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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Not a SCIENCE FICTION Story----But ***Hautingly Beautiful***, November 4, 2008
This review is from: The Last Invisible Boy (Hardcover)
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I enjoyed reading THE LAST INVISIBLE BOY, by Evan Kuhlman, but it isn't necessarily a happy story.
The book is about a 12-year-old boy named Finn Garrett who has just lost his father. Told in a journal/diary style of writing, the story gives readers a glimpse into this boy's journey of recovery as he records his thoughts and emotions going from sadness to anger to confusion to guilt.
It continually breaks the "third wall," as the character Finn addresses the reader from time to time by asking questions etc., always including the reader on this trip.
I don't know why some reviewers found the story boring, because it is talking about a very delicate subject matter--the death of a parent--and so I'm not sure how you make that interesting. In any case, I never found the story boring and thought it was done with absolute sincerity.
And the drawings by J.P. Coovert are cute and soften the blow of the many sad journal entries that you encounter along the way. The story does end on a happy note so it's not all melancholy (btw, some parts are even funny).
This is such a wonderful book and it really shows how people, especially young people, go through the grieving process in their own way. And more importantly, that it's OK to go through the sadness because you will come out on the other side.
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Loved the format of the book, but may be too depressing for kids, even if they're dealing with grief., November 19, 2008
This review is from: The Last Invisible Boy (Hardcover)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
I loved the idea of this book. It's about Finn Garrett who has lost his dad and feels like he's turning invisible little by little. The book is written like his journal with text and his drawings.
I was very intrigued by the description on the jacket and the book started off well. Finn does not talk of the tragedy in the beginning he just imagines a giant eraser fell from the sky and starting rubbing him out. However, by the middle I could not read it any longer as it was too boring. Although, this is meant to be a diary of a young kid it appears disconnected. The activities Finn Garrett undertakes are normal for a kid his age but the author has not been able to capture the spirit of a middle schooler with the way Finn speaks or even thinks. In parts, it seems like an adult trying to think and talk like a younger kid.
Overall, it is a nice idea but I could not help but compare it with Jeff Kinney's Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. Jeff Kinney makes you really relate to the main character in the book. Although this book comes froma sadder place in a kid's heart it should not be so difficult to relate to a the character. In fact, the circumstances make us predisposed to like the character but it did not quite get there for me.
I also gave it to my 5th grader to read, she loves reading and finishes a book a day but left this one half read. She lost interest in the story midway, which makes me wonder if the 9-12 year audience who the book is intended for will feel the same way.
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6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
A good premise, poorly executed, October 23, 2008
This review is from: The Last Invisible Boy (Hardcover)
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The Last Invisible Boy reads like a feeble attempt at some sort of cross between Clarice Bean, Don't Look Now and Diary of a Wimpy Kid. The Last Invisible Boy is, in a word, boring. The jacket cover promises "really funny, really happy moments" and that "anything can happen." There isn't a single thing that could be described as even remotely funny (much less "really funny"), nor "happy." And unless "anything can happen" is referring specifically to the ridiculously unlikely cause of the (thirty-six-year-old) father's death, then that statement is also false.
The basic premise of the story is that twelve-year-old Finn Garrett is slowly becoming invisible in the aftermath of his father's death. The boy shares anecdotes about happenings involving his family and friends; defines the meaning of the name of every single solitary stinkin' character in the entire book (gets old, trust me); provides factoids on various subjects (fireflies, the constellation Pegasus), drawings, and "pictures" (the illustrations of which are exactly the same format as the supposed drawings); refers regularly to "The Terrible Day That Changed Everything, the day I lost my dad forever" (finally explained on page 155); tells "Cemetery Tales" and updates the reader regularly on the state of his invisibility.
Although over 200 pages in length, it is a quick (though dull) read due to pages only partially filled with text, large and frequent chapter titles, and a fair number of illustrations. Unfortunately, discriminating readers are unlikely to reach the end due to a lack of plot. Unless it is due to the inclusion of the words "stupid," "crap," and "hell" and subjects like evolution, reincarnation and God, the 9 to 12 age range seems high. Worst of the book: the inclusion of the meaning of the name of every character; the vague storyline involving Finn's invisibility, and the overall lack of plot. Many times better: Clarice Bean, Don't Look Now by Lauren Child, Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney, and Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat by Lynne Jonell.
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