Funny, openly gay high school junior Russel Middlebrook-the star of Hartinger's Geography Club and two sequels-finds the adventure he is looking for when he falls for an anti-consumerist freegan who pops out of the school Dumpster. Through Wade, Russel is exposed to new experiences (like eating roadkill) and challenging ideas ("When you don't spend your whole life looking at a television or a computer screen, you can't help but take a good look at the world"). But just as their relationship turns romantic, Russel's friend Gunnar suspects that Wade and his freegan friends may be taking their beliefs to a dangerous extreme.

The fourth installment in the Russel Middlebrook series is probably my favorite. The story isn't too far out from the previous three books, but there were a few things about it that I think pulled me in a bit more.

For one, I like the way the author is able to show that Russel is gaining a bit more maturity. It shows not only in the character's actions, but also in the voice of the narration. Secondly, the development of some of the side characters over the course of the series has helped to give more depth to Russel's world. And, finally, this is one where I actually didn't see one of the major twists coming until I was up to that particular scene (some of the previous books have been a bit more, well, predictable at times).

I'm not sure if there's a fifth book in store, but at this point I hope there is if the series is going to continue moving in this direction. ( )

Russel finds out a bit of unpredictability (emphasis on a bit) is a good thing and gets his HEA.

A nice wrap up. ( )

This book had promise! It could have been a quick fun read continuing the story of Russel Middlebrook and his friends, but no, it had to turn into a tale of upholding the status quo, reporting radicals to the police, and going with the comfortable and familiar. That said, the main characters did some pretty extreme deeds (not that anyone reported these good middle-class kids to the police, of course): breaking into a house to dig through another character's room for proof of cheating, and taking unsolicited nude photos of an oblivious guy in the locker room to distribute to his crush.

From my blog On Starships and Dragonwings

The Elephant of Surprise by Brent Hartinger is the fourth book in the Russel Middlebrook series, but don’t worry, it’s a stand alone! I’ve only read the first book, Geography Club, so this was partially a test of how it read as a stand alone ;-). While the first book of this series focuses on the hardships of gay teens in an unwelcoming high school, The Elephant of Surprise tackles a completely separate idea. This book focuses on the “freeganism” movement and the characters’ sexuality takes much more of a back seat. Yes, there is some relationship drama involving girls dating girls and boys liking boys, but not nearly as much as Geography Club. If you like light, contemporary reads with more diverse characters than normal, definitely check out The Elephant of Surprise.
I received The Elephant of Surprise through Netgalley and Brent Hartinger in exchange for an honest review.

Title: The Elephant of Surprise
Author: Brent Hartinger
Length: 239 pages
Genre-ish: YA LGBT contemporary
Rating: ★★★★☆- light and fun, a little repetitive

Strengths:
As someone who has never learned much about freeganism before, The Elephant of Surprise was a surprisingly nice intro to a real life movement.
Something a lot of series novels run into is a repetitive plot arc, however The Elephant of Surprise took a completely different direction than I expected. It was nice that the focus wasn’t just on getting Russel a boyfriend ;-).
I’m always happy to see healthy relationships, and there is a great example of a healthy way to break up in this one!
As always, the writing of The Elephant of Surprise was light and fun. It was very easy to read just one more page while riding in the car or waiting for food at a restaurant, haha.
I got caught up on the characters’ lives quickly, no need to have read the previous books. It’s so nice when a stand alone is actually a stand alone, though I think you’ll connect deeper with everyone if you do read the earlier books.

Weaknesses:
There were some phrases that got quite repetitive, including The Elephant of Surprise. I prefer subtler uses of titles personally.
While there were some good relationship decisions, there were also some very bad ones that included all sorts of illegal activity. Russel, there is a difference between helping your friends like a good person and committing crimes for your friends!
Russel get a bit overdramatic in The Elephant of Surprise. Yes, some dramatic things happen, but he also has some pretty dramatic inner dialogue that we are privy to.
Summary:
The Elephant of Surprise is light, fun, and just a wee bit silly. On top of that, however, I learned new things, crazy huh? Whether you’ve read the previous books or not, if you like high school adventures, you will likely enjoy The Elephant of Surprise. It actually made me want to go back and read the two I skipped to find out more about the summer camp adventures I’ve been hearing so much about, haha! ( )