Madeleine Gray's Chosen Family is a razor-sharp exploration of what it means to love, to lose, and to find again. The novel follows the complicated relationship between Nell and Eve, two women who meet at 12 on Sydney's girls' school playground. Their bond forms the foundation of their lives, but when Nell disappears from Eve's life without explanation, her absence leaves a gaping hole that neither can fill.
Through Gray's masterful storytelling, we are transported through time – from Nell's lonely childhood to Eve's carefree university days and into the present, where they navigate the complexities of co-parenting their young daughter. As they tentatively reconnect, old wounds resurface, and the reader is left wondering what went wrong between them.
Gray shines a light on the horrors of adolescence, capturing the cutthroat world of preteen girls with unflinching honesty. Eve's journey towards self-discovery, particularly in embracing her queer identity, is beautifully rendered, revealing the vital and exciting power of community. However, this newfound freedom comes with a price: the difficulty of letting others in.
As Nell and Eve reunite, their complicated pasts come into sharp focus. Beneath their tentative friendship lies a complex web of emotions, making it impossible to discern whether they're friends or something more. The wounds inflicted by school bullies are still raw, and the reader can't help but feel that there's a deeper truth being kept from them.
Relationship novels often rely on female friendships as a means to discuss love lives – a narrative safety net. Chosen Family subverts this trope, instead creating an intense emotional landscape where the women's relationships with each other take center stage. This is particularly evident in Eve's long-distance friendship with Tae and Marcus, who become a source of comfort during her darkest moments.
But amidst the joy and connection, there's a palpable sense of terror – the fear of losing someone you love if everything goes wrong. Nell and Eve both conceal things from each other due to the high stakes involved. The Medusa myth runs throughout the novel, symbolizing the petrifying fear that comes with vulnerability.
Ultimately, Chosen Family is a masterful exploration of friendship, parenting, love, lust, self-deception – all intertwined in complex ways. Gray asks difficult questions about the nature of human connection and whether we can find new, honest ways to love one another. With its razor-sharp writing, relatable characters, and unflinching honesty, this novel will resonate deeply with anyone who has ever loved, lost, or sought connection with others.
Through Gray's masterful storytelling, we are transported through time – from Nell's lonely childhood to Eve's carefree university days and into the present, where they navigate the complexities of co-parenting their young daughter. As they tentatively reconnect, old wounds resurface, and the reader is left wondering what went wrong between them.
Gray shines a light on the horrors of adolescence, capturing the cutthroat world of preteen girls with unflinching honesty. Eve's journey towards self-discovery, particularly in embracing her queer identity, is beautifully rendered, revealing the vital and exciting power of community. However, this newfound freedom comes with a price: the difficulty of letting others in.
As Nell and Eve reunite, their complicated pasts come into sharp focus. Beneath their tentative friendship lies a complex web of emotions, making it impossible to discern whether they're friends or something more. The wounds inflicted by school bullies are still raw, and the reader can't help but feel that there's a deeper truth being kept from them.
Relationship novels often rely on female friendships as a means to discuss love lives – a narrative safety net. Chosen Family subverts this trope, instead creating an intense emotional landscape where the women's relationships with each other take center stage. This is particularly evident in Eve's long-distance friendship with Tae and Marcus, who become a source of comfort during her darkest moments.
But amidst the joy and connection, there's a palpable sense of terror – the fear of losing someone you love if everything goes wrong. Nell and Eve both conceal things from each other due to the high stakes involved. The Medusa myth runs throughout the novel, symbolizing the petrifying fear that comes with vulnerability.
Ultimately, Chosen Family is a masterful exploration of friendship, parenting, love, lust, self-deception – all intertwined in complex ways. Gray asks difficult questions about the nature of human connection and whether we can find new, honest ways to love one another. With its razor-sharp writing, relatable characters, and unflinching honesty, this novel will resonate deeply with anyone who has ever loved, lost, or sought connection with others.
. It's like every other week we're hearing about another book that's all about these amazing friendships and how they save the day 
️. Newsflash: people have friends outside of books too. Can't we just write a story about something else for once? 
. I mean, I guess it's cool and all that, but come on, can't they have found another metaphor or symbol to represent Eve's fears? It feels like Gray just slapped a Greek mythology thing onto her story because it sounds deep 
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. The way she captured the cutthroat world of preteen girls was so accurate and relatable. But let's be real, we've all been there – who hasn't struggled with body image or peer pressure? 
. It was beautifully rendered and empowering. I loved seeing her journey towards self-discovery and embracing her true self. Can we get more of this in literature, please? 
... I mean, don't get me wrong, Madeleine Gray's writing is insane, and the way she explores themes of love, loss, and identity is so relatable 
. But, on the other hand, I'm not sure if the characters are super well-developed, like, Nell and Eve seem kinda one-dimensional to me... and what's up with the Medusa myth, it feels like it's being used as a crutch or something 
...
. The way Nell and Eve's relationship evolves, with all its attendant pain and joy, feels so refreshingly real 
. It's like Gray is saying, hey, we're not just here for the romance – our friendships are where the real magic happens 
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. The Medusa myth is such a great metaphor for the terror that comes with opening ourselves up to others, but also for the strength that can be found in those moments of vulnerability 
. It's a masterclass in storytelling, character development, and emotional depth – and I'm still reeling from the experience 
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. It's like, what if instead of focusing on romantic love, we explored the depth of our connections with others? 
The characters in this book are so raw and real, it feels like you're reading about your own friends or family members. And that Medusa myth? Mind-blowing 
. I'm still thinking about Nell and Eve's complicated pasts and the sense of vulnerability that comes with love and loss 
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the way it explores complex relationships and emotions is super relatable, i'm all about that heart-to-heart drama 
. I mean, Nell and Eve's friendship is like this beautiful, complicated dance – they pull each other apart and together again, and we get to witness all the emotions that come with it 
I mean, who hasn't experienced the terror of losing someone you love or the fear of not being enough for others? 
I love it! It's like she's saying, hey, women have feelings too and we deserve just as much attention as men do in our love lives. 
. Trust me, I'm gonna be thinking about it for weeks to come 
Chosen Family is literally the perfect reflection of my anxiety for the future 
. I mean, who hasn't felt that crushing sense of uncertainty when their partner or loved one disappears from their life? It's like Gray took all our worst fears about relationships and turned them into a beautiful, haunting novel 
. It cuts through all the BS and gets straight to the heart of what it means to love and lose and find again 
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. And don't even get me started on the Medusa myth 
... isn't that just a fancy way of saying "we're too scared to be vulnerable" 
. And can we talk about how this novel sheds light on the complexities of motherhood and co-parenting? It's like Gray is saying, 'Hey, let's have an honest conversation about what it means to love and care for someone else' 
It's a universal human experience, and Gray masterfully weaves it into this story.
. I mean, who knew the fear of vulnerability could be so palpable? It's like Gray's tapping into this collective human experience where we're all just trying to figure out how to love and be loved back 
it's like they're two puzzle pieces that don't quite fit together 
makes me wanna read this book ASAP 
Madeleine Gray's book Chosen Family is a wild rollercoaster of emotions - I'm talking emotional whiplash here! 
One minute you're feeling all the feels for Nell and Eve's friendship, and the next, you're worried about what went wrong between them 
. But what really got me was how it highlights the fragility of human connections - we're all just one wrong move away from disaster 
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. Nell and Eve's relationship is so much more complex than that – it's messy, complicated, and sometimes even terrifying 
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