published by: Philomel
publish date: May 7, 2013
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.
I was a little reluctant to read this book because (Ok world of book bloggers shoot me now) I wasn't a fan of the Nightshade Series. However, I've been a big fan of the books that David Levithan co-authors. It's like he really brings out the best in his co-authors. I felt like this was another example of this phenomenon. I really enjoyed this book. I liked the story. The aspect of invisibility must have been hard to work with and I thought it was dealt with well. I'm sure if I had gotten really nit-picky there were probably some mistakes here and there and some "oh come on! that couldn't happen!" sort of moments but when I read I tend to suspend disbelief and go with the flow.
I definitely recommend this book. It was a great YA book. Maybe not for the younger YA crowd because I thought it was a little heavy on the scary factors. Stephen's grandfather was really a bad guy and the curses were pretty evil things. Other than that, great story and I think it would have wide appeal.
