She Is Not Invisible- Review + Author Interview + Giveaway

May 1, 2014 Author Interview, Book Review, Giveaway 8

I received this Finished Copy from Publisher for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

She Is Not Invisible- Review + Author Interview + GiveawayShe Is Not Invisible by Marcus Sedgwick
Published by Macmillan on 2014-04-22
Pages: 240
Source: Finished Copy from Publisher
Amazon-Indiebound
Goodreads

Laureth Peak's father has taught her to look for recurring events, patterns, and numbers--a skill at which she's remarkably talented. Her secret: She is blind. But when her father goes missing, Laureth and her 7-year-old brother Benjamin are thrust into a mystery that takes them to New York City where surviving will take all her skill at spotting the amazing, shocking, and sometimes dangerous connections in a world full of darkness. She Is Not Invisible is an intricate puzzle of a novel that sheds a light on the delicate ties that bind people to each other.

My Thoughts:

Marcus Sedgwick is such an amazing storyteller. His books read so smoothly yet have so many layers to them. It really is incredible. As soon as I finish one of his books I’m going back over it all and looking for things I missed. This was especially true with She Is Not Invisible. And oh, how I loved it!

She Is Not Invisible showcases Marcus Sedgwick’s talent well. The main character, Laureth, was born blind. “Seeing” the story from her perspective was  such an interesting way to experience it. The descriptions, the tricks she uses to navigate an unfamiliar place, her interactions with strangers… it was a unique way to see things but didn’t feel foreign or awkward. Does that make sense? Like, sometimes you read a story and the author tries something different and it just feels… off? SO not the case here.

Laureth is blind but this is not a book about blindness. It’s a book about coincidence and family and the relationships we form with other people. There’s mystery and sleuthing and all kinds of awesome things. I want you to experience it all. Gah, I’m just so impressed with this story and the writing!

She Is Not Invisible by Marcus Sedgwick is a gem of a book. It’s a deceptively slim volume when I consider how invested I was while reading and after. Treat yourself to this one!

Author Interview:

I had the privilege of meeting with Marcus Sedgwick before a book signing earlier this week. I was able to ask him a few questions about writing in general and She Is Not Invisible in particular. I recorded our conversation and have pulled together some of the highlights. The questions are transcribed as I wrote them ahead of time (not necessarily how I muddled them when asking!) and I’ve included direct quotations from the Mr. Sedgwick, as well as summaries of his responses.

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Q: The stories of yours that I’ve read have been so complex, with multiple layers and stories to them. You do such an excellent job of weaving it all together for the reader. How do you keep it all straight when you’re writing?

A: Mr. Sedgwick says that he is “a planning kind of writer.” About She Is Not Invisible he said, “On the surface, when you read the book, I hope it reads like quite a simple story.” He noted that backstage is where the planning is going on, where much of the complexity comes in. He used large sheets of paper with diagrams, lists and charts as well as pages of notes in a notebook to map everything out. “No matter how complex a book is, you’re trying to make it seem smooth on the surface.”

Q: I was really interested in the variety of time periods, locations, topics, etc… that I found in your books. As a librarian, I’m interested in your research. Where do you start?

A: According to Mr. Sedgwick this is where the fun begins. “You have an idea for a book but you haven’t yet fully realized where that’s going to take you.” For example, Revolver (a Printz honor book in 2011!)  started with the mechanics of how a gun is fired but took him to museums and places like Estonia and the Arctic circle! “What a great part of my job, that freedom to go and explore things.” Midwinterblood was a totally different writing experience. He said that it required practically zero research… which was exciting but also scary. “Every new book you write you have to learn how to write that book… every book demands, to me, a new approach.”

Q: In She Is Not Invisible Laureth’s father is a writer. She shares a bit about his philosophies, experiences and such in regards to being a writer. How much of that comes from your life as a writer? What was it like writing a writer?

A: “I was really hesitant to write about a writer, and the reason is because I think writers write about writers when they run out of ideas to write about.”  (Although, as Mr. Sedgwick quickly points out, Stephen King seems to have done alright with it!) So why did he do it? It was a mechanism that allowed him to write about and discuss his ideas about coincidence. And, since he did decided to be a writer writing about a writer, he felt it would be weird to not include some of his personal experiences. My favorite example is an email Laureth’s father gets basically telling him that his book is terrible. Mr. Sedgwick got a similar email from a reader about Revolver. Including this in the story was his way of having fun with it.

Q: Coincidence. It plays such a large role in the book. I read in your author’s note that it’s a bit of an obsession for you as well. You discuss this in the book but for those who haven’t read it yet, what is it about coincidence that draws you in?

A:Everyone I know seems to like coincidences.” Mr. Sedgwick brings up that spooky tingly feeling you get when a coincidence happens to you. “The next thing I always think to myself is, “What does it mean?” You instinctively feel like it must mean something.” This wasn’t a spur of the moment idea either. It’s been nine or ten years since he first started thinking about writing a book about it. In fact, he started writing it twice in completely different ways but neither worked. “The breakthrough moment was deciding not to write a book about coincidence anymore, but to write a book about a writer trying to write a book about coincidence.”

Q: She Is Not Invisible is told from the perspective of a blind teen girl. I was curious, as a sighted person, who is not a teen girl, what were the challenges in writing Laureth?

A:  “It was an enormous challenge. I nearly quite writing the book on several occasions.” Many of these challenges stemmed from the fact that Laureth has been blind from birth. If she had been born with sight and then lost it she would have understood many of the concepts a sighted reader understands (like color.) Also, the story is told in first person. “It’s a very different thing to describe someone being blind from the outside as opposed to being in their world… Every time I thought, ‘I’m beginning to get to grips on it’ I then suddenly realized, ‘My God, there’s so much more I don’t understand.'”

To understand Laureth and what her life would be like better Mr. Sedgwick spent about a year visiting a boarding school for the blind and visually impaired. He met with four or five students in particular and is very grateful for how incredibly open, generous and honest they were with him. “Every single thing that Laureth says about her world view or any trick that she has or technique is something a blind person said to me.” Of course he tried the obvious things as well, like blindfolding himself for the day. This made some practical things stand out (like, how do you pour hot water from a kettle into a cup?) However, the deeper issues like what does color or sight mean are things he could never find on his own. He was scared about the authenticity but the blind students he talked to read the book and seemed to like it.

Also, this isn’t an issue book. It was critical to Mr. Sedgwick that it is a book about coincidence in which the main character happens to be blind… not a book about blindness.

Q: I really loved the relationship between Laurel and her seven-year-old brother Benjamin. How did that develop when writing the story?

A: Mr. Sedgwick knew she had to have eyes but it had to be someone she could convince to go with her without asking too many questions. He had two more things to say about it.

First, “I get a bit sick of the kind of antagonistic sibling thing in YA fiction.” Lots of siblings are antagonistic but it seems to have become a trope. Mr. Sedgwick grew up in a home where he loved his brother and his brother loved him. He wanted to see more relationships like that.

And secondly, in many ways Benjamin is mature for his age. Mr. Sedgwick talked to a man who’s parents were deaf. As early as five-years-old he had to answer the phone, write down messages, and organize their schedules for them. Growing up in a household where an adult or older sibling is dependent in someway upon a child gives them a type of maturity beyond their years. However, they are still kids. Benjamin still has his stuffed raven and still needs Laureth to look out for him as well.

We also just talked a bit about the book in general. “In lots of ways this is a book about people not being what they seem.” It also makes us question the assumptions we make as a reader.

It was such a pleasure to get to sit and have a conversation about books and writing with Marcus Sedgwick. Thanks so much to Macmillan for giving me the opportunity!

Giveaway:

While at the signing I got an extra signed copy of She Is Not Invisible to giveaway! I also picked up a Midwinterblood poster and book mark! Aren’t they gorgeous?!?

photo (2) copy

To enter use the rafflecopter below. Seriously, you don’t want to miss this book!

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8 Responses to “She Is Not Invisible- Review + Author Interview + Giveaway”

  1. Christina R.

    I LOVE how the main character is a blind teen girl who has to solve a mystery in a foreign country.

    It’s awesome Marcus went to a school for the visually impaired to really find out what it’s like, how other people perceive them, how they perceive other.

    Love all the theory about coincidences!!

    Lovely interview and review 🙂

    Thank you 🙂

  2. Tiffany Mahaffy

    This sounds interesting. I am not sure I have ever heard of r read anything where the MC is blind and I really like the originality of it <3 Thank you so much for the chance to win!

  3. Ange/Libby Blog

    I’m so jealous that you got to meet him! I really liked this book, and appreciate your interview here. Great stuff! One of the things I liked most about the book was that like he says, “that it is a book about coincidence in which the main character happens to be blind… not a book about blindness.” That was so very evident and perfectly done in my opinion. Thanks for sharing!

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