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Gadget Girl: The Art of Being Invisible

Suzanne Kamata (Goodreads Author)

3.88 · Rating details · 144 ratings · 59 reviews

Aiko Cassidy is fourteen and lives with her sculptor mother in a small Midwestern town. For most of her young life Aiko, who has cerebral palsy, has been her mother's muse. But now, she no longer wants to pose for the sculptures that have made her mother famous and have put food on the table. Aiko works hard on her own dream of becoming a great manga artist with a secret i ...more

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Paperback, 256 pages

Published May 17th 2013 by GemmaMedia

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· 144 ratings · 59 reviews

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Feb 13, 2014 Peter Tieryas rated it it was amazing

Gadget Girl by Suzanne Kamata is one of the smartest and fun books I’ve read. It’s thoughtful, quirky, and very well-written. It’s told in the first person-perspective of Aiko Cassidy who has cerebral palsy and pursues a dream of becoming a manga artist. I loved Aiko’s voice- perky, creative, at times insecure, at times impatient, all while mixing in teenage angst and questions of identity.

Full review at my blog:

http://tieryas.wordpress.com/2014/02/...

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Jan 31, 2013 Jonathan Peto rated it liked it

Shelves: ya, novels

Although I really liked how it all came together at the end and contemplated that fourth star, and still am, I decided that "liked" is probably a more accurate description of my feelings for most of the read. I wish I could give more details about the ending, but I think it would spoil it for you. One thing I can reveal is that the ending was a pleasant surprise. The main character, Aiko Cassidy, travels to Paris with her artist mother for a summer during much of the book's last half. I really w Although I really liked how it all came together at the end and contemplated that fourth star, and still am, I decided that "liked" is probably a more accurate description of my feelings for most of the read. I wish I could give more details about the ending, but I think it would spoil it for you. One thing I can reveal is that the ending was a pleasant surprise. The main character, Aiko Cassidy, travels to Paris with her artist mother for a summer during much of the book's last half. I really wasn't expecting much from Part Six, the last part, called "Michigan, Again", but, well, I did get a bit teary-eyed and flooded with emotion, damn it, so clearly the various elements built to something rather sublime.

The cover and title may be misleading. This YA novel is not speculative fiction at all. Gadget Girl is the name of a manga that 15 year old Aiko creates in her spare time. It's one of many elements that may endear her story to you, depending on your buttons. Others include: coming of age, artists, mothers and daughters, single-parent families, and cerebral palsy (topics listed under the ISBN number). Obviously I'm a sucker for some of them. Aiko has cerebral palsy. It definitely affected her life and story but without hijacking the narrative completely. That struck me as realistic at times, while at other points I wasn't sure what I thought of the light treatment (but really, I wouldn't know how much cerebral palsy would, could, might color someone's consciousness).

I almost want to say this novel was hyper-realistic, maybe because it was mainly quiet and completely convincing, even when Aiko gets to experience some romance in Paris. It took awhile for me to identify with her, though the book is first person, but when I put the book down for good I felt close to her. Aiko tells us the entire story and her mother often seemed selfish but I felt for her too by the end, caught glimpses of what made her tick. And her father too, a little. Ah, pain. Ah, life. It can be so messy. ...more

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May 14, 2013 Diane Nagatomo rated it it was amazing

I absolutely LOVED Gadget Girl. I read the whole book in one sitting and cried at the end. Such a lovely story with lovely people. I do hope there is a sequel to come because I want to see Aiko visiting Japan for the first time and meeting her biological father and half brother.

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Mar 24, 2013 Joli rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-in-2013, reviewed, arc

Gadget Girl turned out to be completely different from what I expected. Going in I thought it was going to be about a girl who lives vicariously through the character she has created in her anonymously published manga, Gadget Girl. While this is a partly what happens, it is minor portion of Aiko's story. Aiko is an amazing artist in her own right, but she lives in the shadow of her sculptor mother serving as her inspiration for her art. On first reading, it's hard to see past how Aiko's mother e Gadget Girl turned out to be completely different from what I expected. Going in I thought it was going to be about a girl who lives vicariously through the character she has created in her anonymously published manga, Gadget Girl. While this is a partly what happens, it is minor portion of Aiko's story. Aiko is an amazing artist in her own right, but she lives in the shadow of her sculptor mother serving as her inspiration for her art. On first reading, it's hard to see past how Aiko's mother exploits her cerebral palsy and makes her an unlikeable character. Who could do that to their own daughter?

Another layer to this story is Aiko's desire to meet her father. All that she knows is that he is an indigo farmer living in Japan. Anytime Aiko asks her mother about him, she gives vague responses or changes the subject. Why is her mother keeping him a secret? Why haven't they ever met? This too adds to my dislike of the mother. BUT when they get to Paris, this begins to change. And what I think is the major focus of this story reveals itself. Her mother begins to reveal bits about her past. Aiko learns that Paris is where her parents met when she always thought they met in Japan. Secrets and truths are exposed and the mother is no longer the villain that I thought she was. Aiko begins to step out of her comfort zone and live a little - be more than invisible. She doesn't feel so different in a culturally diverse city (much different from her Midwestern town). And the relationship begins to evolve between mother and daughter - Aiko becomes more that just her mother's muse.

Gadget Girl was a delight to read. It was funny and emotional. I would have liked to see some of the graphic art of Gadget Girl the comic. That would have been a nice addition to the story. I haven't read a mother-daughter story in a while and this one was great at showing just how complicated and dynamic those relationships can be. I would definitely recommend this book for mother/daughter book clubs. ...more

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Sep 19, 2013 Christine rated it it was amazing

In GADGET GIRL: THE ART OF BEING INVISIBLE Suzanne Kamata skillfully spans three continents and cultures--Japan, United States (Michigan), France--as the main character goes on a search for her identity, the truth about her father, and a quest for love, great food and manga. It's rare that I read a book where there are so many likable realistic characters, yet the plot is so compelling that I was willing to walk in Aiko Cassidy's sensible shoes (she has cerebral palsy) and let her take me anywhe ...more

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Mar 29, 2013 Andreea rated it it was amazing

I received this book in exchange of an honest review and I can say is that I'm very lucky that I had this chance.

Aiko is a fourteen years old girl. She's living with her mother in Michigan and hopes that someday she'll have the chance to met her Japanese father. But Aiko is not a normal girl. She was born with cerebral palsy and because of this a lot of kids from her school laugh of her. But she finds shelter in drawing her own manga, Gadget Girl. The story of her manga took aspects of her real ...more

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Dec 18, 2017 Sarah Laurence rated it really liked it

Shelves: ya-fiction, contemporary-fiction

I loved the focus on art, ethnic identity, disability, and nontraditional family. Aiko is a talented young mangaka who hides her talent from her mom, a famous artist in the Midwest. Now that she's started puberty, Aiko resents being her mom's model and muse. In a moment of anger she accuses her single mom for exploiting disability for her art, since Aiko has cerebral palsy. Aiko uses very disparaging language to describe her disability (words like gimp) and longs for a cure, but her mom finds be ...more

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Apr 21, 2013 Pragya rated it really liked it

Recommends it for: Everyone

Shelves: review-request, own-kindle, 4-stars, 2013

This book got my attention from the very first sentence and ensured my interest throughout. With an unusual main character, a girl with cerebral palsy, this book had a different feel to it unlike books where everyone is perfect from head to toe and insta love happens.

I have never read a manga but the way this book relies on it, I’m tempted to give them a read now. I love how unique the plot was, how different and real the characters.

I immensely loved the emotions this book brought out in me – em ...more

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Jul 17, 2013 Jenn rated it really liked it

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The story revolves around a teen with a disability who learns how to love herself for her vs. who she feels she should be all set with a mixed family setting, single parent setting, art, creativity, love and living life.

For me this book hit home. I am not a teenager but I became disabled when I was in my early 20's. I also come from a single parent home and I dabble in the arts. To me, this book was a great inspiration.

I do recommend this book for anyone with a d ...more

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Jul 28, 2016 Karen rated it it was amazing

I really loved this book. Not sure why it took me so long to get around to reading it. It made me laugh and cry. Even though it's fairly short, there are some great characters and unexpected twists in it. Also, for me the relationship between the teen daughter and her mother really rang true.

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May 13, 2013 Alexa rated it liked it

Shelves: read-in-2013

[Originally posted on Alexa Loves Books]

Three things about Gadget Girl immediately caught my eye - the cover, France and Japan. Reeled in even further by the promise of a cute contemporary story, I started and finished this novel in a matter of hours. Aiko's tale flows easily from scene to scene, setting to setting, and wraps up with an ending that's perfectly satisfying. If you're on the hunt for cute (and fairly unique) contemporary reads, this might be just the sort of thing you're looking fo [Originally posted on Alexa Loves Books]

Three things about Gadget Girl immediately caught my eye - the cover, France and Japan. Reeled in even further by the promise of a cute contemporary story, I started and finished this novel in a matter of hours. Aiko's tale flows easily from scene to scene, setting to setting, and wraps up with an ending that's perfectly satisfying. If you're on the hunt for cute (and fairly unique) contemporary reads, this might be just the sort of thing you're looking for.

Aiko is the kind of female character I generally love: quirky and unique and all sorts of wonderful. Even though Aiko generally keeps to herself (mostly because of her condition), her thoughts are very entertaining! One of her particularly admirable traits is her dedication to her art, as she consistently works on a manga entitled, you guessed it, Gadget Girl. It's also pretty cool to see how she doesn't let her cerebral palsy get to her when it comes to living her life, as she constantly seems courageous enough to go on a bunch of adventures (particularly when she arrives in France!).

Aiko has always been her mother's muse, since her mom is pretty determined to make the world aware of cerebral palsy through her art. Their relationship is one of the things I liked reading about in the book, because we see both the good parts and the not-so-good parts of it in this book. Aiko's mom is pretty cool and very determined to make her daughter feel normal in spite of the condition (which is what she thinks her art does). It's been Aiko and her mom against the world for as long as Aiko can remember, and that's something that really reinforces their bond. On the not-so-good side, Aiko has issues with her mom constantly using her as a muse. Plus, sometimes, when she gets too into her art, she doesn't necessarily pay very much attention to Aiko or taking care of things (like making sure they're fed properly for instance!). In the end, one thing is clear to us -- Aiko loves her mom, and her mom loves her too.

I enjoyed reading about the other characters, like Whitney (Aiko's best friend) and Herve (a boy Aiko meets in France). But my favorite character has got to be Raoul, who is Aiko's mother's latest boyfriend. He completely won me over with how charming and kind he was to Aiko. It was so fun to read about him being a superb cook, particularly since his food always sounded so delicious!

The setting of this book was also a standout - particularly the parts that were set in France. It was fun to read about Aiko's adventures in Paris, particularly in terms of the food she ate and the places she was able to visit. And she also took a side trip with her mother to Lourdes, which was very interesting indeed as I rarely hear of that setting mentioned in fictional books! I've always dreamed of visiting France myself, so to sort of get the chance to do that was definitely a bonus.

Story-wise, Kamata takes a risk by juggling so many various threads in Aiko's experience. There's the longing she has to meet her father, even though she knows nothing but the most basic things about him. There's the complications of the relationship she has with her mother. Then there's her dream of becoming a manga artist -- if she can manage to be brave enough to reveal that she creates Gadget Girl. And, of course, there's her first experiences with love and romance. Even with all of these things happening to Aiko, Kamata does a great job keeping them all equally balanced in the telling of this story. None of the stories really falter, though I do think the way that certain things ended (particularly the bit with her father) was a bit too neat for my tastes.

My only real reservations about Gadget Girl? I wish I'd felt more connected to Aiko. I did like her a lot, but I wasn't personally invested in her character and remained on the fringes as an observer. I also wish that there had been bits of the Gadget Girl manga included, because it would have been really cool to see the product of Aiko's hard work!

Gadget Girl is really a quick, enjoyable read that will keep you occupied for a couple of hours! I was entertained as I followed Aiko on all her adventures, including when she had her "moment of truth". It's always fun to read an easy, contemporary novel every now and then, and Kamata did a good job with this one! ...more

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Apr 06, 2013 Lenna rated it really liked it

Shelves: literary-fiction, inner-aspen

Recently I've been really interested in the growing culture of mixed race and the Hapa experience so it was refreshing to read a fiction novel from the perspective of a Hapa protagonist. Aiko is a half-Japanese, half-Caucasian fourteen-year-old girl with cerebral palsy who is being raised in a single parent home. And one of the greatest mysteries of her life is who her father is and the history between him and her mother. Her mother is a well-known sculptor and like her mother, Aiko is also an a Recently I've been really interested in the growing culture of mixed race and the Hapa experience so it was refreshing to read a fiction novel from the perspective of a Hapa protagonist. Aiko is a half-Japanese, half-Caucasian fourteen-year-old girl with cerebral palsy who is being raised in a single parent home. And one of the greatest mysteries of her life is who her father is and the history between him and her mother. Her mother is a well-known sculptor and like her mother, Aiko is also an artist. She is the face behind a small circulating manga called Gadget Girl. She is a character who is caught between wanting to be a famous manga artist and wanting to be shrouded in anonymity, letting her work speak for itself. For years, she has been la muse for her mother's sculptures, however, Aiko is growing tired of being the subject of her mother's art. But when one of those sculptures wins a grand prize, she and her mother get the chance to take a trip to France and Aiko is initially disappointed. She would much rather travel to Japan to visit the manga capital and meet her father. However it is in Paris where she ends up getting a larger dose of perspective than she imagined she would get. Through the help of her friends, the attractive waiter at a cafe in Paris, her family, and her alter ego, Gadget Girl, Aiko learns the importance of having her voice be heard.

Aiko was written to be a very likable character. I admired how self aware and how smart she was for a fourteen year old, and she had a sense of humor about her cerebral palsy which struck me as an uncommon characteristic for kids her age. There were certain moments when I would have liked to really feel the effects of Aiko's cerebral palsy on her, instead of just the occasional reminder of her limp or her crippled hand. It's understood that it makes things difficult for her, and causes her to hold a warped perception of herself, but aside from a couple of awkward interactions there weren't any struggles that translated to me in a way such that I could empathize. Though I liked her character, I wish she would have had a bit more emotional depth.

My only other criticism was how abrupt the ending was. Similar to stopping suddenly in a car, I reached the end and instead of a smooth transition, it just sort of stopped. It was not a bad ending by any means, but I think personally, I was expecting a bit more; something that read more like a conclusion. Instead it was just a compilation of all of the plot conflicts finding their resolution, one after the other and then it just ended.

But the story was very cute. I love seeing growth in characters, especially when it's brought on by self-induced epiphanies. It was easy to read, it wasn't boring and there were cute romantic moments to it. This book is for those readers who appreciate a plot that is more straightforward and doesn't have any convoluted plot twists. It is well-written and clean. I think that Gadget Girl could be popular with and relatable for a lot of young readers.

**
a copy of this book was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review

view the original post on http://inner-aspen.blogspot.com ...more

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Sep 28, 2016 Michael Peckitt rated it it was amazing

As a disabled person, like Suzanne Kamata’s heroine of ‘Gadget Girl’ I also have cerebral palsy and I found this book to be both deeply moving and funny. In Aiko, - the secret manga creator of the novel, Kamata has created one of the few ‘disability heroines’ of the modern age that does not condescend towards disabled people, a character with a disability that is neither an object of pity or hate. I only now wish there was actually a manga called ‘Gadget Girl’ like one envisioned by Aiko. I reco ...more

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May 01, 2013 Joana Hill rated it liked it

Read more reviews at my blog, Words and Tea Bottles.

A free e-book version was provided to me as part of the Gadget Girl in You tour.

I was actually pretty excited to read this book. I’m in the target demographic, based on the summary: a fan of anime and manga; when I was younger I even tried to create my own manga, though I haven’t drawn seriously in years. There is very little in books for Americans that involves a main character who’s into this kind of stuff, mostly because I’ve seen firsthand Read more reviews at my blog, Words and Tea Bottles.

A free e-book version was provided to me as part of the Gadget Girl in You tour.

I was actually pretty excited to read this book. I’m in the target demographic, based on the summary: a fan of anime and manga; when I was younger I even tried to create my own manga, though I haven’t drawn seriously in years. There is very little in books for Americans that involves a main character who’s into this kind of stuff, mostly because I’ve seen firsthand that it’s still considered immature to like anime and manga, even though there is plenty of it that is certainly not appropriate for children. So while it does get points for being original, it wasn’t quite as good as I was hoping it’d be.

I will give Gadget Girl credit: it’s a fast and easy read. Unfortunately, I suspect that’s because it doesn’t have a whole lot of substance. So much happens in the book, and yet none of it is gone into in any significant detail. Most events take up a page or two at most even if they’re supposed to be significant, such as the art gallery opening or Aiko going to Moulin Rouge. I also would’ve liked her reaction to things to be less rushed; when finding things out about her father, the information is dropped in her lap, and she spends all of a few pages feeling bad about it before she suddenly has a revelation. However, Aiko will act the exact same way the next time something goes bad; the boy in Paris, for instance. She’s constantly agonizing over Hervé, thinking he’s not interested or thinking that he already has a girlfriend. She’s so quick to flip out about things right to the very end that it is a bit annoying. It’s understandable because she has self-esteem issues related to her cerebral palsy defects, but the fact that it happens over and over before she finally realizes that Hervé likes her for real and not out of pity seems more like an artificial way to add drama to the plot.

There’s also the fact that while Aiko is always stated to be a huge fan of anime and manga, there are very few examples of her being anything more than a casual fan who knows what are considered the “starter” titles. Sailor Moon and Hayao Miyazaki are mentioned, but even people who aren’t into manga know those, as they’re probably some of the most popular titles in America. There didn’t need to be namedropping everywhere, but I would’ve liked to see some that proves she knows what she’s talking about, or even some titles or manga-ka who’ve influenced Gadget Girl, in story or style.

In the end, I found it to be about average. It wasn’t bad, as I was more than happy to finish it and see how things end up for Aiko. But because of the rushed pace, the unique character attributes of being an otaku and having cerebral palsy don’t raise it to a higher ranking in my mind. If the book had just spent more time on the important events and delved more into how Aiko felt rather than the obvious guilt about holding her mother back, anger that she can’t meet her father, and shame over her defects from her cerebral palsy, it could have been above average. ...more

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Apr 06, 2013 Stephanie Parent rated it it was amazing

I knew I would love Gadget Girl from the first page, when the novel’s protagonist and narrator, fourteen-year-old Aiko, tells us she’s named after the indigo plants her father harvests to make blue dye. Aiko has never met her father, who lives on the Japanese island of Shizuko, but she knows all about the indigo plants his family farms, and she’s even trying (not very successfully) to grow her own indigo in Michigan. The loving, careful detail with which Aiko describes the indigo, and its abilit I knew I would love Gadget Girl from the first page, when the novel’s protagonist and narrator, fourteen-year-old Aiko, tells us she’s named after the indigo plants her father harvests to make blue dye. Aiko has never met her father, who lives on the Japanese island of Shizuko, but she knows all about the indigo plants his family farms, and she’s even trying (not very successfully) to grow her own indigo in Michigan. The loving, careful detail with which Aiko describes the indigo, and its ability to dye fabric “the color of a storm-bruised sky” as well as to possibly cure sicknesses, told me Gadget Girl would be a book rich in culture. And it was, featuring a setting spanning Europe and the U.S., many eclectic details of the art world, and Aiko’s love for modern Japanese culture and her desire to reconnect with that part of her heritage.

Aiko was born with cerebral palsy, meaning her left arm and leg don’t always work correctly. She deals with her feelings about her illness, as well as other aspects of her life, in the manga she writes called “Gadget Girl,” which features a very nimble-figured heroine who always saves the day. In real life, Aiko is frustrated by her disability, by her mother’s artwork, much of which is actually inspired by Aiko and her illness, and by the fact that her father doesn’t know about her. She dreams of one day going to Japan to connect with her father and perhaps apprentice with a manga artist. However, when her mother wins a Paris art competition, Aiko ends up spending the summer in Frances instead of Japan…

For some reason, I tend to get really tired of books set in Paris, so I was really happy to find that Gadget Girl took a more eclectic approach to the city than most novels I’ve read. My favorite part was the description of a Japanese-inspired garden designed by Isamu Noguchi, which made me want to visit Paris more than countless depictions of the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower ever have! I was also fascinated by Aiko’s trip to Lourdes, a place known for its sacred healing waters.

However, Aiko’s trip is most important not for the places she goes, but for the people she meets and the truths she learns about her own family…I won’t say too much about that, only that certain moments of the book really made me emotional, and that I loved the way the author tied everything together in the end.

Gadget Girl is told in the realistic voice of a fourteen to fifteen-year-old girl, which means that, in a publishing climate where the YA voice keeps getting older and older, this voice is definitely on the younger side of YA, and could be characterized as middle-grade as well. I think middle and high-school readers would really, really respond to this book, and I hope it gets into as many hands as possible. And it’s also sure to please many adult readers, including myself!
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Jul 06, 2013 Amazon rated it really liked it

The subject of artists using their children as their models and muses is a controversial one--just ask Sally Mann, and at first it seems as though this is the topic that will drive Gadget Girl. Suzanne Kamata takes this novel into a whole other arena, and provides a coming-of-age story that will be familiar to her readers, regardless of age or gender.

Aiko is a young manga artist who anonymously writes and distributes her zine series, Gadget Girl, the adventures of a girl who opened her mouth, sw The subject of artists using their children as their models and muses is a controversial one--just ask Sally Mann, and at first it seems as though this is the topic that will drive Gadget Girl. Suzanne Kamata takes this novel into a whole other arena, and provides a coming-of-age story that will be familiar to her readers, regardless of age or gender.

Aiko is a young manga artist who anonymously writes and distributes her zine series, Gadget Girl, the adventures of a girl who opened her mouth, swallowed a shooting star, and received super-powers. Aiko herself struggles with more than her share of challenges. She is hapa, with a Japanese father whom she never knew, she has an eccentric artist-mother who uses her daughter as the source of her art, and she has cerebral palsy, which renders her left arm useless.

Aiko and her mother are so physically dissimilar that people assume at first sight that they aren't related by blood. Yearning for her lost father, Aiko takes the one scrap of information she has--that he is an indigo farmer--and uses that to foster a dream. She finds an indigo seed which she tends carefully, hoping it will sprout and grow into a mature plant, with leaves that will produce a dye that will turn a white handkerchief "the color of a storm-bruised sky." This she will send to her father, whom her mother has told her, never knew of her existence.

Dreaming of Japan, Aiko is less than thrilled when her mother wins a prestigious French prize and the two of them go off to Paris for the award ceremony. The only bright spot for Aiko is the possibility of going to Lourdes for a miraculous cure of her disease. Paris, however, has other ideas for her.

I rarely read YA fiction but this novel caught me and held me and made me remember how it felt to be young, unaware of who I was and what I had to offer. Although many of us don't have the talent or the challenges that Aiko has, few of us will come away from her story unmoved. This is a book that mothers and daughters can read with equal pleasure, a novel that takes young adult readers skillfully beyond dystopia, zombies, or vampires.

The best books are the ones that draw in readers of all ages, and take an "issue" into the realm of pure, undiluted atory. This is what Suzanne Kamata has done with Gadget Girl. As a writer, I salute her; as a reader I say "More!" ...more

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Sep 18, 2013 Jacqueline rated it really liked it

Shelves: paris, france

Fifteen-year-old Aiko lives with her Mum, a sculptor, in the Midwest USA. Aiko is different from the other kids at school; she has never met her Japanese Dad, she suffers from cerebral palsy and her limp has led to harassment by some of her peers. Aiko just wants to be invisible. Her arty Mum is also a bit different, and although she wants the best for Aiko she is rather absorbed in her work and doesn't really cook like other Mums. As well as normal teen issues, like boys and friends, Aiko also ...more

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Apr 20, 2013 Patti rated it really liked it

Shelves: know-the-author, ebook, young-adult, contemporary

Aiko has dreams. She wants to meet her father - an indigo farmer in Japan. She wants to be a mangaka (Manga author) and she wants to be invisible. Or if not invisible, then at least not made fun of for her disabilities.

Gadget Girl, written by a wonderful woman I met in Paris, is a sweet coming-of-age story of a girl growing up in Michigan. Aiko doesn't have it easy. Not only is she one of only a handful of biracial kids in her entire school, AND has cerebral palsy and the use of only one arm, B ...more

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May 20, 2013 ReadingToTheStarsAndBack rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2013-book-challenge

Read full review at my blog: ReadingToTheStarsAndBack

I can honestly say that I loved this book and that I would read it again. I signed up for the tour a while ago and since then have read many books, so when I opened this one up I had forgotten what is was about. (Love reading books like this!) Judging by the cover, I thought it would be an action/adventure kind of book.

Nope! Not to say that there is no adventure to this book, but that wasn’t the focus. Aiko has cerebral palsy but loves to draw ...more

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Dec 17, 2013 Avery Udagawa rated it it was amazing

A great read for cross-cultural teens! This novel tells the story of Aiko Cassidy, fifteen-year-old daughter of an American mother and a Japanese father she has never met. Growing up in Michigan with cerebral palsy, Aiko tucks her wishes for acceptance and control into a manga series that she creates and distributes anonymously. Then her mother wins a prize for sculpture that takes them both to Paris and brings encounters with their past. Aiko meets a handsome French waiter and, in a visit to Lo ...more

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May 22, 2015 Jennifer Heise rated it it was amazing

Shelves: ya, formation-stories

There are two kinds of books that I rate five stars: books I will read over and over again even if I'm unsure of their merit, and books that I think are just that good.

This book is just that good. Ms. Kamata handles a lot of issues (missing dad, physical limitations, inter-racial identity) in the course of her book, but they manage not to be the focus. Even the art/manga part of the setup, while a really enjoyable direction, doesn't overpower the plot. Basically, this is a book about a young gir ...more

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Jul 28, 2013 Christopher Tower rated it it was amazing

Once I really got going with this book, I could not put it down. It bumped aside my other reading at the time until I finished. This is a YA book, but it's a very good one. The author is a close friend of mine, but I can say, objectively, that this is an excellent piece of work. Suzanne Kamata has strong literary sensibilities and instincts. She weaves smart writing with a very well-told and well-crafted story. The book is also open ended and could enjoy a second volume. Bravo!!

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Mar 06, 2013 Sarah rated it really liked it

Shelves: realisticfiction, multicultural, ya, romance

Aiko Cassidy is half Japanese, but she's never known her father, who is an indigo farmer in Japan. But she wants to meet him someday, and so she eagerly consumes every bit of Japanese culture that she can, especially if it's got to do with manga... Full review on Finding Wonderland: http://writingya.blogspot.com/2013/03...

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Oct 20, 2014 Tara rated it really liked it

My review of Kamata's wonderful YA novel, an important contribution to children's literature:

http://www.themomegg.com/themomegg/Bo...

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Oct 08, 2013 Powersamurai rated it it was amazing

Shelves: childrens, japan-related, fiction

This is a powerful book. I had no interest in reading it, as such, just reading the blurb on the page, but I bought it for my niece and thought I'd read it before sending it off. I'm glad I did now. I felt my way emotionally through the book; I couldn't put it down.

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Jun 05, 2013 Vicky rated it it was amazing

I loved this book! Aiko is a great character, and the story is wonderful.

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Jul 02, 2017 Oluwaseun rated it really liked it

Shelves: strength-from-disability

My thoughts about Gadget Girl: The art of Being Invisible

I picked this book out while I was in the library along East 177th Street. I really thought that this story was going to be about a girl that loves manga a lot that she makes her own comic about an extraordinary girl that goes off to save the lives of other people along the way. The fact that Aiko has her childhood friend Whitney shows the fact that she has a person that would never think of betraying her. But as I read through the first f My thoughts about Gadget Girl: The art of Being Invisible

I picked this book out while I was in the library along East 177th Street. I really thought that this story was going to be about a girl that loves manga a lot that she makes her own comic about an extraordinary girl that goes off to save the lives of other people along the way. The fact that Aiko has her childhood friend Whitney shows the fact that she has a person that would never think of betraying her. But as I read through the first few pages, I noticed something different in the sense that it was really about a Japanese girl that has cerebral palsy.

This really connects to me personally because my first pediatrician believed I had that. It was only later before I began to speak that my second pediatrician diagnosed me as being autistic. At that time, I was mute. I tended to point to the things I wanted and my mom would get it for me. I later developed a stammering problem that has remained with me. There were a lot of things that my parents, teachers, even the custodians from my time in Helen Keller knew I was scared of, including my dad's friends and a matron that I had. Before I began to speak, I had a difficult time trying to converse with other people. Two of my childhood friends from Tremont Park only knew these things about me during my fourth grade.

I only found out from my mom not too long after I first took the PATH train with her that I was actually on a bus with her to a Cerebral Palsy institute. This was something that I never really knew before then. It also contained dialogue about a sweet fifteen that Aiko had which did not go really well because she found out how her grandmother did not want her father to have anything to do with a foreigner and her granddaughter. I felt that was really mean because my grandmother in Nigeria embraced me and even went as far as to encourage me to eat more food.

The fact that I noticed Aiko finally embrace her mother's boyfriend shows that she is willing to accept him for the Spanish guy he is. Everything about it was just unexpected. Her relationship with her mom is very special in the sense that she has to take the heat of everything just to be with her, unlike my parents that decided they were going to do this together for me for my sake. As a result, I saw her grandmother as evil and her real dad as not being able to bring himself to change his mother's mind. The fact that Aiko finds out she has a brother in Japan from her stepmom that she never met only begins to show what her grandmother was really like. When Aiko's mother really begins to see the fact that Aiko is really talented in creating manga, she begins to change in the sense that she encourages her to continue what she does.

This book is really well done overall in the sense that it tells the story of growing up and the fact that her mother is beginning to let her go to wherever she wants, even if it was only for a night. ...more

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Feb 19, 2018 Corinne Morier rated it it was ok

Shelves: japan-related, dnf

Rather disappointing. I DNF'ed this at chapter six--the end of the free Kindle sample.

The writing isn't bad. The character at least has personality. But the beginning is just way too slow. There's no conflict, nothing really to make you want to keep reading. For the premise of the book--going to Paris when she'd rather be in Japan--it doesn't even get mentioned at all during the first six chapters. It's just too slow. And a novel can have a slow beginning and still be good, but there should be ...more

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Sep 01, 2013 Intisar Khanani rated it really liked it

This review also posted at The Runaway Pen: http://www.runawaypen.com/2013/09/gad...

I don't normally read books aimed at the younger YA audience, but while we were at the library my one year old picked this off the shelf and wouldn't be parted with it. I can't blame her; that's one lovely cover. Yes, I know, don't judge a book by its cover, and all that. But we all do now and then, so I might as well own up. At any rate, I read the synopsis and while I'm not a fan of whirlwind romances in Paris This review also posted at The Runaway Pen: http://www.runawaypen.com/2013/09/gad...

I don't normally read books aimed at the younger YA audience, but while we were at the library my one year old picked this off the shelf and wouldn't be parted with it. I can't blame her; that's one lovely cover. Yes, I know, don't judge a book by its cover, and all that. But we all do now and then, so I might as well own up. At any rate, I read the synopsis and while I'm not a fan of whirlwind romances in Paris (seriously? at fourteen?), I decided to give this novel a shot--because not only do I like to read books with a multicultural aspect, but this book also features a heroine with a disability, which is far too unusual to pass up.

Aiko has a lot to contend with in this novel. Cerebral palsy has left her with a serious limp and her left hand curled into "a claw." She lives with her mother, a sculptor, who uses Aiko as her muse--something Aiko has mixed feelings about. Further, Aiko's father purportedly knows nothing of her existence, and she wants nothing more than to meet him and make him proud. He's an indigo farmer in Japan, so throughout the story we hear about Aiko's attempt to nurture a single indigo plant in their home in Michigan. These storylines: her disability, her relationship with her mother and her mother's art, and her missing father, develop over the course of the story, taking turns, making leaps, and--eventually--bringing Aiko to a single, cathartic moment. This is the meat of the story, so to speak, and I was profoundly impressed at the depth of the storylines, and with Aiko's final development at the end (especially because I had my doubts along the way).

Aiko is also a manga artist, though her stories sounded...superficial at best. They so very clearly reflected herself and the people around her, as well as her own pent up desires, it made me wonder if she really had much of an imagination. Per her descriptions, until her trip to Paris, they all had essentially the same storyline of Gadget Girl saving her crush from some dangerous situation. I don't think Kamata intended for Aiko's art to sound so shallow, but as a writer myself, I was surprised that Kamata didn't endow Aiko with an ability to imagine more for her characters to begin with. That said, following Aiko's trip to Paris...Gadget Girl develops slightly, though it is still very grounded in real people and experiences. I kind of wanted to see Aiko's work take off, unfettered by her tendency to tie her characters and their stories to real people. But that's just me.

I found myself grinding my teeth at Aiko's actions a few times, from some of the things she says to her mother, to her tendency to sound whiny. She was also a bit--naive? Her obsession with going to Lourdes to see if she could be healed struck me as strange as best. I understood what it represented, but I didn't quite believe it for Aiko. So, between Lourdes and her regularly childish behavior, I began to wonder if she could redeem herself by the end of the story--but, in fact, she does. I chalk my frustration up to not normally reading books aimed at the younger spectrum of YA; no doubt, this is very well-suited to her age and traditional readership.

I loved the more complex understanding she developed of her relationship with both her mother and father. I was a bit taken aback by her mother's choice to share the truth about Aiko's father on Aiko's birthday--as a mother, I went, what? If you think your daughter's old enough, then let her celebrate her birthday one day, and tell her the next. But I guess it was more dramatic this way. How Aiko handled this information over the next few weeks was both realistic and telling of her development over the course of the novel, and wonderfully done.

By far my favorite character was Raoul, Aiko's mother's boyfriend: radio DJ of international music, gourmet cook, and a man both caring and sensitive. I looked forward to his scenes, and was sorry he didn't feature more. While I liked Aiko, I felt somewhat emotionally distant from her, and was not as engaged as I would have liked. Again, this may have to do with her slightly younger age. I expect young readers will connect more easily (especially over Aiko's crushing on boys!).

Overall, an engaging and quick read with a lot packed in. ...more

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May 24, 2013 Diayll rated it liked it

Shelves: blog-tour, read-by-crayolakym

Originally Reviewed At: Mother/Gamer/Writer
Rating: 3 Controllers
Review Source: Blog Tour
Reviewer: CrayloaKym

This is a coming of age story where finding who you truly are and the essence of being can be refreshing. Being fifteen and having Cerebral Palsy, Aiko has typically turned to trying to be as invisible as possible, to the point she writes manga under a pseudonym and distributes it throughout school and town where it is becoming quite a hit with the locals, including the boy she really like ...more

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About Suzanne Kamata

Suzanne Kamata

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Five-time Pushcart Prize nominee Suzanne Kamata is the author of the memoir Squeaky Wheels: Travels with My Daughter by Train, Plane, Metro, Tuk-tuk and Wheelchair (Wyatt-Mackenzie, 2019); the novels Indigo Girl (GemmaMedia, 2019), The Mermaids of Lake Michigan (Wyatt-Mackenzie, 2017), Screaming Divas (Merit Press, 2014), Gadget Girl: The Art of Being Invisible (GemmaMedia, 2013) and Losing Kei (L ...more