Invisibility by Andrea Cremer & David Levithan

Title: Invisibility

Author: Andrea Cremer & David Levithan

Publisher: Philomel

Release Date: May 7, 2013

Source: ARC from Publisher

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository

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.

Invisibility is one of those books that I've been wanting to read for quite some time for a number of reasons. The premise was different from anything else I've read recently. Though I've had some issues with the stories, I love Andrea Cremer's writing. And I've been hearing for a long time how long how amazing a writer David Levithan is. So why shouldn't I read Invisibility? And in case you were wondering, it was as good as I hoped it would be.

His whole life, Stephen has been invisible. Not just to everyone around him, but also to himself. Stephen has to concentrate just to be able to hold a fork or open a door. It's not easy to go through life without anyone ever seeing you, but it's something that Stephen has had to live with. But then Elizabeth moves into the apartment next to his and all of a sudden someone can see him. And from the moment Stephen realizes that Elizabeth can see him, everything changes. Now Stephen has someone on his side, someone who has the potential to be able to do something to break Stephen's curse. But is all comes down to what sacrifices everyone is willing to make.

As I've already mentioned, there were many factors that contributed to my desire to read Invisibility. For starters, the premise was quite unlike what's currently out there in YA. And invisibility curse clearly suggests paranormal, but for 90% of the story, it reads almost like a contemporary. Which in turn made it so I just flew through the pages. For the most part, the action is concentrated in the last 50-75 pages or so. Before that action picks up, as a reader you get to see so many different relationships develop. And as much as I liked the action packed ending, I loved seeing those relationships develop and blossom. Those relationships were very much different from other relationships you see in books. For starters, there's the whole invisibility thing that kind of puts a wrench in things. But despite the fact that some of the involved parties couldn't actually see each other, the relationships still felt incredibly real and like the whole invisibility thing was a non-issue. But it did make some of the interactions between characters quite interesting.

Having one of the main characters be invisible to all but one of the other characters makes for quite the interesting situations. But having Stephen be invisible also makes you feel for him in a way that you won't necessarily for other characters. With Stephen, you not only feel the pain attached to the loss of his mother, but you also feel the lifetime of pain that comes from having been invisible to everyone who cares about you. Until Elizabeth come along that is. And Elizabeth was definitely a character with many layers. After what happened to her brother, Laurie, I can understand Elizabeth's attitude towards people, not willing to let herself trust anybody, for fear that they would hurt her or the people she cares about. But then when she's with Stephen, you get to see this whole other side of Elizabeth, like he brings out something in her that she keeps guarded around everyone else. So because of all that, the relationship between Stephen and Elizabeth is really interesting to see develop and grow. But I also have to mention Laurie, because he often put a smile on a my or made me snicker. And I also admired him. Because after everything that happened to him before his family moved to New York, to see him act the way he does and have the attitude he does, I just have to respect and admire him. Not a lot of people would be able to come back from what he did so I feel like it is worth mentioning. 

Andrea Cremer and David Levithan's Invisibility was just as good as I had hoped it would be. The story captured my attention from start to finish, and I loved the contemporary feel that was attached to this story despite the paranormal elements. If you want a cross between contemporary and paranormal, I would definitely recommend Invisibility because it has just the right mix of the two genres.