Release Date: June 2008
Publisher: Bowler Hat Comics
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 320
Source: Review copy from publisher.
Natalie is the disappointingly normal daughter of Jayden Irving, a universally reviled woman with the power to turn invisible at will. When Natalie discovers she had inherited more than just her mother’s metallic blue eyes, she decides it’s about time she traveled beyond the boundries of her suffocating life. Desperate to escape Jayden’s indifference and disdain, Natalie soon finds herself pulled into a web of blackmail, false identities, and lies that threaten to turn mother against daughter. (From Bowler Hat Comics.)
___________________________________________________
First, even though the cover suggests it, Visibility is NOT a graphic novel. According to the back of the book, it is an "Illustrated Novel." This is an accurate description; illustrations are scattered throughout the novel, but the words do the storytelling. In fact, the illustrations sometimes seem unnecessary, but a few are helpful for visualizing the story. Their greatest contribution lies in lending Visibility an occasional comic book feel that suits the book's superhero plot well.
Natalie Irving's mother, Jayden, has the power of invisibility, but--to the anger of the government and the public--she refuses to use her gift to help others. She's cold, inaccessible, and, as Natalie repeatedly insists in her first-person narration, a terrible mother. Jayden sends Natalie as a representative to meetings she'd rather not attend, and even throws her a rather public birthday party just to show how inept Natalie is with reporters and other humans in general. Jayden seems to find pleasure in making her daughter uncomfortable. She's a difficult woman to read, and while she becomes more interesting toward the end of the novel, she's talked about more than she's seen-- there's a lot of Jayden this, Jayden that. It makes sense when combined with Jayden's power of invisibility and Natalie's own limited knowledge of her mother, but I would've liked an extra scene or two with her.
As for the other characters, Natalie is a likeable narrator, and Peter--her bodyguard/friend--is an appealing character. He's unfailingly kind, intelligent, and always there for Natalie. He also draws a lot, which plays into the novel's illustrations well. I even liked a certain blackmailing police officer, an ambiguous character as far as good and evil go.
In a nutshell, Visibility is a well-paced, well-written, and entertaining novel. Author Sarah Neufeld keeps the plot moving, and introduces plot twists and jolting surprises at perfect moments. It is hard to be bored while reading Visibility. Natalie is an endearing character: living in Jayden's shadow leaves her with little self-confidence, and she feels invisible in a way that many girls without distant parents with the power of invisibility feel. Neufeld explores figurative visibility through literal invisibility--the idea of seeing oneself, seeing others, and being truly seen by others.
Visibility stays away from getting too philosophical, though. It's a superhero story with a realistic twist at heart, complete with humor, secret missions, and enough action to keep readers in suspense. It's a wonderfully quick read, and I'm warning you now that reading it may interfere with small things like housework and sleep. Overall, it's an entertaining and original story. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys superhero stories, coming-of-age tales, or fast, exciting reads.
No comments:
Post a Comment