Review: Invisibility by Andrea Cremer and David Levithan

“When no one can see who you are, no one really knows you. The loneliness must be like an ulcer that’s always gnawing at your gut.” 

Synopsis:

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 read this after a good old fashioned The Invisible Man (the TV Show) marathon and I decided to pick it up not only because of the invisible boy stuff, but because it was written by Andrea Cremer and David Levithan.

Stephen is an invisible boy and he has been invisible for his entire life. The only human interaction he had was with his mother, who recently died and with his father, who only supports him financially. Used to live alone and ignored, Stephen is shocked when one day a recently moved neighbor sees him.

The concept of the story is pretty awesome and I enjoyed the fact that it was set in New York City and not in some sort of small town where everyone knows everyone. The characters were bearable at least in the beginning, but my favorite was Laurie, Elizabeth’s brother. Even though he wasn’t one of the main characters, he successfully shinned more than Stephen and Elizabeth. It was nice to see glimpse of his story and not only the main characters’ one.

The thing that felt weird to me, especially after The Invisible Man marathon, was the supernatural elements added to explain Stephen’s invisibility issue. I expected a more scientific explication and not a curse, but it worked pretty well this way. Going on this path, the authors explored a brand new world underneath the real one which was cool.

As much as I liked the book, there were still parts which annoyed me. The major problem of the story was the instant love. The relationship between Stephen and Elizabeth was cute, but it just wasn’t believable. Elizabeth falls in love with this boy she only saw once or twice and by the third meeting they are boyfriend and girlfriend. By the end of the book she is ready to risk her life to make him visible again.


“I know there are epic tales of romance, where love means you're supposed to die. Where it's all about sacrifice. But I don't want to die. I don't want Stephen to die. I'm looking for the scenario where we both get to live. Where we can continue this marvel that is love and discovery and trust.”   
Another issue that I had with Invisibility was that even though the caster’s world was amazing and complex, sometimes it seemed to move too fast while adding too much information in the process.