Published by Harper Collins, Harper Teen on May 21st
Genres: Paranormal, Young Adult
Format: eBook
Source: Publisher
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Plenty of teenagers feel invisible. Fiona McClean actually is.
An invisible girl is a priceless weapon. Fiona’s own father has been forcing her to do his dirty work for years—everything from spying on people to stealing cars to breaking into bank vaults.
After sixteen years, Fiona’s had enough. She and her mother flee to a small town, and for the first time in her life, Fiona feels like a normal life is within reach. But Fiona’s father isn’t giving up that easily.
Of course, he should know better than anyone: never underestimate an invisible girl.
Transparent comes with a very promising and unique idea about a girl who is .. transparent, invisible and I was hoping it to stand out among so many Contemporaries and “classic” Paranormal stories.
X-Men – Mafia … and now trying to be normal
The whole setting and plot was captivating combination. People all over the world exist with special abilities, similar to the X-Men world we have all kind of different abilities, some stronger some less strong. Fiona’s Dad comes off like a very powerful Mafia Boss and he was using Fiona for all her life. But not just her – he was a viscous man who just saw what he could gain from people.
So being grown up in such an environment, Fiona by far didn’t have a normal upbringing and all she ever wanted was to be normal. When her mom takes her away and hides in a small town its Fiona’s chance to try to be normal… Easier said than done when you are invisible.
I loved this combination of mafia, danger and normalcy.
Fiona – insecure and a little bitter…
Due to being invisible Fiona was very insecure and due to her horrible father she was also a little bitter, having had no real childhood and no real friends. So it was somehow understandable that she was often very insecure when acting with kids her age. It took her some time to realize that there are people who actually want to get to know and want to be her friend. She was not an easy trusting girl and her invisibility actually made it worse. During the progress of the story, she grew her lot and learned a lot from her new friends. However, this also made it a little hard for me to truly connect with Fiona. I must feel emotionally connected to the characters in order for me fully love a book.
Romance – Friendship – Danger
Being so insecure, it made it hard for the romance to fully develop in my opinion. There were actually two boys who were interested in her but Fiona had problems leaving her “invisibility” behind. All her new friends tried to give her the feeling that it doesn’t matter but it took some time for Fiona to understand.
The storyline surrounding her mobster father added a nice layer of action to this story, and adding some brothers who had some severe secrets were both thrilling and compelling. In the end though, the whole package was nice but not mind-blowingly awesome.
Bewitched Rating
Bottom Line
Transparent by Natalie Whipple comes with an exciting premise of X-Men like abilities combined with some dangerous mafia like family bonds. Wrapped in all these exciting surroundings we find a girl who is insecure about herself and tries to find her way from extraordinaire to normal. Having had difficulties to connect to Fiona emotionally dulled a little my excitement about the premise…
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While I LOVE the idea of “mutants” and powers and all that, I’m kind of sad for the invisible girl. No one sees her! (and, of COURSE, there are two guys interested in her. It wouldn’t be a YA without it. Kidding!).
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I actually really loved this one Danny! I think I was just in the mood for it, and I liked how her invisibility was handled. I thought it was interesting that she was invisible to even herself, and things like basic medical care were nearly impossible because no one could see her to give her vaccines or stitches or anything else. You make some good points though, there was a slight disconnect because I couldn’t picture her in my mind seeing as she didn’t even know what she looked like, but overall I was a fan. Fantastic review as always my love!
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I am so confused as to how she can have friends when she is invisible. Is she just a floating voice. Clothes in the air? How does anyone know she is there? I find constant invisibility a strange issue. I understood it in Every Day by David Levithan since he/she was in someone’s body, but I don’t get this one at all. Thanks for your honest review!!
Heather
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Yep it’s pretty much like you thought, you only see her clothes….. Poor girl!
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Great review! I loved the x-men style stuff too! I always sit around wishing it was real. *sigh*
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Wow, this sounds different. I have seen this book around and have been really curious about it. Thanks for the informative review. Now I know what to expect.
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I am really curious about this one – the premise has sounded so intriguing!
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I actually like how Fiona’s insecurity was the obstacle in the romance and that she ultimately grew at the end. Great review as always!
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