The Opposite of Invisible

Liz Gallagher's debut novel nails the angst of high school students navigating the challenging social waters of their years. Narrator Lara Hirner has the voice of bright, articulate Alice, a sophomore trying to find her voice, her talent, and her way through the confusing world of teen friendship and romance. Hirner's voice has the tone of today's teens, with a perkiness and a laugh in it that often hides confusion. Alice, along with her best friend, Jewel, has been satisfied to be invisible and to navigate under the wire. But now football hero Simon, her first crush, has taken an interest in her, giving her entry into the "in group." Will she find her way through her crush to a real relationship with Simon? N.E.M. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine

January 21, 2008
Former children's bookseller Gallagher offers a diverting view of familiar terrain in her first novel. The artistic but in-the-shadows protagonist, 16-year-old Alice, and her more talented pal, a boy named Jewel, are joined at the hip—and have been since they were three. So, when Jewel breaks the rules of friendship and kisses her, she doesn't know what to think—especially because the hunky football player, Simon Murphy, surprisingly locked lips with her, too, just the day before. Now her heart is frantically pounding out “two-guys-at-once-two-kisses-you-have-to-choose,” and, she says, “I don't know if my heart can survive that kind of beating.” Yes, this story has been told before. But Gallagher infuses the usual fluff with personality, in part via the offbeat Seattle setting. Alice and Jewel are regulars at the Green Bean organic coffee shop, friends with the video store clerk (“Greetings, darlings,” he says as they return a Japanimation DVD) and connoisseurs of the indie music scene. Although Jewel conforms to the “Mr. Outsider Artist” label that Alice tags him with, Simon isn't the stock football player (he volunteers at the aquarium and has actual feelings); members of the artsy and popular crowds overlook stereotypes long enough to commingle willingly by the end. The author's voice is strong—she bears watching. Ages 14-up.