Book Review: She Is Not Invisible by Marcus Sedgwick

Title: She Is Not Invisible

Author: Marcus Sedgwick
Series:  ~
Pages:  354
Publisher: Indigo
Date of Publication: 3rd October 2013
Source: Birthday gift
Synopsis from Goodreads: Laureth Peak's father is a writer. For years he's been trying, and failing, to write a novel about coincidence. His wife thinks he's obsessed, Laureth thinks he's on the verge of a breakdown.He's supposed to be doing research in Austria, so when his notebook shows up in New York, Laureth knows something is wrong.

On impulse she steals her mother's credit card and heads for the States, taking her strange little brother Benjamin with her. Reunited with the notebook, they begin to follow clues inside, trying to find their wayward father. Ahead lie challenges and threats, all of which are that much tougher for Laureth than they would be for any other 16-year old. Because Laureth Peak is blind.

My Thoughts:
Before She Is Not Invisible, I'd never read a Marcus Sedgwick book, although I have met him and have heard so many great things about his books. I don't know why - I guess I've always just had so many books that I've never got around to it. Anyway, after She Is Not Invisible I shall definitely be making an effort to read more of Marcus Sedgwick's books because I really, really enjoyed it.

The book is about a girl called Laureth who drags her little brother off to New York to find her father, whom she believes to be missing. Just that sounded interesting, but then you find out that Laureth is actually blind, and that makes it even more so. I must admit I know very little about blind people and I don't think I've ever really had any experience with them. Because of this I really had no idea what to expect with the book, but that just made it all the more exciting.

I think that Marcus Sedgwick does a really great job of writing about Laureth's blindness, and in such a way that I feel like I understand much more now about what it's like to be blind. I'd always imagined that it's awful and I'm sure that if I were to lose my sight I would find it super difficult and probably wouldn't ever get over it. Laureth, however, is strong and determined, and she doesn't let her lack of sight get to her. She isn't embarrassed about it (not that it's something to be embarrassed about, but I imagine I probably would be if I were blind) and she's very brave, and I admired her greatly for it.

The book is also about coincidence, and the number 354. Feels like a kind of random combination, but Marcus Sedgwick wrote the book in such a way that it works completely and I didn't question it once. All the talk of coincidence made me really consider whether or not I believe that coincidences happen or whether everything happens for a reason, and to be honest I'm still not really sure. The number 354 is also woven into the story seemingly effortlessly and I loved seeing both the obvious and the obscure references to the number (it's very satisfying when you find an obscure one!).

Overall, She Is Not Invisible is a really great book that I heartily recommend to all of you, no matter what type of books you like. It's very original and I now totally understand why Marcus Sedgwick is such a popular writer. I'll definitely be eagerly checking out all of his other young adult titles and I'm sure that I shall be recommending this to everyone for a long time to come. This is not one to be missed!