Wednesday, January 9, 2008

The Opposite of Invisible by Liz Gallagher Book Review

The Opposite of Invisible by Liz Gallagher
(Hardcover, Random House)
Rating:

Alice thinks of herself as invisible. She's never been part of the in-crowd and she merely blends in with the artsy crowd, never the brilliant artist, only mediocre. Her best friend Jewel is a photographer and he calls himself invisible too. To Alice, however, Jewel is the opposite of invisible. They've been best friends since middle school, but lately Alice feels that her only defining characteristic is that she is friends with Jewel. So she starts dating a popular football player, Simon. But does this help her find herself? Or is she now being defined as the girlfriend of Simon?

I loved this because it wasn't the typical shy girl becomes popular book. Alice is never really accepted by the popular crowd and she doesn't have an overnight makeover either. You have to give props to a girl who wears her Pumas to a dance rather than be uncomfortable in high heels. Alice is trying to define herself and she makes the mistake of thinking that she needs a boyfriend to do so. Reading this novel is a bit like immersing yourself in a painting. Alice's voice is so unique - she describes the world around her as if each moment is a canvas that she is painting. And she talks to a poster instead of writing in a diary. What a cool idea, Liz! Alice calls her painting the Dove Girl and it is Picasso's Le Visage de la Paix. (I think the picture at right is what Liz is talking about but Picasso actually has several versions of the drawing by the same name.)

I wondered what poster I would talk to if I had one on my wall and I tried to come up with something cool and artsy, but here's what I have. Maybe I'll come up with something artsy later, but in the meantime Reese knows all...


Liz is a member of the Class of 2k8. And she has a sweet website which was designed by Little Willow. Little Willow, I think you're my new hero....you interviewed Meg Cabot and you design websites for published authors! Need an assistant? :-)

7 comments:

  1. Sounds really cool : ) I also love the cover... ;)

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  2. didn't you just love this book! i thought it was sooo cute!

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  3. Great review. I really want to read this book.

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  4. Seen this book floating around. Guess I'll have to check it out! Reese is the greatest.

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  5. Such a sweet book. Glad that you liked it.

    Thank you for the kind words about my webdesign and my blog! :) I like being everyone else's assistant.

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  6. That sounds interesting, and I also love the cover. ^^ -divebombs for her library-

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  7. I adored this book. Thanks for posting the picture of Dove Girl; it's nice to see it! Your review is so right-on, the part about the novel being like a painting.

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