American Thighs

<p><b>Pushcart Prize Award-winning author Elizabeth Ellen's <i>American Thighs</i> tells the darkly comedic story of a thirty-one-year-old former child star’s journey from Hollywood to Elkheart Indiana experiencing for the first time the off-screen life of a high school sophomore.</b></p><p>Tatum Grant spent the first years of her life on various film sets and locations in Hollywood never knowing a real childhood before becoming impregnated by an older award-winning actor. Fifteen years after his death experiencing an existential crisis Tatum leaves Hollywood her mother and her daughter behind on a quest to find herself. Posing as a 16-year-old student with the help of her daughter’s stolen identification Tatum uses the talents she learned portraying various film characters to earn a spot on the cheer team date a football player and befriend the most popular girl at school.</p><p>Like Tom Perrota’s <i>Election</i> the novel is told through the voices of students and teachers at Dobson High as well as social media influencers actors and celebrity children back in Hollywood readers follow as Tatum’s past catches up with her amidst a cross-country road trip turned police chase.</p><p>Elizabeth Ellen manifests typical teenage woes into a breathtaking rib-breaking story of love loss and media. <i>American Thighs</i> strikes the same chord as <i>Heathers </i>but for the TikTok generation.</p>