Invisibility by Andrea Cremer and David Levithan

* * 1/2

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.




Review:

Steven has always been lonely.  But he has become even more so since his mother passed away.  Kind of hard not to when no one can see you.  When he learns that his new neighbor, Elizabeth, can SEE him, he is in complete awe that he now has someone that he can talk to and relate to.  After an embarrassing and awkward first meeting, Elizabeth and Stephen embark on an intense relationship that makes them both a little scared and nervous.  When Elizabeth and Stephen are introduced to the world of Spellseekers and Cursecasters they find themselves in a dangerous situation that could either make Stephen visible or ensure his invisibility forever.

In the past, Levithan has forced me to love his characters BECAUSE of their imperfections.  Not in in spite of them.  Dash from Dash and Lily's Book of Dares is the best example of this.  Stephen is no different.  It is impossible to not connect with Stephen.  His inability to socialize with anyone has made him very thoughtful and careful of everything going on around him.  It has also made him, in some ways, very socially awkward. Which is absolutely endearing.

Elizabeth was not nearly as likable.  She wasn't necessarily unlikable.  She was just....meh.  I wish I could pinpoint exactly why I didn't love her.  She was a pretty strong character is some ways.  Particularly with how she embraces her part in the cursecasting world.  But other than that she just didn't hold my interest.

I really enjoyed Andrea Cremer's writing style.  And, as you know, I love Levithan's writing style. But as good as they may be individually, together they lacked the chemistry that I've come to expect from a Levithan collaboration.  This lack of chemistry and my feelings of indifference towards the heroine, Elizabeth, made this story difficult to finish.  Disappointingly, this book was just a "meh" for me.

Nat