Invisibility, by Andrea Cremer and David Levithan

Invisibility, by Andrea Cremer and David Levithan

Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Contemporary, Romance, Paranormal, Magic

Rating: 3/5 stars

Publication: May 7, 2013, by Philomel

Format: Hardcover Edition (borrowed)




Goodreads Summary: Stephen has been invisible for practically his whole life — because of a curse his grandfather, a powerful cursecaster, bestowed on Stephen’s mother before Stephen was born. So when Elizabeth moves to Stephen’s NYC apartment building from Minnesota, no one is more surprised than he is that she can see him. A budding romance ensues, and when Stephen confides in Elizabeth about his predicament, the two of them decide to dive headfirst into the secret world of cursecasters and spellseekers to figure out a way to break the curse. But things don’t go as planned, especially when Stephen’s grandfather arrives in town, taking his anger out on everyone he sees. In the end, Elizabeth and Stephen must decide how big of a sacrifice they’re willing to make for Stephen to become visible — because the answer could mean the difference between life and death. At least for Elizabeth.


Review:

"I was cursed, but I was not meant to curse others. I was different, yes, but I was no less human than anyone else. So I had to act human, even when I wasn't feeling human at all."

  

    No, NO. After reading this book, I have decided that I don't want to ever become invisible. If someone ever asked you what superpower you'd like to have--don't say invisibility, because Stephen's story really shows the consequences and negatives of this "power."

    "It isn't loneliness, really. Because loneliness comes from thinking you can be involved in the world, but aren't. Being invisible is being solitary without the potential of being anything but solitary. So after a while, you step aside from the world. It's like you're in a theater, alone in the audience, and everything is happening on the stage."

     Yeah, it sucks. This is about Stephen, who was born invisible. His mom said that it was caused by a curse, but no one knows the true answer now that she's dead. His father left, and sixteen-year old Stephen has been on his own since then. He is not able to see how he looks, and no one can see him, except Elizabeth. Elizabeth moves in two doors down with her mother and brother, Laurie. They fall in love immediately (yes, instalove), and when she finds out that she's the only one, they all go on a search for the answer and cure. This involves witches and cursemakers, and Stephen's also-invisible grandfather.

     Invisibility is a great idea, but the way it was portrayed was in a cliche way. It had the Twilight idea. Boy meets girl, boy has a secret, then the girl freaks out but loves him anyway. There's not a real problem, but it was too cheesy for my liking. Yes, there's insta-love.

       That was one of the problems. The plot was also weak at times. The beginning was strong, but when the insta-love came, I was saddened. Elizabeth really showed that she could be unique and artsy, but she ended up being a snob and easy. That's when the middle went crazy and she started getting into witch-craft. I was like:

       The ending then got really good and was totally unexpected. But really, the plot was all meh. 

       This book had its strong funny moments, and had good characters. Stephen was adorable, and so was Laurie, while I had some problems with Elizabeth. I preferred Stephen's POVs rather than Elizabeth's.

        "He did manage to snare someone else in the building already. A boy who lives upstairs...Five-C." "Sean," Stephen says. "Oh." I tilt my head, taking in his thoughtful expression. "You know him?" He balks. "A little. I think he prefers books to people." "I'm the last person who'd call that a character flaw," I say.

         I think that these two authors could've done much better. Together, they created a novel that's less quality than they could do by themselves. I love both of them and they're writing, but this has weakened. Overall, this was a "meh" read. Nothing too special.

        "News flash," he says. "I'm gay not a witch. Gay and witch is Dumbledore, and last time I checked, he was still just a guy in a book."

         "For the first time since she died, I felt certainty. It was a flash of certainty: I was going to die. And the reason I was going to die was that I was going to throw myself over the edge. It was the only solution. It was like all the other options had fallen away and all the walls had closed in, and the only thing that was left in the narrowness was the one exit, the one escape."

          "I wish I could simply be her boyfriend. I wish we didn't have all of these shadows swirling around us. But even if they weren't there, I'd still face the everyday, extraordinary challenge of being a boyfriend. A good boyfriend. There are times--times like now--when I wonder if being invisible is the only thing I'm good at. It feels like there's too much to catch up on, too much that everyone else already knows. If we build our current relationships from the relics of old relationships, I am starting without any material."