She Is Not Invisible by Marcus Sedgwick Review

She Is Not Invisible by Marcus Sedgwick
Release Date: April 22, 2014
Publisher: Roaring Book Press; 224 pages
Rating:

Laureth Peak's father has taught her to look for recurring events, patterns, and numbers--a skill at which she's remarkably talented. Her secret: She is blind. But when her father goes missing, Laureth and her 7-year-old brother Benjamin are thrust into a mystery that takes them to New York City where surviving will take all her skill at spotting the amazing, shocking, and sometimes dangerous connections in a world full of darkness. She Is Not Invisible is an intricate puzzle of a novel that sheds a light on the delicate ties that bind people to each other.

There is one simple word to describe this book. Brilliant. Seriously, I loved this book. I loved everything about this book. I was about ten pages or less from the end I literally said wait a minute out loud and stopped reading to skim back to be pleasantly surprised. The way things come together in the end and they way you miss things until the end will blow your mind. Even after that, I'm sure there's even more you missed (I know I did).

The only negative thing I have to say about this book is the lack of a love interest. I like stuff like that in my books and I really thought we might have something in this book at one point but . . . nope. I understand why it happened the way it happened but it really got my hopes up. It would've made things a little more interesting, right? But the more I think about it, after having finished the book, I really think any type of relationship of that sort would've really taken away from the story. Didn't help me while I was reading it, though.

Laureth (which is a name I really like) is blind but if you would walk up to her on the street I can bet you you'd never know. She's that good at faking the fact she can't see and it makes me really admire her, as a person. The confidence she has, for someone with a disability or not, is astonishing and not to mention the bravery. She goes off to New York, on a whim, because she's worried about her father. Takes her little, adorable brother Benjamin, and is off like it's no big deal.

Benjamin is one of the most enjoyable characters in this book, not that the others aren't fantastic characters. He's just this adorable, innocent seven year old kid who is so mature beyond his years. If you have any siblings, especially younger, reading about Benjamin just wishes your sibling was more like him when you were younger (or even now). I especially love his relationship with his stuffed Raven, Stan and electronics.

This is one of those books that will get you thinking. That will make you want to pay attention to all the words you're reading. Heck, it's one of those books that will make you want to go back and read it again after you've finished to catching everything you've missed. Everything about this book is just brilliant. The visualization, the characters, the co-inky-dinks, the number obsession (which will blow your mind when you realize just how in-depth it is) . . . just . . . everything.

Thank you so much to Ksenia from Macmillan for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Please, come back here later this week when we'll be posting an interview we just had with the author! We'll also be giving away two of his books, signed, to one luck winner!