Review by acremer -- Elastic Girl by Olivia Rana

[Ashley Cremer]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Elastic Girl" by Olivia Rana.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Elastic Girl
By Olivia Rana

Elastic Girl by Olivia Rana is a tale of a young girl from India who discovers herself throughout a grueling existence as a circus performer. Growing up, Muthu Tikaram recognized that she was treated differently than her sisters. Being the third girl born to her parents, who were desperately hoping for a boy, Muthu was a street performer and sold roti, while her sisters went to school. When narrowly escaping a drowning incident by folding herself into a small escape tube, Muthu discovers that she has a rare talent. Muthu has the gift of contortionism. When her neighbors discover her talent, Muthu is dubbed the title of Elastic Girl. Due to a struggling lifestyle, Muthu’s father takes Muthu to meet with a gentleman, Mr. Prem, about joining The Great Raman Circus of Chennai. After performing for Mr. Prem, Muthu is accepted into the circus and is delivered to Mr. Prem to begin her training for stardom. However, there is more to Mr. Prem than meets the eye, and more to Muthu’s contract than just performing as a contortionist. Through circus life, Muthu meets Gloria, Queen of the Air, who takes Muthu in as a little sister and helps her throughout her journey. Muthu also meets Mr. Kalpak, who trains Muthu and takes her under his wing. As the story unfolds, the reader is taken to many different parts of India. The reader travels with the circus from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows, through the amazing grounds of a palace and the brothels of Mumbai. This is a story of courage, perseverance, love, and ultimately the coming of age of a young girl who is forced to grow up too fast.

I liked that this book highlights real-world issues. Trafficking is a real problem in today’s society and this book highlights the results of human trafficking and the lives of those individuals who go through it. This book was a very well written novel that kept me wanting to read it around the clock. It was a fairly easy read, however there was a lot of Hindi language, which could make the story harder to read for someone who is unfamiliar with that language. Overall, the book gives amazing detail into the lives of circus performers, some of whom have been in the circus their entire lives. This book really allows for the reader to imagine the different places of India by giving sufficient descriptions of the cities. As I read this book, I felt that I had been to India and personally was able to see all of these cities, which was amazing.

I would give this book a 4 out of 4 stars. This book had very good character development and a nicely written storyline. The story was easy to follow and new issues continuously arose as the story progressed. Although the book did contain some errors in grammar, they were not excessive and didn’t deter from the overall story.

This book would appeal to a wide range of readers. Readers who enjoy coming of age novels, historical fiction, female protagonists, or books about a foreign country and its customs would enjoy this book. I would like to mention that this book does have some content that may not be acceptable for all readers. There is content of sexual exploitation, some involving the rape of young girls. There is also some drug content throughout the novel, including some young girls that are addicted. The reader should be aware of this content and those that are very bothered by this should not read this book. Also, I would like to mention that I believe this book is written in British English due to several differences in spelling. For example, the word “practice” is spelled “practise” throughout the entire book.

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Elastic Girl
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