Peeking Between the Pages

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Book Review: Anthropology of an American Girl by Hilary Thayer Hamann & Giveaway

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Anthropology of an American Girl by Hilary Thayer Hamann is essentially a coming of age story – all the pitfalls and newness of experiencing a first kiss, first love, and some of the harder hits that some have to take. In this novel we follow Eveline through her teenage life and her entrance into womanhood and it is one rocky journey.

At the start of the novel Eveline’s best friend Kate loses her mother to cancer and Kate comes to live with Eveline. Now a bit about Eveline’s mother – while I think she cares about her daughter I didn’t find her to be much of a mother. Eveline has way too much freedom to pretty much do whatever she wants including smoking, drinking, parties, and going out with boys. She didn’t have a really stable homelife from the beginning so it doesn’t surprise me when she seems so confused about what she wants from life and strives to always find love in the wrong places.

In this novel we get a really indepth look into Eveline’s life from her first boyfriend Jack who was quite moody and possessive of her but who she believed she loved fiercely. That was until she met Rourke, an older man who she quickly becomes obsessed with. She eventually breaks it off with Jack who is devastated and moves on to Rourke. That also ends up failing and then she kind of floats for a bit and ends up with Mark who she eventually plans to marry but that too doesn’t work out. In all of these relationships, to the men, Eveline always seems a bit out of reach and that’s what intrigues them; makes them want her more.

Eveline herself is an interesting character although I felt no attachment to her whatsoever. She just seemed such a lost soul; never really finding herself. She seemed to base so much of who she was on what relationship she was in. Once her friendship with Kate seemed to sour she never really had a friend anymore. She just seemed to always be hanging out with the guys. Now I know young girls have a tendency to really focus on a relationship that they’re in but I felt that Eveline really carried things to unhealthy limits. As for any of the other characters in the novel, I felt no connection to them at all either and I didn’t really feel the author developed their characters in any way that would enable us to connect to them.

Anthropology of an American Girl is a big novel at almost six hundred pages and to be honest I really wanted to like it because the description alone captured my interest but this is one book I just couldn’t connect to. While I enjoyed some of the writing I just felt it was much too long and dwelt too much on the more depressing side of things for me. However this book has gotten some great reviews and I think it’s one of those novels that a reader will either like or not like so this is just my opinion. Another reader who enjoys this type of story and writing will love this novel so be sure to check out other reviews before deciding on whether or not you’d like to read it. Even better, be sure to enter the giveaway and win your own copy to decide!

I read Anthropology of an American Girl by Hilary Thayer Hamann for her book tour with TLC Book Tours. Be sure to check out what others on the tour thought of the book here. Also check out the website and Facebook page for the novel and be sure to find Hilary on Twitter. You can purchase your own copy of Anthropology of an American Girl here in the US and here in Canada.

GIVEAWAY DETAILS

I have one copy of Anthropology of an American Girl by Hilary Thayer Hamann up for grabs. To enter…

  • For 1 entry leave me a comment with an email address to contact you should you win.
  • For 2 entries, follow my blog. If you already do, thank you, and please let me know in your comment so I can pass the extra entry on to you as well.
  • For 3 entries, blog or tweet this giveaway to spread the word.

This giveaway is open to US and Canadian residents only (no PO boxes) and I will draw for the winner on Saturday, July 30/11. Good luck everyone!

© 2010, Darlene of Peeking Between the Pages. All Rights Reserved. If you’re reading this on a site other than Peeking Between the Pages or Darlene’s Feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.My copy of Anthropology of an American Girl by Hilary Thayer Hamann was received for review from TLC Book Tours and the Publisher.

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Comments

  1. Sorry you could not connect :/ Hate when that happens but it is bound to happen

  3. You know if you feel no connection with the characters in a book, there is no way you can enjoy it. And I am really impressed that you finished this one 🙂

  4. I'm not sure I want to tackle a 600 page book that you didn't connect with. Thanks for a thoughtful review.

  5. I think I'll try this even though you didn't like it; I usually enjoy coming-of-age novels and I want to know why it's titled "anthropology."

    Thanks for the giveaway!
    I'm an old GFC follower.

    susanna DOT pyatt AT student DOT rcsnc DOT org

  6. So disappointing when you WANT to like a book and it falls short. At 600 pages, I doubt I'll tackle this any time soon.

  8. I appreciate your thoughtful review! I've read good things about this book, so I'd still like to give it a shot 🙂

    I'm an old follower

    jesse.nicole.paul (at) gmail (dot) com

  9. Just proves that every book is not for every reader. Sounds like you gave it a good try, though. Excellent review!

  10. I would like to give this one a try. Thanks for the giveaway.

    I follow on GFC under Bethie.

    lizzi0915 at aol dot com

  16. It's hard when you go into a book fairly sure you're going to like it, and then for whatever reason, it just doesn't work for you, and then on top of that, you have committed to writing a review 🙂
    I understand your feelings about the book, given the fact that you just couldn't connect with the characters — I give you credit for perserving to the end of the 600 pages!

  17. I would love to give this one a shot, hopefully I will enjoy it! Thank you for your honest review and for the giveaway 🙂

    jaidahsmommy(at)comcast(dot)net

  19. There are times when I just do not enjoy a book with great reviews but this does look like an interesting story.
    mce1011 AT aol DOT com

  21. Darn, it's too bad this book didn't turn out to be a good fit for you. Hopefully your next read will be better!

    Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the tour.

  22. I don't really think that this one is for me, and in fact, it sounds like I would be annoyed by it. I am sorry that it didn't work for you, Dar, but I really appreciate you voicing your honest opinions on it.

  24. Charactes are so important to a story and when one can't connect, it seems like a waste of time to read the book. Thanks for your honesty! I won't bother with it…plus, the cover is ugly!

  26. Sounds interesting – not every book is for everyone. Thanks for the honest review. And thanks for the giveaway. I am a follower!

    suzebomb(at)gmail.com

  27. Thanks for the honest review. Too bad you couldnt connect to the story, but the premise sounds good.

  35. I would love to win a copy of this book! Hope it's not too late!

    nancyecdavis AT bellsouth DOT net