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thebookishlibrarian's review against another edition
Thanks to SLJ for a review copy of this book.
Nadia Quick loses herself in her Superman comic books as she reads them every day. The one day, a mysterious boy saves her dog from drowning and disappears. Nadia calls him the Invisible Boy. She is determined to crack the real life mystery by finding him and uncovering his identity. This book is both a mystery and an adventure that not only entertains readers but talks about child trafficking on their level.
Nadia Quick loses herself in her Superman comic books as she reads them every day. The one day, a mysterious boy saves her dog from drowning and disappears. Nadia calls him the Invisible Boy. She is determined to crack the real life mystery by finding him and uncovering his identity. This book is both a mystery and an adventure that not only entertains readers but talks about child trafficking on their level.
the_fabric_of_words's review against another edition
5.0
We loved how this book takes the super hero trope and totally turns it on its head. But a quick caution: don't read this expecting a Squirrel Girl-type silly adventure. It's not that kind of super hero book. It's a serious topic and prepare to ugly cry while reading this one.
Nadia's dog, Wonder, is almost swept away in a drainage culvert when a mysterious boy she's never seen before swoops out of nowhere and saves him. But before Nadia can thank the boy, he's vanished. Poof! Gone. The girl-journalist-in-training is convinced he's a super hero.
The rest of the book is Nadia figuring out where Eli lives and gaining his trust to figure out why she's never seen him before, despite the fact that they live on the same block and apparently have for years. They even should have gone to school together. But they didn't. The answer why she's never seen him, and why he's not in school, has nothing to do with super powers. It's tragic and criminal.
In the end, however, Nadia recognizes the situation Eli's trapped in and does the right thing -- tells a parent, who makes a police report. Then it's a matter of sifting through the "adults never believe kids" tropes to set Eli on the path of finding his true family.
An engaging read that will make you think a bit harder about all the kiddos you don't see.
Looking for more book suggestions for your 7th/8th grade classroom and students?
Visit my blog for more great middle grade book recommendations, free teaching materials and fiction writing tips: https://amb.mystrikingly.com/
Nadia's dog, Wonder, is almost swept away in a drainage culvert when a mysterious boy she's never seen before swoops out of nowhere and saves him. But before Nadia can thank the boy, he's vanished. Poof! Gone. The girl-journalist-in-training is convinced he's a super hero.
The rest of the book is Nadia figuring out where Eli lives and gaining his trust to figure out why she's never seen him before, despite the fact that they live on the same block and apparently have for years. They even should have gone to school together. But they didn't. The answer why she's never seen him, and why he's not in school, has nothing to do with super powers. It's tragic and criminal.
In the end, however, Nadia recognizes the situation Eli's trapped in and does the right thing -- tells a parent, who makes a police report. Then it's a matter of sifting through the "adults never believe kids" tropes to set Eli on the path of finding his true family.
An engaging read that will make you think a bit harder about all the kiddos you don't see.
Looking for more book suggestions for your 7th/8th grade classroom and students?
Visit my blog for more great middle grade book recommendations, free teaching materials and fiction writing tips: https://amb.mystrikingly.com/
sab_reads14's review against another edition
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Trafficking
ralovesbooks's review against another edition
5.0
RECOMMENDED
Nadia is an aspiring investigative reporter who notices something not quite right with a boy down the street. What should she do? What if the adults don’t listen? HOORAY for a middle grade book that broaches human trafficking in an age-appropriate, compassionate, interesting way!
Nadia is an aspiring investigative reporter who notices something not quite right with a boy down the street. What should she do? What if the adults don’t listen? HOORAY for a middle grade book that broaches human trafficking in an age-appropriate, compassionate, interesting way!
elles_shelves's review against another edition
5.0
The Invisible Boy by Alyssa Hollingsworth was an amazing middle grade fictional story that is part mystery, part adventure, and part informational text on a very real tragedy that occurs every day all over this country. Nadia Quick is a 12 year old aspiring journalist on summer vacation in her hometown of Arlington, Virginia. She is spending her summer trying to right a news story worthy of winning the Junior Journalists Contest. While Nadia is out for a walk, her dog has an accident and is rescued by an unseen boy. Nadia begins searching for this mystery hero, who she nicknames The Invisible Boy. Nadia does find The Invisible Boy and so begins the friendship between The Invisible Boy and Lightning Lane (AKA Nadia). As Nadia gets to know The Invisible Boy, she soon sees who he really is . . . and learns why he is never seen. The truth is super villains and super heroes may only exist in comic books, but evil does live in our cities -- we just don't always see it. Human trafficking often goes unseen because the victims are hard to spot. Many times the victims are children who are groomed in their roles so well that they may not even realize that the are slaves because they are trying to escape to a better life.
This was a moving book that presented human trafficking in a way that people can actually understand. Though this is a work of fiction, it does provide very real information in the Epilogue on what human trafficking actually is, how to identify the signs of potential victims, and the National Human Trafficking Hotline if you suspect someone is being human trafficked.
This was a moving book that presented human trafficking in a way that people can actually understand. Though this is a work of fiction, it does provide very real information in the Epilogue on what human trafficking actually is, how to identify the signs of potential victims, and the National Human Trafficking Hotline if you suspect someone is being human trafficked.
jmwilson's review against another edition
5.0
Can a girl who pretends to be Lois Lane help save the day? Nadia Quick loves journalism and superheroes. Using her Lois Lane journalism skills, she tries to uncover the truth behind the neighborhood superhero, the Invisible Boy.
I love how this book includes real life issues of child labor trafficking, but is also appropriately written for middle grade kids. The beginning of the story reminded me of a Nancy Drew mystery. The book quickly escalates and becomes hard to put down. This a great book to help kids start conversations about real world issues.
I love how this book includes real life issues of child labor trafficking, but is also appropriately written for middle grade kids. The beginning of the story reminded me of a Nancy Drew mystery. The book quickly escalates and becomes hard to put down. This a great book to help kids start conversations about real world issues.
sdertinger's review against another edition
5.0
Thank you to MacMillan Children's Publishing for giving #BookAllies a copy of this ARC
I was absolutely enthralled with this one and thought Hollingsworth did a phenomenal job blending this tough issue of child labor trafficking into a middle grade novel. This was yet again another page-turner for me. I knew based on the blurb on the back of the book that it would discuss child labor trafficking so I was eager to see how it would turn out since this is such a difficult subject to take on for a younger audience. As each chapter ended I wanted to learn more about how the author would craft the character of the Invisible Boy and how the main character Nadia would react when she found out what was going on. My heart was racing and I was fighting left and right for justice of the Invisible Boy. I think this would be a great text to connect with my students about real-world issues that are present in today's society. It's a real thing. It is not made up like superheroes are. I think it would be a great read aloud.
I was absolutely enthralled with this one and thought Hollingsworth did a phenomenal job blending this tough issue of child labor trafficking into a middle grade novel. This was yet again another page-turner for me. I knew based on the blurb on the back of the book that it would discuss child labor trafficking so I was eager to see how it would turn out since this is such a difficult subject to take on for a younger audience. As each chapter ended I wanted to learn more about how the author would craft the character of the Invisible Boy and how the main character Nadia would react when she found out what was going on. My heart was racing and I was fighting left and right for justice of the Invisible Boy. I think this would be a great text to connect with my students about real-world issues that are present in today's society. It's a real thing. It is not made up like superheroes are. I think it would be a great read aloud.
librarianaaryn's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
pussreboots's review against another edition
5.0
The Invisible Boy by Alyssa Hollingsworth is set near Washington D.C. and deals with human trafficking. Nadia loves the Superman comics, specifically she loves Lois Lane and wants to be a reporter like her. She sees her world in terms of ace reporters, superheroes and supervillains.
Nadia's first supervillain is a boy she calls Paddle Boy after she witnesses a neighbor take one of her canoe paddles and smash it against a tree. Her first superhero she calls Invisible Boy, a kid who does good deeds around the neighborhood but is otherwise never seen.
Over the course of the book, Nadia becomes friends with both Paddle Boy (who isn't a supervillain, nor a bully) and Invisible Boy. Through her aunt's work with a human trafficking non-profit, she also realizes that Invisible Boy is probably being held against his will. She and Paddle Boy decide to team up to help him.
http://pussreboots.com/blog/2020/comments_10/invisible_boy.html
S/M Home Blue Highway 996633
Nadia's first supervillain is a boy she calls Paddle Boy after she witnesses a neighbor take one of her canoe paddles and smash it against a tree. Her first superhero she calls Invisible Boy, a kid who does good deeds around the neighborhood but is otherwise never seen.
Over the course of the book, Nadia becomes friends with both Paddle Boy (who isn't a supervillain, nor a bully) and Invisible Boy. Through her aunt's work with a human trafficking non-profit, she also realizes that Invisible Boy is probably being held against his will. She and Paddle Boy decide to team up to help him.
http://pussreboots.com/blog/2020/comments_10/invisible_boy.html
S/M Home Blue Highway 996633