Inventing Elliot - Hardcover

Gardner, Graham

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1842552635 ISBN 13: 9781842552636

Publisher: Orion Children's Books, 2003

Synopsis

Elliot was beaten up by bullies at his old school. He is determined to reinvent himself at the new school. This time he will be so cool that no one will touch him. But he is too successful. He is taken up by the Guardians, the mysterious group who control the whole school, manipulating others to create a reign of terror. He is invited to become a Guardian himself and goes along with it. He is not going to get hurt again, whatever it takes. Until he realizes that he is as good as dead unless he takes the risk of standing up for himself. Written with great power and economy, this psychological novel was inspired by George Orwell's 1984 and is reminiscent of those two great children's writers Robert Cormier and Robert Westall. It has strong characters, strong moral dilemmas and a story that moves at a great pace to a highly dramatic ending. It is an incisive and compelling look at the terrors and rituals of adolescence and you're there with Elliot every step of the way.

About this title

About the Author

Graham Gardner is 26, the second of ten children. He has worked as a shop assistant, a waiter, a factory worker, a civil servant, and a research officer, and is now completing his Ph D at the Institute of Geography and Earth Sciences at the University of Wales. He is also a keen musician, playing rock and classical piano. He lives partly in Aberystwyth and partly at his parents' house in the Malvern Hills.

From the Back Cover

'I was bowled over by Inventing Elliott . . . completely swept away . . . plotting, structure and pace are so accomplished. To write such an assured first novel is staggering. I think this is a tremendous book. There are echoes of Robert Cormier's Chocolate War and that's high praise indeed . . . The language is so compact, measured and powerful.'
Alan Gibbons

From the Inside Flap

Elliot's life has been spinning out of control. He would give anything to get back to normal.

Now, at his new school, he has a chance to reinvent himself. He will make himself so cool, so out of reach, that no one will hurt him ever again.

The plan succeeds beyond his wildest dreams. And then beyond his wildest nightmare.

Elliot is noticed by the Guardians, the mysterious, manipulative group who run the school according to their own very special rules. They want him to become one of them.

For the first time, Elliot has power. But power comes at a terrible price, and Elliot faces an impossible choice when he has to decide how to use it.

Inspired by George Orwell's 1984, Graham Gardner's debut novel about the terrors and rituals of surviving adolescence is intense, searching, poignant and dramatic. You are there, with Elliot, every step of the way.

Graham Gardner is an academic researcher and author, specialising in social and
political geography, at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth. Prior to this he has
had many jobs, including shop assistant, civil servant, research officer, waiter
and factory worker. He is also a keen musician, playing rock and classical
piano. He is the second eldest of ten children, and was born and brought
up in Worcestershire. He divides his time between his flat in Aberystwyth
and his parents' house in the Malvern Hills. Inventing Elliot is his first
published novel.

Edition details

• Publisher: Orion Children's Books
• Publication date: 2003
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1842552635
• ISBN 13: 9781842552636
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 192