You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.49 AVERAGE
3.49 AVERAGE
This book was very... interesting. It was engaging. I liked the main character, even though she starts the book out by doing something very foolish and dangerous (but she knows that it's foolish and dangerous, and says so, so it's not as bad as the books where the main character is just flailing around, not caring about consequences). I liked that it takes the reader a minute to understand that she's blind (I mean, unless you read the inner flap, I guess), and you start out by seeing her just as a regular person. In fact, the author is very easily demonstrating that even though she's "handicapped", she isn't as handicapped as most people think blind people are. She's able to do most things that you might not even think about, like using an iPhone, surfing the internet, handle money, manage public transportation (there are a few seeing people I know that struggle with that), and so on. Some things are a little difficult, for example, she misses out on body language for obvious reasons, and if she's in a place she's never been before, it can be difficult to get around. But the author did a good job of letting us see beyond her ability or lack thereof, and just told a story.
As for the coincidence thing, even though the main character's dad repeated over and over again that you can't successfully write about coincidences, because you can't make the reader feel that phenomena as they read, I disagree: the author got me a few times, in fact. There were times when I had the chills, when my brain put two and two together, and wondered if what was happening was coincidence, or some kind of grand design. It was really cool.
What I didn't like:
Also, I didn't like the jewelry thieves. Even though they were technically present for the entire book (the main character kept smelling smoke, wherever the one thief was), and were actually the cause of all the trouble, they still seemed to be thrown in randomly at the last minute, like the author just wanted to make their situation seem more dire. I feel like it could have been done a little better, though I'm not sure how.
Anyway, great writing, great idea, but poorly executed. The ending didn't fit the rest of the book. And it leaves the reader disappointed. (I can imagine, though, that even though the dad dismisses coincidences, that the reader is supposed to get the opposite message. I'm not sure)
As for the coincidence thing, even though the main character's dad repeated over and over again that you can't successfully write about coincidences, because you can't make the reader feel that phenomena as they read, I disagree: the author got me a few times, in fact. There were times when I had the chills, when my brain put two and two together, and wondered if what was happening was coincidence, or some kind of grand design. It was really cool.
What I didn't like:
Spoiler
the ending. It kind of just... ended. The dad gave up writing that book, and said that coincidences don't mean anything. Even though there were a million coincidences in the book, and many of them converged to help the girl and her little brother become reunited with their family. And then, the very last paragraph of the book, the author basically says that if you go back and read the first word of every chapter, there's a message. Which is really cool, and I was super excited about it. I won't write what it is, but when I finished the "message," it was kind of anticlimactic. It didn't seem to have anything to do with the theme of the book--granted, I was very tired when I finished the book, so maybe my brain wasn't working properly.Also, I didn't like the jewelry thieves. Even though they were technically present for the entire book (the main character kept smelling smoke, wherever the one thief was), and were actually the cause of all the trouble, they still seemed to be thrown in randomly at the last minute, like the author just wanted to make their situation seem more dire. I feel like it could have been done a little better, though I'm not sure how.
Anyway, great writing, great idea, but poorly executed. The ending didn't fit the rest of the book. And it leaves the reader disappointed. (I can imagine, though, that even though the dad dismisses coincidences, that the reader is supposed to get the opposite message. I'm not sure)
I love a book where I feel like I have learned something once I finished it. As Laureth leads her little brother through New York City, we learned a lot about coincidences and science through her father's notebooks. It is a fairly short read, and it never really drags.
http://0651frombrighton.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/she-is-not-invisible-marcus-sedgwick.html
I loved so much about this book. The writing is beautiful, the characters are fantastic, and it was genuinely interesting. I do have to say, I was very disappointed in the ending. I think there have only been two books that I have ever finished and literally thought, "Well, that was anti-climactic." I think sometimes it works, and I don't have a problem with it. In this case, I just kind of felt let down.
I don't think this book comes very close to comparing with Midwinterblood, which is the only other novel of Marcus Sedgwick's that I have read. So in that way, it was kind of disappointing.
That said, Sedgwick is still an infinitely brilliant and complex writer. His books just scream for re-reads. There is so much depth to them and I can't help but have admiration for that.
I will most definitely keep reading Sedgwick's work, although I have a feelingn this book will remain my least favorite by him.
I don't think this book comes very close to comparing with Midwinterblood, which is the only other novel of Marcus Sedgwick's that I have read. So in that way, it was kind of disappointing.
That said, Sedgwick is still an infinitely brilliant and complex writer. His books just scream for re-reads. There is so much depth to them and I can't help but have admiration for that.
I will most definitely keep reading Sedgwick's work, although I have a feelingn this book will remain my least favorite by him.
I wanted so badly to like this book. I tried so hard. Parts of it were good. Parts of it were interesting. But it never really came together for me.
I found being in the head of a blind girl more frustrating than she apparently did and I'm not sure this story was believable in the least bit.
A sixteen year old girl is afraid that something has happened to her father (he's not even in the country he's supposed to be in) and she gets on a plane with her seven year old brother to find him.
There is some rambling discussion about synchronicity, probability and coincidence,which presses alarm bells about the father's sanity and a lot of scenes where the kids are riding in cabs.
I really enjoyed Midwinterblood. This one was kind of tedious.
A sixteen year old girl is afraid that something has happened to her father (he's not even in the country he's supposed to be in) and she gets on a plane with her seven year old brother to find him.
There is some rambling discussion about synchronicity, probability and coincidence,which presses alarm bells about the father's sanity and a lot of scenes where the kids are riding in cabs.
I really enjoyed Midwinterblood. This one was kind of tedious.
Ahhhh I love this one. It's so clever and thoughtful and funny and serious. I love Laureth and Benjamin and Michael and Stan. So good.
Laureth's author father goes on a trip and isn't very good at staying in touch with his family. When Laureth, who checks his fan email, learns that he left one of his notebooks of writing ideas in New York she learns that he lied to the family about where he was, and she is worried for his welfare. She broaches the subject of her father's safety with her mother but her mother seems more put out about her father than thinking he is in danger. Wrought with emotion and not thinking straight Laureth takes her mother's credit card and books tickets to New York for herself and her seven-year old brother. She needs her brother to accompany her on a rescue mission because she is blind. The story sounds intriguing and even builds up suspense, throwing in the possibility of a supernatural twist, but then ends with a yawn of an ending leaving the reader wondering, "What was the point?" Don't know of any teens who wouldn't feel cheated for making it to the end of this book.
HS
HS
I love how quick Marcus Sedgwick’s books are. Despite their short length, they’re full of thought. I know that I missed important elements in this book because I was flying through it. I don’t know much about psychoanalysis either, and I know that was a block to understanding the story fully. The main character was interesting and different and I liked that. All of the characters were unique. Overall, it was very well done. The hint of supernatural and general mystery kept me reading.
It kind of reminded me of Wait Until Dark at the beginning, then I was disappointed when some of the same things happened in the book that also occurred in the movie. I think I would have been ok with it had they referred to the movie somehow. Obviously, Laureth wouldn’t probably know much about it and Benjamin was too young to have seen it. So it’s something I’m willing to overlook. The end scene ended up being a little anticlimactic, but I still liked the book.
The only small thing that bothered me about the book was that the main character was worried she wouldn’t be allowed to travel alone because of her disability. That would be a terrible reason to stop someone from traveling! It must be a valid concern for her, though, and that made me sad. On top of that, she didn’t want people to notice it at all. I would be self-conscious too, so I did appreciate how she mentioned different types of reactions from people once they found out.
This story made me think about the world in a different way, which is a great sign of a fantastic writer.
It kind of reminded me of Wait Until Dark at the beginning, then I was disappointed when some of the same things happened in the book that also occurred in the movie. I think I would have been ok with it had they referred to the movie somehow. Obviously, Laureth wouldn’t probably know much about it and Benjamin was too young to have seen it. So it’s something I’m willing to overlook. The end scene ended up being a little anticlimactic, but I still liked the book.
The only small thing that bothered me about the book was that the main character was worried she wouldn’t be allowed to travel alone because of her disability. That would be a terrible reason to stop someone from traveling! It must be a valid concern for her, though, and that made me sad. On top of that, she didn’t want people to notice it at all. I would be self-conscious too, so I did appreciate how she mentioned different types of reactions from people once they found out.
This story made me think about the world in a different way, which is a great sign of a fantastic writer.
