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Summary
Summary
Elliot has lived his first thirteen years confined to his home, incapacitated by fear. Now he's out of pills, snow is falling, and his only safe person is missing. A terrifying thriller from Carnegie Medalist Kevin Brooks.
From the moment of his birth, Elliot's life has been governed by fear of almost everything, even of his own fear -- a beast that holds him prisoner in his room. The beast is kept at bay, though not eliminated, with a daily regimen of pills. But on Christmas Eve, a mix-up at the pharmacy threatens to unleash the beast full force, and his mother must venture out in a raging snowstorm to a store that should be only minutes away. Hours later, when she still hasn't returned, Elliot sees no choice but to push through his terror, leave the house, and hunt for her. What happens if the last of his medication wears off and the beast starts scratching at the doors of his mind? Everyone has a breaking point -- will Elliot come to his? With plot twists and turns that keep readers on the edge of their seats, multi-award-winning author Kevin Brooks offers a high-suspense exploration of fear and what it means to truly be afraid.
Author Notes
Kevin Brooks is a critically acclaimed young adult novelist whose first book, Martyn Pig, was named a Publishers Weekly "Flying Start" selection. His most recent novel, The Bunker Diary, won the Carnegie Medal. He lives in Essex, England.
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 7-10-Elliot's list of phobias is so exhaustive, he describes himself as being "chronically afraid of almost everything." He never leaves the house and uses medication to tame his fears, but a mix-up with his prescription sends his mother out into a snowstorm to restock. She gets caught up in a plot and held hostage by some criminal types in Santa suits, and when she doesn't return, Elliot faces the unknown to look for her. His fears quickly overwhelm him, leading to emotional depletion and a self-described feeling of being dead, which somehow allows him to make calculated decisions at the story's climax. Ellamay, Elliot's twin sister who died at birth, provides guidance as her voice comes and goes at convenient moments. It's not clear if Ellamay is intended as an element of magical realism or as a manifestation of psychosis, but her character succeeds as neither. The points of view are split between Elliot, the bad Santas, and a hapless bank manager who spends most of his portion of the novel driving under the influence of drugs. While the split narrative is useful to tie the plot together, too much time is spent on adult characters, whose stories may be less relatable to youth. Elliot's fears are endlessly mentioned in the narrative, but the way he feels and experiences them is never adequately explored. Disturbingly, Elliot's mother and their trusted family doctor don't seek psychological help for him beyond medication and isolation. VERDICT Not recommended.-Alex Graves, Manchester City Library, NH © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
In this gripping yet inconsistent thriller, a young man living with a severe anxiety disorder is forced out of his comfort zone when a mix-up with his medication on Christmas Eve disrupts his carefully controlled life. Afraid of almost everything and haunted by the death of his twin sister at birth, 13-year-old Elliot usually remains, by his preference, in the safety of his room, incapable of coping with the outside world even at the best of times. But when the pharmacy sends home the wrong medication, his mother ventures out into a snowstorm to remedy the problem and never returns. Desperate to find out what happened, Elliot goes after her, only to be plunged into a nightmarish world of both terror-based hallucinations and paranoia and a real-world robbery turned hostage situation that requires Elliot to tap into his darkest impulses in order to survive. The inclusion of two Santa-disguised robbers and a bank manager on a drug-fueled bender lend this story an unexpectedly off-kilter, almost comedic tone that feels at odds with Elliot's trauma and internalized struggle. But Brooks (Five Hundred Miles) creates a compelling character in Elliot and successfully depicts a dangerous environment filtered through a profound mental illness. Ages 12-up. Agency: William Morris Agency. (Sept.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
Elliots life is ruled by fear, from minor anxiety to outright terror, and only an anti-anxiety medication and a rigid routine keep the howling demon whirling around inside at bay. As a result, he primarily interacts with his mum, his aunt, and his doctor, spending most of his time at home reading, taking his medication six times per day, and having imaginary conversations with his twin sister, who died shortly after birth. But as Christmas approaches, Elliot realizes his prescription has been filled incorrectly. As a blizzard swirls around them, his mother must go out to find a way to replace it before the beast reappears. When his medication does not arrive and his mother does not either, Elliot must venture out into the snow, facing his greatest fears and convincing himself that he can find out what happened to her. The story is told primarily from Elliots perspective, though also rotating to show what happens to Elliots mother. Although the events of the day can feel a bit too contrived at times, the heart of this novela meditation on Elliots relationship to fear as it paralyzes him, protects him, and eventually propels him forward to find courageis compelling. christina l. dobbs (c) Copyright 2018. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Elliot, who suffers from severe anxiety, must face his fear of the outside world when his mother goes missing in a Christmas Eve snowstorm in Yorkshire.Suspensefully told from multiple perspectives, and jumping back and forth in the narrative timeline, the text gradually reveals the seemingly innocent circumstances that lead to the day's disturbing events. A mix-up with Elliot's medication requires his mother to leave him home alone after Elliot's aunt, who'd agreed to bring the correct pills from the pharmacy, is conspicuously late and unreachable by phone. His harrowing journey into the snowstorm toward his aunt's housethe last place his mother was headedis interwoven with a bank robbery by two men in Santa costumes. Elliot's specific condition is never explicitly named, but his nave narration, which includes descriptions of prior doctor's appointments and imagined conversations with his twin sister, who died an hour after being born, provides readers with additional context. However, this open-ended approach to portraying mental illness risks pathologizing Elliot further as he struggles to navigate encounters with other people en route to his aunt's house. Elliot and his mother are white.At times frustratingly elliptical, the narrative inexorably draws characters toward one anotherand into a surprising, explosive climax. (Psychological thriller. 12-18) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Ever since Elliot's twin died, mere days after birth, he's experienced sheer terror over just about everything. Now, at 13, he copes by staying inside and taking an intense medication. But on Christmas Eve, he's in trouble: his mother hasn't come back from the pharmacy, and he only has one pill left. If Elliot can make it the 527 yards to his aunt Shirley's house, he might be safe, but to get there, he'll need to go outside. Making things worse, criminals have taken Shirley and Elliot's mom hostage in Shirley's house, and after the ordeal of the journey, Elliot will have to face actual danger. It's an intriguing premise, but some components miss the mark: a half-measure of supernatural elements (Elliot has an inexplicable premonition, and he intermittently speaks to his dead twin sister) distract from the story overall, and once he's outside, the disconnect between the world and Elliot's experience of it is more often perplexing than illuminating. Still, Brooks' writing is certainly moody and evocative, and readers interested in literary suspense might appreciate it.--Sarah Hunter Copyright 2018 Booklist
