The Invisibles

June 15, 2015

On the morning of her 32nd birthday, 15 years after the awful night that changed everything, Nora Walker gets a phone call. It's Ozzie, the bossy ringleader of the group of friends who called themselves the Invisibles at Trading Winds, the group home where she lived as a teen for two years. It's also been 15 long years since she's spoken to any of the other girls. Not one of them has reached out to her in that time. Now however, Nora's old roommate Grace, is in trouble. After a suicide attempt, she asks for the four--Ozzie, Nora, Monica, and Grace--to come together again. Hesitantly, Nora boards the plane to what might turn out to be a terrible weekend that dredges up everything she has worked so hard to bottle up. As the four friends tentatively learn about each of their new lives, the past is slowly revealed. VERDICT Galante's (Little Wings; Patron Saint of Butterflies) first adult novel is one of letting go of your past, allowing others to love you and above all else, forgiving yourself. For readers who like a solid story of healing and the power of friendship.--Melissa Keegan, Ela Area P.L., Lake Zurich, IL

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2015
Four teenagers with painful pasts form their own family unit at Turning Winds, a home for unwanted girls. But despite being the close-knit Invisibles during their last two years of high school, Nora, Ozzie, Grace, and Monica scatter after an event that leaves them all deeply shaken. Nearly 15 years later, Ozzie calls them together to help Grace, who is depressed and suicidal after having a baby. Monica has remade herself physically but is in trouble with the law, Ozzie is in an abusive marriage, and Nora, who remained in the Turning Winds area, still resents the others for leaving without offering support for the trauma that is revealed in the closing pages. A whirlwind road trip renews the group's bonds and provides the means for finally facing issues of the past. In her first adult novel, Galante displays the same sensitivity and insight shown in her children's and YA fiction. While the narrative might have been tightened a bit when the road trip lags, Galante maintains a level of suspense in this moving story of reconciliation and renewal.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)