The Opposite of Invisible - Liz Gallagher

I didn't, at first, remember where I'd heard of this book, but when I was uploading the cover, I DID remember. Interesting that a picture stuck in my head. This is a book from one of the authors in the "Class of 2K8". I won some books from this great group of new authors recently, and they let me pick which of their books I wanted. I have to say, it was a very hard choice because so many of them looked interesting. I didn't ultimately choose this one for our library, but it sounded so good that I checked it out for myself. I did this one on audio, too, and I really enjoyed it.

Alice, the main character, is an artsy type girl who is not in with the popular crowd. She mostly just has one very best friend, Jewel (his real name i Julian but hardly anyone calls him that). Jewel is a very talented artist who looks down on the popular crowd with disdain. Alice, however, kind of wants to be part of the popular group. She's got a major crush on Simon, one of the popular football players, and she wants to know what it would be like to be the "opposite of invisible" which is how she feels now.

Suddenly, Simon starts paying attention to Alice. He even kisses her! But nearly the same day, Jewel kisses her as well. Now she's totally confused. She's never liked Jewel as a BOYfriend, just as a boy who's a friend. Has she? But then why did she kiss him back? And why does she still want to date Simon? Does she still want to date Simon? Will she lose Jewel completely if she does? This is a lot of questions, and her only "friend" she can talk to is a poster....not the most helpful confidante in this case.

Wound throughout the novel is a wide variety of typical high school characters, all of whom can be, and are, stereotyped by others, including Alice. Are the artsy types willing to accept that some jocks might have feelings? That some cheerleaders can be artsy? That beautiful people might also be insecure? Can they coexist peacefully?

I thought that while this novel is a bit predictable, there are enough twists and turns, enough thought-provoking scenarios, and enough fun Seattle references to make it a really good read for those who like the romance genre.

Available at the Multnomah County Library.