Inventing Elliot

Rating:
Summary: Richie's Picks: INVENTING ELLIOT
Review: "And so I wrestle with the angel
To see who'll reap the seeds I sow
Am I the driver or the driven
Will I be damned to be forgiven
Is there anybody here but me who needs to know"
--Grateful Dead, "Victim or the Crime"

"Survival wasn't that difficult. It simply meant cutting off all the pieces of you that didn't fit. After a while, your new identity became second nature, as if you'd always been like you were now.
"The difficult part was managing and keeping apart all the different people you had to become."

INVENTING ELLIOT is a smart psychological YA thriller set in a private high school in which Elliot, a scarred victim of bullying at his previous schools, is given the chance to start over in a place where nobody knows him, and then finds that his careful efforts at creating himself a new image lead to his being adopted into the heart of the students' secret power structure where he is offered the opportunity to mete out the kind of arbitrary, sadistic punishment to vulnerable classmates that he himself had been subjected to in his previous life. Elliot's constant fear is that any reluctance to play the game will lead to his once again becoming a victim himself.

As most of us can imagine, being in his position means that Elliot will merely be trading one living hell for another. Elliot's deep fears, artfully hidden behind his newly minted veneer, are infectious. I was thoroughly on edge as I followed Elliot page by page.

"When I'm in the shower
I'm afraid to wash my hair
'Cause I might open my eyes
And find someone standing there"
--Rockwell, "Somebody's Watching Me"

Not having read 1984 since well back on the other side of that year, I was intrigued by the prominent role that Orwell's book plays in this story, with two schoolmates presenting their radically contrasting impressions of the book to Elliot. Through those contrasting visions put forth by his characters, the author provides additional fuel for Elliot's internal struggle, as well as tools for the reader to begin considering why the dynamics of bullying exist in schools and possibly why people in the larger society forever crap on each other as if it's an inherent part of being human.

INVENTING ELLIOT asks more questions than it answers. This exceptionally well-crafted tale will grab readers in its ever-tightening snare and leave them wrestling with their own beliefs about power and how it is used.

Rating:
Summary: A COMPELLING NARRATION
Review: Every young person want to fit in, to be accepted by his peers. When someone is not a part of the group his or her life can be fraught with misery. This is the situation 14-year-old Elliot Sutton finds himself in when he is the target of hurtful teasing by his classmates.

However, there's hope as Elliot is going to a new school, Holminster High, and he is determined to be different, to change himself so that he won't be bullied again. To this end, he adopts a facade, a tough exterior, an emotional armor to protect himself.

British actor Dominic Taylor presents a compelling reading as he segues from a cowed young man to a hardened teenager and, finally, to the voice of Elliot's conscience.

You see, it seems that there is actually no escape for Elliot as Holminster High has its bullies, too. Only, they're a bit more evil than the ones Elliot has known before. This is a group called the Guardians, no one knows exactly who they are but everyone knows enough to fear them. They're upperclass students who rule for the sake of ruling, and, of all things, they want Elliot to join them.

Can Elliot, a boy who was once a victim become a victimizer? It's often a struggle to grow, and this young man faces some difficult tests in order to do so.

- Gail Cooke

Rating:
Summary: a deeply moving novel
Review: In Graham Gardner's debut novel, fourteen-year old Elliot Sutton is determined to reinvent himself when he starts the academic year at his new school, Holminster High.

Elliot was picked on and beaten up by bullies at his old school. He wants to make sure that he doesn't get noticed in the wrong way ever again. As a result, he wears the right clothes, changes his hairstyle and acts very cool. Much to his surprise, his plan succeeds.

Elliot is noticed by the Guardians, a secret society of students who run the school by terrorizing and bullying students. Their organization is loosely based on George Orwell's book 1984. The Guardians would like Elliot to join them. Not wanting to get hurt again, Elliot goes along with them but soon finds out that he will have to pay a terrible price for his new position of power.

Gardner made me feel Elliot's pain, both physically and emotionally. Most of his actions are driven by fear. There are several touching scenes in the book. Elliot befriends a boy named Ben who is one of the Guardians' favorite targets. Elliot and Ben spend several enjoyable Saturdays together, but ultimately their friendship dies because Elliot is afraid to associate with Ben. Elliot risks losing another friendship because he is hesitant to reveal who he really is. He is crazy about a girl named Louise, but he does not want her to find out about his secret life. Will he reveal his true self to her?

In the end, this novel is about choices. Elliot has to decide how to use his new power. Ultimately he must listen to his inner voice and find his true self.

If you are looking for a light, funny novel, INVENTING ELLIOT is not the book for you. It makes you think and touches on sensitive subject matter. I thoroughly enjoyed it because it opened my eyes to a world I've never known. I will be anxiously awaiting Graham Gardner's second novel.

--- Reviewed by Renee Kirchner (...)

Rating:
Summary: unwillingly to school...
Review: What if you found yourself fitting in with your peers to the point where you were singled out and prized for the qualities that helped you do this in the first place? What if you camouflaged your insecurity and fears so well, that you were taken for someone entirely different than who you were or wanted to be? Such is the dilemma of the 14-year-old protagonist of "Inventing Elliott." Formerly bullied at his old school, Elliott becomes first a bystander to the same type of violence at his new school, and then chosen by the leader of a secret society to become one of the behind-the-scenes orchetrators of the bullying. It isn't until this begins to jeopardize his relationship with his first girlfriend, that Elliott stops simply reacting to the events around him and begins to make his own decisions.

What distinguish this book from other similar novels that deal with the impact a powerful secret society has on a school, is the dimension of Elliott's family life. His father is recuperating (poorly) from a mugging, and this gives Elliott's reaction to being bullied a somewhat different angle.

Highly recommended.