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. (goodreads.com)
This was a good book, it reminded me quite a bit of Every Day, except Stephen is invisible, and ironically, figuring out how to live with his curse and be there for his girlfriend, isn't his biggest issue. I'll have to say that what I really liked about this book was the relationship between Stephen and his dad. The relationship between a father and a son is important is all great novels (and movies), that yes, I was heartbroken reading about how hard it was for Stephen to be in the same room as his dad and hear about his dad's new family, the family that he left Stephen and his mother for. However, it was also intriguing when Stephen stopped to think about what kind of parent he would be if the situation was reversed. If Stephen had a son who was born invisible, would he be the parent who tried their hardest to nestle out a nice peace of world for his son, of would he crumble under pressure? Without being in that situation it's had to know. My heart also squeezed a bit in the end when Stephen was listening to the voice mails that his father was leaving and the description of the frantic nature of Stephen's dad's voice. It made me think that there might still be hope for them.
Two thumbs up also to Laurie (and the fact that their mom names them after characters from Little Woman, LOVE). Laurie was a fantastic supporting role if I ever saw one. Laurie and Elizabeth/ Jo/ Josie (lol) are almost polar opposites but they are the epitome of the opposites attract rule, somehow they just work well together as brother and sister. I enjoyed Laurie's story (well... you know what I mean), and the fact that he honestly tried to live his life in as positive of a nature as he could, yet somehow it wasn't cheesy, I think it was because he was so witty about it :)
*******Spoiler******
In true David Levithan nature, the ending isn't spelled out for you. The bad guy has be eradicated, good has once again triumphed over evil, but people are still cursed, others are dead, and Stephen is still invisible. the ending is purposely left ambiguous but, just like Every Day, I think that makes the story more realistic. In the real world, everything isn't always wrapped up in a neat little bow at the end of the day. Some things work out, and others don't, but you still have to live to walk through another day.
Five stars!! (or maybe like 4.5)
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