept my attention. Not to mention the writing itself. Gorgeous.

   I recommend this book if you're a fan of Neil Gaiman, it has a similar feel to it. You by no means have to like Neil Gaiman to enjoy this book though. If you normally stick to contemporary fiction, give this book a chance, the sci-fi element might throw you off, but you may just discover you like it.