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Elliot is about to start attending Holminster High after having been bullied at his previous school. His mother is at work all day, struggling to keep the family together and solvent. Her husband has been the victim of a brutal attack His father's condition is at the centre of Elliot's unhappiness. He is saddened, certainly, but also filled with guilt for often wishing his father had died and spared them the agony of watching his decline. He determines that everything will be different at Holminster, but soon discovers that bullies here are not what they were at the comprehensive he's just left. There's a group called the Guardians, who keep everyone under control with an Orwellian reign of terror, based on a network of secret informants. These boys single out victims for punishment. The Guardians notice Elliot, summon him to meet them and then present him with a ghastly dilemma. He could be invited to be a member of their very exclusive club, but before that, as a kind of initiation, he has to choose who is next to be punished.
During the course of the novel, he forms a friendship with a boy called Ben, but this has to remain a secret at school. Louise, whom he loves, shows him other possibilities, and there are even staff who might help him. The scene is set for a tense, uncomfortable but exciting climax.should be said, very many books that tackle this subject. It's one that's always interesting to children because bullying is a fact of life for many of them. What makes this one different is the way it's written: beautifully but unflashily - the prose doesn't call attention to itself by overdoing the poetic language. Best of all is the way every conversation (with Ben, with Louise, with the Guardians) seems to have its own flavour and be exactly right. There's a row between Elliot and his mother towards the end of the book that is very painful to read because it's so recognisably real.