Do We Deserve This? (Eleanor Elliott Thomas, Text)

Do We Deserve This? by Eleanor Elliott Thomas (The Opposite of Success) follows twenty-something underachiever Bean Halloway, who buys a lottery ticket for her mother, only for it to win millions. But when her mother falls into a coma before receiving it, the unclaimed ticket drops into the chaotic Halloway family like a lit match, igniting old wounds and a legacy of trauma. Thomas crafts the Halloway siblings with witty precision: Jeremy, the entitled, melodramatic older brother; Genevieve, the sensible but emotionally repressed middle child; and Bean, the anxious but headstrong youngest child. Their dynamics create naturally tense and revealing scenes – their conflicts feel inevitable because of the kind of people they are. Their mother’s callous parenting casts a long shadow as the siblings stumble through life and circle a lingering, unspoken question: Are they good, worthy people? Do We Deserve This? attempts a timely interrogation of tokenism and generational wealth. However, while the premise simmers with potential, the novel often loses momentum, sidelining the lottery ticket and its emotional fallout. Thomas’s use of third-person close narration tends to lean on exposition in pivotal scenes, limiting the immediacy and tension the setup demands. The novel’s sharp humour will appeal to fans of Madeleine Gray (Green Dot) and Claire Lombardo, as well as viewers of The White Lotus and Bad Sisters, who enjoy darkly comic takes on family, privilege and dysfunction. 

Books+Publishing reviewer: Rhea Candy is a freelance writer, editor and reviewer. She has a master’s degree in creative writing and publishing from the University of Melbourne. Books+Publishing is Australia’s number-one source of pre-publication book reviews.

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