I am a bibliophile. I love reading. I love books. I love bookstores. I love libraries. I love anything to do with books. I read a lot of different genres of books, and I will pretty much give anything a try. However, I don't love everything I read. Sometimes it's the characters, and sometimes it's the author's writing style. Regardless, I have a good idea of what I like and what I don't.
My rating scale for books is this:
5 Stars- I loved it! I wouldn't change a thing about it, and it will be on my rotation.
4 Stars- I like it. I might've changed a few things, but I can see myself reading it again.
3 Stars- It's okay. I probably won't read it again, but it kept me entertained.
2 Stars- I don't like it. It wasn't my cup of tea, not enough character development or an unsatisfactory plot.
1 Star- I hate it. I can't believe I wasted my time with it. I might not have even finished it.
I am by no means a professional literary critic. These are just my opinions, and I believe literature is subjective. Books I love may be books you hate and vice versa. Books don’t have to be considered “high literature” for them to be good or entertaining. One of my pet peeves is a pretentious reader.
I was an English major in undergrad, and we were asked on the first day of every English class what our favorite book was as an icebreaker. I got a lot of upturned noses when I would say Harry Potter. No matter its faults, the Harry Potter series made me fall in love reading. Reading those books when I was younger gave me my first experiences of staying up all night to read, finishing an entire book in one day, and feeling the anticipation and excitement of waiting for a next book to be released. My love for books and reading was born from that series, so it will always be special to me.
Invisible Girl- 4 Stars
This was the first book I finished in 2021. I went back and forth on whether or not I liked this book while I was reading it, but the story pulled through in the end. This is one of those stories that has several narrators who are all connected but are telling different stories until everything comes together in the end.
Sapphire Maddox is a troubled girl who lives with her uncle and is undergoing treatment from a psychologist, Rowan. Rowan and his wife Kate have a picture-perfect life to the outside world, but everyone has secrets they keep locked behind closed doors. Kate has suspicions about the neighbor across the street, Owen, who seems just a touch off in certain ways. Owen's life is mediocre at best and miserable at worst. When Sapphire goes missing, everyone and anyone could be a suspect, and everyone has something to hide.
The multi-perspective is done well in this one. It's not always the case with these types of books, but the author pulls it off here. Using this style, the reader gets a glimpse into the lives and minds of all the characters. Every character brings a small piece of the puzzle to the whole, and it keeps the reader guessing until the very end.
Speaking of the ending, that's what really solidified this book for me. I have a talent for guessing the endings of books and movies, so I am impressed with anything that can surprise me. There is also a delicate balance with this too. I like to be kept in suspense, but I don't want things to get too absurd. I would rather guess the ending of a book than have everything go off the rails at the end. The ending can ruin the entire story for me. Invisible Girl does this balancing act well. Every time you think you know everything in this story, another piece of the puzzle is added that changes everything. There is one point where you think the book is ending, and you think there has to be more than this. Sure enough, there is more, and it's something you will never see coming.
Overall, I give it 4 stars. I leaned towards giving it 3 stars because I don't think I'll ever read it again, but the ending bumps it up to a 4. I defiantly recommend it for anyone who likes thrillers or mysteries.
Available in ebook, audiobook, hardback, and paperback from Amazon.
XOXO,
Kayla
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