Jo's Review of Invisibility

by David Levithan and Andrea Cremer

Stephen is used to invisibility. He was born that way. Invisible. Cursed.

Elizabeth sometimes wishes for invisibility. When you're invisible, no one can hurt you. So when her mother decides to move the family to New York City, Elizabeth is thrilled. It's easy to blend in there.
Then Stephen and Elizabeth meet. To Stephen's amazement, she can see him. And to Elizabeth's amazement, she wants him to be able to see her - all of her. But as the two become closer, an invisible world gets in their way - a world of grudges and misfortunes, spells and curses. And once they're thrust into this world, Elizabeth and Stephen must decide how deep they're going to go - because the answer could mean the difference between love and death.

From the critically acclaimed and bestselling authors David Levithan - who wrote Every Day and co-wrote Will Grayson, Will Grayson with John Green, and Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist with Rachel Cohn, as well as many other novels - and Andrea Cremer - who wrote the bestselling Nightshade series - comes a remarkable story about the unseen elements of attraction, the mortal risks of making yourself known, and the invisible desires that live within us all.

David Levithan and Andrea Cremer met each other in Washington, DC, even though that's not where they live. Andrea was pretty certain she wasn't invisible, but David confirmed that fact by introducing her to some other writers, who were all able to see her.

Before writing with Andrea, David had never written a novel with a one-word title. His novels include Every Day, Will Grayson, Will Grayson (with John Green) and Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist (with Rachel Cohn). You can visit David at www.davidlevithan.com and follow his lover's dictionary on Twitter @loversdiction. He lives just outside New York City.

Andrea's novels include Nightshade, Wolfsbane, Bloodrose, Rift and Rise. You can visit her at www.andreacremer.com and follow her on Twitter @andreacremer. She lives in New York City, quite visibly.

Originally posted on Once Upon a Bookcase.

Having loved everything I've read previously that has Levithan's name attached to it, I dived in to Invisibility expecting to feel my usual awe and amazement. However, I have to say Invisibility disappointed me.

At first, before Stephen and Elizabeth start trying to find out the cause of Stephen's invisibility, the story wasn't too bad. There was some romance, there were the looks and some of the beautiful sentences from Levithan on love. It wasn't brilliant, but I could feel the potential. I wasn't as emotionally invested in the characters as much as I normally am. I guess I was expecting things more along the lines of Every Day, but once Millie showed up, the whole feel of the story changed and I enjoyed it a whole lot less.

I can't say exactly why, but once the story started digging into curses, discovering cursecasters and spellseekers, and Stephen's magical family history, the story lost me. Fantasy is usually my thing, but it all seemed a little over the top, and unbelievable to me. For example, some of the "terrible" things that curses can do, despite causing death, didn't seem that terrible. And it simply didn't interest me. And considering this is a stand alone novel, the way it ended was baffling.

I was expecting Levithan's awesome style, that tends to get me thinking and having minor epiphanies, to shine through. There are glimpses of it around the beginning of the book, but I think this particular plot hides it. There's so much going on, there isn't as much introspection as I'm used to in Levithan's novels.

Sadly, Invisibility wasn't really my cup of tea, which is a shame. However, please read other reviews before deciding not to read it. It may not have been for me, but you still might really enjoy it.

Thank you to Penguin for the review copy.

Invisibility

by David Levithan and Andrea Cremer

Reviewed by Jo on Sep 8, 2013

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