Wonders of the Invisible World in 2016 Hub Reading Challenge

Apr 13, 2016 Kit rated it really liked it

Shelves: award-winners, lgbtq, boys-ra, scary-or-spooky, paranormal-but-fresh-and-different, quiltbag-mogai, non-human-characters, 2016-diversity-reads, 2016-hub-reading-challenge, stonewall-award

It took awhile to get into this one, but in the end I would say I liked it. I'm always excited to see LGBTQ genre fiction, and the writing was good. The settings were very realistic and I could picture them easily in my mind's eye. I'm not sure I loved the main character, especially at the beginning, but he grows a good deal over the course of the story. I actually preferred the best friend - he's maybe not the most believable character (baseball phenom who doesn't really *love* the game, just w ...more

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Jan 25, 2016 Anna Chappell rated it really liked it

Nicely mysterious, fun romance, I liked it.

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Jan 29, 2016 Elisabeth rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fiction, ya, 2016

Wonders of the Invisible World is my kind of book. It has shades of Bone Gap and Holes with a sprinkling of Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe. The storyline is perfect. ...more

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Jun 27, 2016 Wendy rated it it was ok

Shelves: 2017-18-peach-books

So bored. All the way through this book. Just bored. I started reading it. Bored. So then I started listening to it. Worse. Went back to reading it. Why? Because everyone likes it so much that I figured it would be mandatory for the award committee I'm on. I was so bored that I spent twice as much time listening because I was constantly having to replay because my attention drifted.

However, I am not a fan of magical realism. So when I realized that was the turn the story was taking, I sighed an ...more

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Jul 20, 2015 Bethany Miller rated it it was ok

Shelves: royal

Grades: 9-12
Characterization: Mediocre
Literary Merit: Good
Recommendation: Optional Purchase

Aidan Lockwood is floating through life in his rural Ohio town without many connections and feeling pretty much invisible to those around him until his childhood friend Jarrod returns to Temperance and reminds him of things from his past that he has mysteriously forgotten. As Jarrod and Aidan’s feeling for each other intensify, Jarrod shares more about the past and Aidan begins to realize that his mother i Grades: 9-12
Characterization: Mediocre
Literary Merit: Good
Recommendation: Optional Purchase

Aidan Lockwood is floating through life in his rural Ohio town without many connections and feeling pretty much invisible to those around him until his childhood friend Jarrod returns to Temperance and reminds him of things from his past that he has mysteriously forgotten. As Jarrod and Aidan’s feeling for each other intensify, Jarrod shares more about the past and Aidan begins to realize that his mother is somehow responsible for blocking these memories and preventing him from understanding the abilities that he possesses. When a seemingly interminable blizzard descends on the town, Aidan’s mother is forced to enlist his help in traveling into the “world’s shadow” to find out who or what is causing it to happen. With the scraps of knowledge that he gains from her, Aidan decides to attempt to travel into the world’s shadow himself and in this way he begins to learn the truth of this family’s past and the origins of a curse they may never be able to escape.

In the beginning this novel seems to be fairly straight forward realistic fiction, but then it takes a turn towards magical realism and by the end has delved into fairy tale inspired fantasy. Barzak’s description of the bleak farming town of Temperance was well done. Aidan and Jarrod have a sweet relationship that takes a smaller role in the plot as the novel progresses, but is nonetheless important in helping Aidan have the courage to uncover the secrets his mother has been keeping. The novel falters in the world building around the “world’s shadow” and the scope of abilities that Aidan and his mother have. Certain supernatural elements seem out of place. For example, using a magical star (“the probable stone”) to teleport home from anyplace in the world seemed out of sync with the other paranormal elements of the story. Overall, though this writer shows promise and had some good ideas, but the novel doesn’t feel cohesive and would be hard to pitch to a particular audience.
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Feb 04, 2016 Julie Trapp rated it it was ok

Jarrod returns to town after 5 years living with his dad, but Aiden can't remember them being best friends. Also he can't remember that they were entering into a homosexual relationship. Didn't enjoy the weird remembering or the relationship. Glad to be done with it. ...more

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