A review by novelheartbeat
Transparent by Natalie Whipple

4.0

When I heard about this book, I was really excited to read it. But after reading some rather ‘meh’ reviews of this book, I was kinda worried that I wouldn’t enjoy it very much. Turns out I had nothing to worry about! Transparent was such a cute read!

First of all, the opening line in this is this:
It’s a good thing summers in Vegas are so hot, considering how often I walk the streets naked.

Talk about an attention grabber! (And seriously, how awesome would that be to not have to worry about uncomfortable clothes and have no one be able to see that you didn’t have any on?)

The characters were fabulous! I think they were my favorite part of this book. I wanted to live in the pages just so I could hang out with Fiona’s friends! Especially Bea. I looooved Bea! I have to admit she kind of annoyed me in the beginning, because she was always there, in Fi’s face, and it was slightly obnoxious. I gotta hand it to her though, she didn’t give up and ended up being a truly wonderful friend for Fi. I can’t really put into words how endearing the relationships in this book were.

I liked Fiona, for the most part. You really have to wonder – what would it be like to be invisible? For no one to see your facial expressions? *shudders* I mean, I think it would be cool sometimes, but not all the time. It would suck for no one to see the real you. But I think she became a bit complacent because of that. When a giant bomb is dropped (OMG squee!!!! Best twist EVER.) she runs away. Actually, I was pretty irritated with her for the way she acted when she found out.

I could just keep being whatever I wish I were, instead of what I am. I could forget everything that happened here. Forget this stupid person I am. Starting over would be easier. I’m invisible. I can be whoever I want. Why in the world would I want to be myself?

Yeah, I wanted to punch her. She acted petulant and cowardly, running when she could have faced the issue (and really, it wasn’t even an actual issue, she was just flipping out for absolutely no legitimate reason – calm your tits, lady) and worked it out and been perfectly happy. Then she said ‘I don’t like this place. It sucks.’ Um? 5 pages ago you were loving it! Just because something happened that you didn’t like….ugh. It was so childish!

Spoiler

And this:
I don’t even know if it’d work between us. We’d probably fight all the time. So what if there’s chemistry? I shouldn’t let that cloud my judgement. I need to be practical. It would never work.

ARGH! How do you know if you don’t try?! And you haven’t really been fighting yet, so what makes you think you’d fight all the time? You’re just pissed because you can’t hide behind your invisibility anymore. Such a coward!!

Anyway. Seth. SETH. I must say I was Team Seth from the start. Not that I didn’t like Brady, but he was just too…perfect. Seth was a pain in the arse, even slap-worthy at times, but I loved him nonetheless! I just wanted to hug him!

The romance was adorable! Usually I’m not a big fan of romance, but this one had just the right amount…and it developed slowly so it was realistic and swoon-worthy, leaving me wanting more.

The underlying danger of Fiona’s dad finding her made things more interesting and caused just the right amount of conflict. And the ending was well done! I do recommend this book; it’s not for everyone and was kind of a fluffy read, but I really enjoyed it!


OVERALL ASSESSMENT
Plot: 4/5
Writing style: 4/5
Originality: 4/5
Characters: 4.5/5
World-building: 4/5
Pace: 5/5
Cover: 4/5