Invisible

Invisible is a YA novel by Cecily Anne Paterson. The story follows Jazmine, a deaf girl who hasn’t felt any emotion since her father passed away when she was younger. She keeps to herself, almost never speaking and never telling anyone what she wants or thinks. 

I’m scared of being seen. I’m scared of doing anything. I’m scared  of losing another person who loves me. I’d rather just drift.

She and her mom have moved from place to place often, and now  Jazmine seems te have found her place. Invisible, but she feels like she is ok where she is. At lunch at school she sits with a few girls who make fun of her but she just’s doesn’t listen to them. One day they tell her to come with them because they think she overheard them talking about their plan to trash the drama class. One of the mean girls tried out for the play but didn’t get a part in it – she is mad and whats the drama teacher to pay for it. They get caught trashing the room, with  Jazmine hiding under a desk. The other girls get suspended but  Jazmine is offered another chance by the drama teacher. She has two choices: get suspended like the other ones or help the teacher with the play. It’s not an easy choice for  Jazmine but she choses to help the teacher.  

From that point in the story  Jazmine evolves from a shy, almost not talking ‘invisible’ girl to a ‘normal’ girl. She starts telling people what she thinks and making friends. You read through her transformation and that is nice to read. But there’s also some stuff I didn’t like about the story….

I’m terrified, but I’m also excited for the first time I can remember. My feet aren’t skipping but they feel like they could if I would let them. The sky is blue and the air is crisp and my eyes can see more clearly. 

From that point in the story  Jazmine evolves from a shy, almost not talking ‘invisible’ girl to a ‘normal’ girl. She starts telling people what she thinks and making friends. You read through her transformation and that is nice to read. But there’s also some stuff I didn’t like about the story…. The teacher tells  Jazmine to write her ‘feeling of the day’ in a diary. Diary entries are fine with me most of the time, but this time I felt is was too much at some point: once there were page after page of them. I also didn’t like how I still don’t know how old  Jazmine is. Age is a big deal in a story for me. How can I form a proper image if I don’t know the age of the main character? I found that a bit weird.

But after all it is a nice story to read with great descriptions in it. 2.5 out of 5 stars.