Book Review: Invisible

 

I’m pretty sure I’m a grown woman, but for some reason I keep accidentally requesting or downloading books in the young adult/teen category. I’m considering writing in that genre eventually, so maybe the Lord’s trying to tell me something. Anywho, I downloaded Invisible by Cecily Anne Paterson without realizing it was for teens, and since I have a personal policy to not return e-books, I went ahead and read it. Surprisingly, I enjoyed every bit of it! Here’s the description:

Jazmine Crawford doesn’t make decisions. She doesn’t make choices. She doesn’t make friends. Jazmine Crawford only wants one thing: to be invisible. For Jazmine, it’s a lot easier to take out her hearing aid and drift along pretending that nothing’s wrong than it is to admit that she’s heartbroken about her dad dying. She’s been drifting and ignoring her over-worried mum for four years now.
When bad girl Shalini and her mates adopt Jazmine, she quickly finds herself involved in more than she can handle. Sitting in disgrace in the principal’s office, Jazmine is offered a choice: help drama teacher Miss Fraser in the upcoming production of The Secret Garden or face a four week suspension.
It’s Miss Fraser who clinches the decision. “I believe in you Jazmine,” she says. “I know you can do this.” And Jazmine, terrified, disbelieving and elated all at the same time, joins the play.
For a while it’s all good. Drama star and chocolate lover Liam is friendly and Jazmine realises that making friends, talking to her mother and feeling her emotions isn’t as scary as she thought. In a final happy twist of fate, acting diva Angela quits the play and with only a week to go, Miss Fraser asks Jazmine to take on the main role of Mary.
But then Shalini returns from her suspension. She’s out for payback, and she has just the ammunition she needs to force Jazmine to quit the play and go back to her old ways.
Will Jazmine be confident enough to stand up for herself against Shalini? Will Liam still like her if he finds out who she really is? And does she have the strength to face the truth about her father’s suicide?

It’s the classic girl has self-esteem problem, gets in with the wrong crowd, finds second chance through wise older mentor, awakens hidden talent, and transforms from the inside out story. It’s a tried and true formula for a successful tween book, but it’s the telling of the story that makes all the difference. Paterson has a knack for writing poetic prose in the believable voice of a teen girl who looks at the world from a unique perspective. I found myself rooting for Jazmine. I cared about what happened to her, and I wanted everything to work out for her in the end. So if you’re in the market for an inspirational read for yourself or your kid, I heartily recommend Invisible. Check it out here.

Have you ever been surprised by a book you didn’t think you would enjoy?

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