She Is Not Invisible by Marcus Sedgwick is contemporary young adult fiction that starts with a thriller feel and ends channeling a little bit of Wait Until Dark. Mr. Sedgwick does an outstanding job of voicing sixteen-year-old Laureth. He is relentless and fantastic at consistently writing from her viewpoint–the reader sees only what Laureth sees, and this is one of the most compelling traits of the book. The author does require the reader to check skepticism at the door as to how realistic Laureth’s catalytic first decisions truly are, but once the reader and the author agree to just go with it, the following compressed events feel mostly plausible. The book’s pacing is slow in the middle, but picks up towards the end with an extremely quick, tidy, simple wrap-up. She Is Not Invisible is an enjoyable young adult read with a strong female character.
Marcus Sedgwick is also the author of Midwinterblood, which was the 2014 Prinz Award winner.
Review was of an ARC
This book was sent to Compass Book Ratings for review by Roaring Brook Press
Content Analysis:
Profanity/Language: 3 religious exclamations; 7 mild obscenities; 3 religious profanities; 2 anatomical terms.
Violence/Gore: Character reads a summary of certain historical figures committing suicide, with a few details portrayed in a factual manner; character reads about a Death Cult, no details; scene involving destroyed property, grabbing, kicking, chasing, and fall with injury; character reports being mugged and hit; character is threatened verbally and with a knife.
Sex/Nudity: Married adults kiss; characters make suggestive remarks to another character, but it is not specified what is said; a character wonders if a parent is having an affair.
Mature Subject Matter:
Physical disability
Alcohol / Drug Use:
Minors enter a bar looking for someone.
