Invisible Ellen

April 1, 2014
Abandoned by her mother when she was just 5, Ellen bounced from foster families to group homes, learning to hide from the world. Shy, reclusive and obese, she's socially invisible to most people. Initially, Ellen's tale is intriguing. She's gone to extreme lengths to keep the world from noticing her: working the night shift on the Costco cleaning crew, having her groceries delivered and combing her hair closely over the left side of her face to hide a scar that people might stare at. The closest she comes to social interaction is spying on two of her neighbors, whom she considers pets and has created nicknames for: "Heidi," a woman with braids, and "T-Bone," a small-time drug dealer. Usually she just takes notes on their behavior, but lately other people seem to be messing with her pets and Ellen doesn't like that. Heidi is faced with an unexpected pregnancy, and T-Bone encounters some difficult customers. Then, when a blind woman sits next to her on the bus, Ellen is intrigued and follows her onto the street, which is fortuitous, because she saves the woman from muggers. The blind woman, named Temerity, and her twin brother, Justice, embrace Ellen as a new friend, delivering her from loneliness. Temerity is, of course, cheeky and brave. As a student of anthropology, Justice is, of course, nonjudgmental, seeing the unique beauty in everyone. Soon, Temerity and Ellen have embarked on a series of interventions, including rescuing a co-worker from sexual harassment, rescuing Heidi from a life-altering mistake and rescuing T-Bone from a near-death encounter. With its relentless reminders of Temerity's blindness and Ellen's awkwardness, Shattuck's (Legacy, 2013) latest unfortunately buckles under the weight of its own premise. What could be a charming tale of redemption becomes a heavy-handed fable.

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April 1, 2014

Twenty-four-year-old Ellen Homes is invisible to most people, which is how she likes it. Brutally abused as a child by her mother and foster parents, Ellen uses her obesity and a deep scar above her left eye as excuses to hide from the world. Everything changes when she meets Temerity and starts participating in life instead of simply observing it. Temerity is Ellen's age and familiar with invisibility because she's blind. The women become fast friends as they try to improve the lives of Ellen's needy coworker and neighbors. Placing themselves in delicate, and sometimes even dangerous, situations, the women work together helping others while Ellen gains the confidence to stand up for herself and be seen. VERDICT Shattuck's (The Man She Thought She Knew; Speak of the Devil) seventh novel has the potential to be compelling, although its execution is poor. Ellen and Temerity never feel real, and the plot relies on contrivances. The ending is also troubling as it too neatly ties up every loose end. These issues make it difficult to recommend this novel.--Amy Stenftenagel, Washington Cty. Lib. Syst., Forest Lake, MN

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 15, 2014
Ellen Homes lives a quiet life, working nights as a custodian at the local Costco and spending days holed up inside her small apartment. Overweight, socially stunted, and burdened with a facial scar received during childhood at the hands of her abusive mother, Ellen is comfortable letting the world go by without her. But when she witnesses an attempted mugging, she discovers hidden strengths when she single-handedly chases away the perpetrator. The result is an unexpected relationship with the victim, a young blind woman, Temerity, and her brother, Justice. The women become fast friends and find their experiences with crime have inspired a greater need to help the underserved. The two become involved in a variety of escapades, including helping Ellen's pregnant neighbor connect with her relatives, solving the attempted murder of a local drug dealer, and uncovering an international crime ring at Costco. In her seventh novel, Shattuck (Lethal, 2005) delivers strong, well-balanced characters and clever dialogue, making this both a fun read and a satisfying story of personal transformation.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)