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katykelly's review against another edition
5.0
Two out of two hits for Ross Welford. Intelligent, genuinely funny and warm writing for a young audience.
Like his first, this doesn't dumb down the science for children/young people, and faces issues head on. In 'Time Travelling with a Hamster' he braved the subject of a parent's death. Here is it the angst of adolescent acne, a dead mother and even dementia.
Ethel Leatherhead wishes she wasn't so noticeable - her acne has lately made her a target for bullies, her friends have found new cliques, the grandmother she lives with is old-fashioned (if loving). In trying out different skin remedies, she finds a tanning machine has a rather unexpected effect. She is made invisible!!
Every child's dream come true? Ethel discovers that not only does it have its drawbacks, but is it controllable?
A well-written new friendship with a fellow misfit and some interesting scientific concepts thrown in make this a smart read. Ethel's story is more than just a 'wish-fulfilment' tale, with several strands weaving together to give this depth and heart.
I'm very impressed with Ross Welford's work and will be adding this to my school library shelves. Some wonderful scenes with bullies, the logical effects of invisibility (and how you would cope), and some second half family dramas that make this a potential TV series.
A recommendation for ages 10-14.
With thanks to Netgalley for the advance e-copy, sent for review purposes.
Like his first, this doesn't dumb down the science for children/young people, and faces issues head on. In 'Time Travelling with a Hamster' he braved the subject of a parent's death. Here is it the angst of adolescent acne, a dead mother and even dementia.
Ethel Leatherhead wishes she wasn't so noticeable - her acne has lately made her a target for bullies, her friends have found new cliques, the grandmother she lives with is old-fashioned (if loving). In trying out different skin remedies, she finds a tanning machine has a rather unexpected effect. She is made invisible!!
Every child's dream come true? Ethel discovers that not only does it have its drawbacks, but is it controllable?
A well-written new friendship with a fellow misfit and some interesting scientific concepts thrown in make this a smart read. Ethel's story is more than just a 'wish-fulfilment' tale, with several strands weaving together to give this depth and heart.
I'm very impressed with Ross Welford's work and will be adding this to my school library shelves. Some wonderful scenes with bullies, the logical effects of invisibility (and how you would cope), and some second half family dramas that make this a potential TV series.
A recommendation for ages 10-14.
With thanks to Netgalley for the advance e-copy, sent for review purposes.
bookishperseus's review
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
artisticbookworm's review against another edition
5.0
Ross Welford has done has done it again. This was a really funny story that me made me laugh. It was also tense in some parts, and other parts were more emotional. Some of the plot twists were predictable, but I think that this was a really good book and recommend it to anyone.
dmanireland's review
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
dfarhany's review against another edition
3.0
I was planning to read ‘The 1,000 years old boy’ from this author and came across this book instead. The title immediately reminded me of the book ‘The Invisible Man’ by H.G. Wells that I like and was memorable to me. I instantly knew that both books came from totally different genre but I was feeling a little nostalgic, therefore I chose to read this book by Welford.
In this book, Ethel is our heroine, a 13 years old junior high schooler who has acne problem. She wished for her acne to disappear, instead she got herself disappeared. This was engaging, right?
Yes. The story starts with the first time Ethel got herself disappeared (by first time, I mean there will be more disappearance) and it leads to a question, “what happened before that?”. Then the story goes from way beyond the disappearance. The narrative was from Ethel’s point of view, which I found very suitable. It’s more like an interview with the audience rather than diary-like narration.
Prior to disappearing, she was just an ordinary reserved orphaned student who lives with her grandmother. She was not really described as being bullied (but she was called ‘pizza face’, though), but there were mutual villains at school. She does not have friends, and the one who was willing to hang out with her is the ‘annoying’ new student from London, who by the way, is a boy and will be sharing the adventure together (wink).
Post disappearing, the main changes from Ethel is her clearing acne, her friendship with this new friend, AND her understanding of her parentage. That kinda escalated real quick, right? Yep, that one bothered me the most, though. The idea of her real parentage was a little far from the plot, and the drama around that was not felt. I mean, it’s about family, how do you take that too lightly? And one more thing that I don’t feel too happy with, is when Ethel got herself permanently invisible, the way to bring her back to the land of visibility was… hmm okay, not very interested. But acceptable.
This was a quick read. Page turner-ish, even though I skipped some, since some narration was a little flat and I just couldn’t wait to get to the point. But it is understandable for this type of genre. The plot is crystal clear, there was no noticeable twist. It is very straight-forward, you can guess from the start where the story will go and how.
Some contents are entertaining, and some are a little gimmicky, it was there only to act only as a filler/bridge. But other than what’s on the page itself, I get the feeling that the invisibility aspect is like a literal symbolism to what Ethel was feeling at that time. It was brought about in the book, too, as a ‘joke’. Obviously, at school she was ‘invisible’ and at home she was kept in dark from family’s secret, and how does it not make you feel invisible?
Finally, to me it was an okay read. I didn’t close the book feeling unhappy. If you’re a fan of coming-of-age genre, you should try read it.
In this book, Ethel is our heroine, a 13 years old junior high schooler who has acne problem. She wished for her acne to disappear, instead she got herself disappeared. This was engaging, right?
Yes. The story starts with the first time Ethel got herself disappeared (by first time, I mean there will be more disappearance) and it leads to a question, “what happened before that?”. Then the story goes from way beyond the disappearance. The narrative was from Ethel’s point of view, which I found very suitable. It’s more like an interview with the audience rather than diary-like narration.
Prior to disappearing, she was just an ordinary reserved orphaned student who lives with her grandmother. She was not really described as being bullied (but she was called ‘pizza face’, though), but there were mutual villains at school. She does not have friends, and the one who was willing to hang out with her is the ‘annoying’ new student from London, who by the way, is a boy and will be sharing the adventure together (wink).
Post disappearing, the main changes from Ethel is her clearing acne, her friendship with this new friend, AND her understanding of her parentage. That kinda escalated real quick, right? Yep, that one bothered me the most, though. The idea of her real parentage was a little far from the plot, and the drama around that was not felt. I mean, it’s about family, how do you take that too lightly? And one more thing that I don’t feel too happy with, is when Ethel got herself permanently invisible, the way to bring her back to the land of visibility was… hmm okay, not very interested. But acceptable.
This was a quick read. Page turner-ish, even though I skipped some, since some narration was a little flat and I just couldn’t wait to get to the point. But it is understandable for this type of genre. The plot is crystal clear, there was no noticeable twist. It is very straight-forward, you can guess from the start where the story will go and how.
Some contents are entertaining, and some are a little gimmicky, it was there only to act only as a filler/bridge. But other than what’s on the page itself, I get the feeling that the invisibility aspect is like a literal symbolism to what Ethel was feeling at that time. It was brought about in the book, too, as a ‘joke’. Obviously, at school she was ‘invisible’ and at home she was kept in dark from family’s secret, and how does it not make you feel invisible?
Finally, to me it was an okay read. I didn’t close the book feeling unhappy. If you’re a fan of coming-of-age genre, you should try read it.
nedge's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
ludivinev's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
arshabenny's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
house_of_hastings's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0