Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Book Review: Invisibility by Andrea Cremer and David Levithan


Goodreads summary:

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.

My review:

To be honest, I wasn't really expecting to like Invisibility when I started it.  I disliked both Cremer's and Levithan's previous work that I had read.  But I liked the unique premise of Invisibility so much that I had to give it a try.  Sadly, it didn't work out for me.

My major problem with Invisibility is the characters.  Stephen is gloomy and has zero self-esteem.  It always felt like he was having a pity party.  Sure, being invisible all your life is tough, but couldn't he at least have a personality?  And when he wasn't being sad and depressing, he was talking in this poetic style that didn't feel like a teenage guy's voice at all.  I hoped I would like Elizabeth, and although she was definitely better than Stephen, I ultimately didn't care about her.  It didn't make sense for her to be so in love with Stephen.

Which brings me to my next problem: the insta-love.  Really?  They see each other and fall in love in less than a hundred pages?  By the end, Elizabeth is willing to sacrifice pretty much everything to save Stephen and be with him.  Um...she barely knows him!



Lastly, I didn't like the plot.  It felt like Invisiblity had no idea what genre it is - contemporary, or paranormal?  The first third was all sappy romance and poetic ramblings, and then it turned into a big jumble of magic and curses.  First insta-love, then a clichéd paranormal storyline. *sigh* I really didn't care for this at all and I don't think I'll be reading any more books by either of these authors.  I'd only recommend Invisibility if you're a fan of Cremer or Levithan.

My rating:  2 out of 5 stars

~ Kaitlyn

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