Content levels
Hero archetypes
Heroine archetypes
Protagonist archetypes
Tropes
Themes
Synopsis
No one’s ever told Eleanor that life should be better than fine. Meet Eleanor Oliphant: She struggles with appropriate social skills and tends to say exactly what she’s thinking. Nothing is missing in her carefully timetabled life of avoiding social interactions, where weekends are punctuated by frozen pizza, vodka, and phone chats with Mummy. But everything changes when Eleanor meets Raymond, the bumbling and deeply unhygienic IT guy from her office. When she and Raymond together save Sammy, an elderly gentleman who has fallen on the sidewalk, the three become the kinds of friends who rescue one another from the lives of isolation they have each been living. And it is Raymond’s big heart that will ultimately help Eleanor find the way to repair her own profoundly damaged one.
Tags
Is Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine appropriate for my child?
Suitable for most readers 16 and up.
This deeply moving contemporary novel explores trauma, mental health, and recovery through the lens of a socially isolated woman finding connection. Contains references to childhood abuse, alcoholism, and past trauma, but handles these themes sensitively with an ultimately hopeful message.
What to know going in
This book has mild violence, no sexual content, and mild language. Content notes include child abuse, substance abuse, and grief (see the full list above).
Who'll love this
Teens will connect with Eleanor's journey from isolation to belonging and the power of unexpected friendships to change lives.