Things Not Seen by Andrew Clements

Bobby Phillips wakes up one morning and he is invisible - this is not just a concept - he is invisible. No one can see him, but he is still there. If he puts on clothes his family can see the outline of his body, but he has no face and no hands. Naturally all the questions begin - why did this happen? How did this happen? How long will this last? What might happen if others especially the 'authorities' find out? Will Bobby have to live at home in his room for the rest of his life? 

In answer to the last question, Bobby is not prepared to stay home. So, after his parents head out to work, he puts on layers of clothes, a woolly scarf across his face and sunglasses and he heads to the library. No one even looks at him - this is Chicago, and it is a cold day. In the library Bobby takes off all his clothes hides them in a roof cavity in the boy's bathroom and then he sets off to explore this familiar and yet somehow now unfamiliar place. It is a lonely day for Bobby, but he makes a few discoveries about himself and about other people. As he leaves the building, with his clothes back on, he bumps into a young girl. Alicia is blind - not just vision impaired - she cannot see after a head injury. This pair seem like the perfect combination to be friends. Over the coming days Bobby tells Alicia he is invisible and together they set out to solve this mystery. 

This book is filled with science theories because Bobby's dad and Alicia's father are both scientists, but it is Bobby himself who pieces together the possible cause of his invisibility. There are complications - Bobby does have to move around the city naked, and it is cold. His parents are involved in a car accident and while they are okay both are kept in the hospital for a few days, so Bobby has to navigate his new life alone. The school and the welfare people demand to know why he is not at school. The explanations and the feisty reactions of Bobby's mum are sure to make you smile. And there is the complication of a new relationship. Alicia is still working through adjusting to her new reality and Bobby has very little experience talking to girls. I enjoyed watching the ups and downs, highs and lows, and communication mishaps of their bourgeoning relationship. 

Yes, this story is very far-fetched but it also has an internal logic that I found fascinating. This is a Young Adult book - mainly because the two main characters are high schoolers. This book was published in 2002 but I was pleased to see it is still in print. 

As always, Clements’s genius for developing credible plot lines (even from oddball premises) makes suspension of disbelief no problem. His characters, each one fundamentally decent ... are easy to like. A readable, thought-provoking tour de force, alive with stimulating ideas, hard choices, and young people discovering bright possibilities ahead. Kirkus star review

While technically I suppose you'd have to call this a science fiction novel, it is a perfect crossover book for readers who don't normally read that genre. This is a book about Bobby and what he discovers about himself, his family, and people in general. I think you'll enjoy this one. I know I did. YA Books Central

"Clements's story is full of life; it's poignant, funny, scary, and seemingly all too possible. The author successfully blends reality with fantasy in a tale that keeps his audience in suspense until the very end."--School Library Journal

The only problem with this book is that it is one that sort of defies a convincing description. I really enjoyed it-- the details are spot on, the explanations don't stretch credulity too far, and the reaction of the parents is one with which many students will identify ... Ms Yingling

I picked this book up at a recent charity book sale - mainly because I am a huge fan of Andrew Clements. This book is very different from his middle grade titles such as Frindle; The Janitor's Boy; The Jacket; The Landry News; and my own favourite Extra Credit. 

If you do need a book to read that is similar to Things not seen perhaps look for this one:

This book was the 1980 CBCA winner. Not long after I read this book I was standing in the queue for McDonald's in the city. I stood at the counter for a long time and was totally ignored by the server. It felt as though the invisibility I read about in Displaced Person had become my reality. I just checked my copy of Displaced Person and I find it interesting that this book has only 138 pages. Such a powerful story. Maurice Saxby said: "It is an extended image of alienation; the mental state when one feels a nobody; the black cloud, the wedge of ice that site close to the heart when one journeys alone. It is also a metaphysical examination of reality and unreality; a speculation ... of what lies beyond the realm of human understanding. It is a tight, tense and gripping story with a poignant and poetic ending."

A Pinch of Magic by Michelle Harrison

Take a close look at the beautiful cover of A Pinch of Magic. Each of these items are important in the story - a rat, nesting dolls, a carpet bag, a clock, a tower and a small rowing boat. You can also see the moon and some crows. Watch this trailer which uses the cover to promote the book and you will see the third important magical object - a mirror.

I love this cover and the art looked familiar so I looked up Melissa Castrillon and discovered she designed the cover for Cartwheeling in Thunderstorms a book I loved. She has also done a new cover for The Kite Rider by Geraldine McCaughrean which is a book I must talk about on this blog - it blew me away when I read it years ago. This edition is due for release this month.

My Advanced Reader copy of A Pinch of Magic did not have a map - I love maps in books. I need to look for the 'real' copy of this book when it arrives in shops next week because I discovered, from Michelle Harrison's twitter posts, that she has included a map.  She even drew it herself!

Even though there is a formula underlying the plot of this fantasy there are also plenty of twists and turns. On Betty's thirteenth birthday Granny shows the girls three magical objects. A carpet bag that allows you to fly to a different place, a set of nesting dolls which can be used for invisibility and a mirror to talk to someone a bit like a video link. The way the nesting dolls work is quite intriguing.

Betty, Charlie (Charlotte) and Fliss (Felicity) Widdershins live on the island of Crowstone. Before I go further widdershins, as Michelle Harrison explains in a letter to her readers, means to go in the wrong direction or anti clockwise, and it is considered unlucky.

Bad luck does seem to plague this family. Their mother is dead, their father is in jail, and the family curse means they are all trapped forever on this small island.

The islands nearby have disturbing names - Torment, Lament and Repent. The jail is on the island of Repent and it is dominated by a tall tower. Over a century ago a young witch jumped to her death from this tower. Over the course of this story our three girls, with their special gifts, will discover exactly how their lives are connected with the story of the young witch Sorsha Spellthorn and why crows also play an important and disturbing role.

Michelle Harrison creates an eerie atmosphere in her book. I felt as though I was deep in the fog that surrounds the islands, I was touching the jail walls and feeling the carving done by anguished prisoners, and I could smell the spilled beer in the Poacher's Pocket - the inn owned by the Widdershins family. The story of the girls, especially Betty, as they try to break the curse is interwoven with the long ago story of Sorsha. You need to be patient with this book but as with all good fairy tales, after all dangers faced by the sisters who are determined to set right the wrongs of the past, it is good to know "they all lived happily every after".

Here are some reviews with more plot details:

• Books for Keeps
• Jemima Pett
• The Book Bag
• Love Reading 4 Kids

Read more about Michelle Harrison on her web site.

Some people were lucky when they were sent this book to review by Simon and Schuster. It came with one of three different ARC covers and a small bag of treasures. 

I would follow A pinch of Magic with Snow and Rose by Emily Winfield Martin, Nightbird by Alice Hoffman, and A Snicker of Magic by Natalie Lloyd.

In this darkly believable world of magic and myth, Betty is a likeable, funny and feisty protagonist, full of courage and determination. This riveting tale of witchcraft, love and betrayal will have readers on the edge of their seats, as the sisters race against time to try to break the curse. BookTrust

The Loblolly boy by James Norcliffe

Firstly here is a confession I have bought this book home to read several times over the last few years but it never makes the top of my pile and I keep returning it unread.  Then I noticed something important on the cover.  An endorsement by Margaret Mahy.

"Children's literature is about to be enriched with a new classic"

I didn't even realise this was a New Zealand book.  I have mentioned that we have been culling our shelves.  We purchased this book in 2010 and I don't think it has been borrowed very often. Perhaps it needed to be culled but I was not sure so once again I bought this book home. Oddly when I visited a city book shop this week they had a copy of this book which was published in 2009 so now it was certainly time for me to actually read The Loblolly Boy.

While I don't entirely agree with Margaret Mahy The Loblolly boy is a engrossing book with a couple of heart stopping moments and an interesting supernatural feel.

Michael is living in a children's home.  Life is brutal.  Michael has no knowledge of his previous life. He is a loner and one evening he meets a boy in a remote corner of the garden down by the high wall - it is a  boy who has wings and can fly.  This is a loblolly boy and he contrives to swap lives with Michael.  There are glorious things about being a loblolly boy.  There are also issues :

"It had not occurred to me that being a loblolly boy meant I might never eat food again."
Michael has no shadow, can't feel hot or cold and is also invisible except to exceptional people. Such as Captain Bass.  He explains :
"In your travels ...  you will come across people who can see you and who can speak to you. We call such people Sensitives. ... some will be ... young, innocent and harmless; some will be like me; old and not really of this world ourselves. ... But then there are others who will ... be very dangerous. ... These are the collections; they'll see you as a rare and exotic species and they'll want to keep you in a cage."

Michael sees his future through a mysterious telescope. He finds new friends who are connected to him in a very surprising way.  Things seem to be going well until a collector discovers him. Michael is captured.

"It was only then the true ghastliness of my situation began to sink in. ... I looked around the walls again, at the dead butterflies skewered onto their neatly labelled backing cards. A single pin through the middle of each of these beautiful creatures. ... And this was going to happen to me."


You can listen the whole novel - performed for Radio NZ.

I wonder why James Norcliffe used the name Loblolly.  I have discovered :

• Loblolly is a type of porridge or gruel served to the sick on warships in 1700s
• Loblolly is also a type of small evergreen tree grown in the US
• A loblolly boy was an assistant to a surgeon on a war ship

Winner, New Zealand Post Children's Book Awards, Junior Fiction Category, 2010

The quote from Margaret Mahy is just an extract the whole comment says :

'The children in The Loblolly Boy find themselves caught up in a remarkable chain of events. Through an encounter with the fantastic loblolly boy they can become fantastic themselves. This is a rich fantasy - alive with original twists, surprises and mysteries which I dare not reveal. Children's literature is about to be enriched with a new classic.' Margaret Mahy

There is a sequel and the US edition has a different cover and a different title.