Review Detail

Win "Coal" Keegan has been living in foster care with Tom, but when his foster dad has a mental health crisis, he ends up on the McKay's doorstep. The father, Jackson, and the mother, Candace (or "Doc"), haven't had a foster child before, but have three children, Aaron, who is in high school, and young Mia and Hannah. The family is friendly, but boisterous and a little overwhelming. Doc makes sure to give Coal some space, and to let him know she understands that the move is difficult. When Coal decides to get some air and go for a walk, Aaron agrees to tell the adults where he's gone, but also tells him to be home by dark. Coal finds a small side street where he can draw a picture in chalk of a woman who has been wrongfully killed, but when he is almost finished, a man comes after him with a gun. Panicked, Coal runs, and when the police arrive, he tries to hide behind a dumpster. He notices something odd-- he's become invisible, and so the police go right by him. When he gets home, Doc is worried, since he seems shaken. She's a psychiatrist, so knows when teens are lying to her, but gets Coal cleaned up and sends him. To bed. He's tried to tell her about the invisibility, but it's hard to explain something like that. He also tells his best friend, Door, at school the next day. Wanting to know more, Coal does some research, and comes across the Mirror Tech labs that are located nearby. He and Door take a tour of the facility with some other kids on the weekend, but don't feel comfortable doing any of the screenings that the director, Dr. Hunter Achebe, is having others do. Coal has interacted with some mimetic fabric, and a volunteer there, Isadora, mentions that the fabric usually doesn't act that way. There are still lots of questions, and Coal does unpack some of his worries with Doc, as they do yoga and run through some breathing exercises. When Coal mentions all of this to Aaron, Mia, and Hannah, they help him research, and come across information about Project Snow White, which was run through Mirror Tech, and which was supposed to help women with infertility issues. At school, the vice principal pulls Coal aside, and he thinks he is in trouble, but the vice principal wanting only to mention that there was a chalk drawing found, and the police wanted the artist to know that he could file charges against the man who shot at him. Coal and Door have tried to figure out what makes Coal turn invisible, and figure that it has something to do with a fear response. When Dr. Achebe asks Coal to be an intern, he's flattered until they get to the lab and the scientist not only takes blood and spit samples, but also some skin! Coal finds out that Tom, his foster father, was a scientist working at Mirror Tech. He and Door decide to break into the lab with Isadora's key card that Door swiped, and try to get more information. The boys claim to be going to a silent protest, but sneak into the lab. They manage to find some secrets and retrieve some files, but are, of course, caught. Doc shows up to protect him, but Coal knows he needs to figure out these secrets from the past. Does Coal's ability to turn invisible have anything to do with his birth mother, Mirror Tech experiments, and genetic manipulation, or is it something else? Will he be taken by the military and researched, or will his new found family, and Coal himself, be able to save the day? (I don't want to spoil the twists and turns!)