Review Detail

Reader reviewed by MssJos

Bobby Phillips is a normal teenager. Neither popular nor unpopular in school, he argues with his parents, dislikes his private school, gets ignored by the popular girls. But Bobby Phillips has a problem. A big one. One morning after his shower Bobby notices something peculiar when looking in the mirror. Nothing. Bobby Phillips is now officially, literally, invisible.

This novel is great for many levels of readers. Even struggling readers can follow along and appreciate Bobby's dilemma as he tries to literally find himself. This is also a great young adult novel because it is told from a very believable perspective of a very likable teenage boy, a nice change from the novels typically told from a female point of view.

While Bobby struggles to figure out how to become visible, readers experience his anguish and frustration as he realizes it took becoming invisible to make people (specifically his busy career-driven parents) truly see him. Bobby befriends a girl with complete and total blindness named Alicia, who soon becomes his only confidente, helping readers to grasp the subtle hint that what's on the outside isn't always what's most recognizable.


Excerpt:
"I'm not assuming anything. I'm talking about experience. You can tell if someone thinks you're nothing. Like, just a few weeks ago, I'm walking towards this beautiful girl named Jessica in the hall, and I smile and look at her, and her face doesn't change, her eyes don't connect with me, nothing. It's like she looks right through me, like I'm not even there."

Alicia's eyebrows shoot up, "Hmmm...she looked right through you, eh? Like you weren't even there? Interesting way to describle your old life, don't you think?" (p.160-61)